Director James Littlejohn welcomes new faces to 'Fences' auditions
James and wife, Cassandra Littlejohn ,attending a Black Butterfly Network event honoring the legacy of Harlem Renaissance poet Langston Hughes. James was a featured performer. {Contributed Photo/ Erle Craven IV}
James Littlejohn knows "All the world's a stage." The former football coach turned director will direct Lexington Live’s February production of “Fences”, a “serious” opportunity to introduce an all-Black cast to local theater. Littlejohn has been acting since the mid-1990s but this is his first appearance in a directorial role.
Friday, February 17, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, February 18, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, February 19, 2:00 p.m.
Ticket cost $20
This show is rated PG-13.
202 N Main Street
Lexington, NC 27292
“I chose ‘Fences’ because I felt it was a great show and it told Black stories. Lexington Live has been 110 percent behind it,” Littlejohn said. “It’s hard to get a theater company in the area to do a show with an all-Black cast. Better yet, a Black director.”
The 1985 play written by American playwright August Wilson is legendary in theater circles. Set in the 1950s, “Fences” explores an era through the eyes of Troy Maxson. Littlejohn recommended the play to Lexington Live because he identifies with the experience of the main character as a father. Wilson uses the play to examine race relations, civil rights and challenging family relationships. The play won the 1987 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the 1987 “Tony Award for Best Play”.
Littlejohn is seeking new talent for this production. “Because we want more people from Lexington to be in the show. I’m not expecting seasoned actors,” Littlejohn assured. “It will be my job to help develop and help them let go in the moment, learn the backstory or even create one, to help understand the characters a lot better. It will be a fun experience for any level of actor. It will be great to tell our story.”
Auditions will be held on December 16 from 7-9 p.m. and December 17 from 12-2 p.m. with callbacks on December 18 from 2-4 p.m. Although Littlejohn has a strong musical background, he wanted those auditioning to know “Fences” is not a musical.
Littlejohn has future plans for a summer camp and training workshops for actors. He credits the training of others and his church choir experience for fostering his stage presence. “I just want more people of color to get involved in the arts. I’m working hard to find ways to continue to introduce theater to the black community.”
Along the way, the linebacker discovered an unlikely love of music and theater in the Lexington Senior High School Choral Ensemble that was nurtured by former educator Lee Mabe. “I wanted to be just like Mr. Mabe,” James confessed. I love to sing and act. I started my acting career in high school, in the tenth grade.” Littlejohn credits his part in the cast of “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.” It was Littlejohn’s first show. He admitted he was nervous when he was cast as Benjamin. What would his football buddies say? Littlejohn shined as brightly on stage as on the football field. By his senior year, Littlejohn auditioned and was cast as the lead in “Bye Bye Birdie,” where he played Conrad Birdie.
Littlejohn graduated from Lexington Senior High in 1997 and went on to attend Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham, Virginia, where he continued to play football. He left Hargrave to attend Elizabeth City State University, where he majored in music education. He eventually landed at Guilford College and changed his major to history.
The future director hopes the February production of “Fences” will change the face of local theater and is inspired by the creed of Ralph Waldo Emerson: “Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”
Lexington Live is planning a discussion about the play after one or more of the performances. “We will have a section at the end to talk about the show with the audience. If you saw the movie and know the show, just look up the definition of fences. It explains what the father in ‘Fences’ was trying to do. He just had his way of doing it. I want to talk more about it.”
