Nana Damptey ’27 performed in “Saturday Night, Sunday Morning.”
Gabbie Kawooya ’27 and Kaliah Fortune ’26 set inside a 1940’s Southern beauty parlor.
As Andover’s Theater Department staged “Saturday Night, Sunday Morning” in three performances this past weekend, Steinbach Theatre transformed into a 1940s Southern beauty parlor, complete with painted walls, vintage details, and a working Coca-Cola cooler.
Audience member Soleil Williams ’27 expressed that this detailed set made the performance feel strikingly immersive.
“I was so shocked when I walked in, especially with my friend who had taken a theatre class. That room, I think it was completely transformed, the paintings, the intricacies of the hair salon and the cooler with the actual muzzles of Coca-Cola. It really makes you feel like you were immersed in the era,” said Williams.
Gabbie Kawooya ’27, who played Taffy, felt that Steinbach Theatre was a more intimate environment to perform in compared to the Tang Theatre, which she’s performed more in. Kawooya explained the benefits and drawbacks of performing in a smaller venue.
“The audience is right in front of you. They’re all around you. It made it more vital for all of us to be constantly locked into our characters and understand the character’s thought process throughout the scene, even if you’re not actively talking, because the world is not just on stage. The world is surrounding the audience. You have to make sure you’re constantly keeping the world you’re trying to build alive throughout each scene,” said Kawooya.
Faculty director and Fellow in Theatre and Dance, Karen Douyon, explained that she chose the show with the intention of highlighting not only the struggles but also the rich culture of the African American experience.
“I chose this show specifically because in my experience, a lot of times the story is about Black people and Black history is always very sad. And it can be very traumatic and emotionally jarring for any audience, not even just Black people. And so I want to choose something that allows my students to exist in multitudes because I think that Black people exist in multitudes. It’s not just like trauma, post-enslavement. We have so much of a rich history and a rich culture and the rich dialect and how we engage with each other. And it was really important for me to showcase that. And I think ‘Saturday Night, Sunday Morning’ stood out to me because it did just that so effortlessly. It was funny and digestible and joyful, and all the things that I was looking for,” said Douyon.
For Kawooya, the historical research behind the 1940s Southern setting deepened her connection to her role.
“It was really rewarding because it made the world that we were all supposed to be inhabiting feel a lot more real. It also gave a lot of understanding of the history of Black culture in the United States, especially the South, where I’m from. It almost felt like finding a bit more of myself and my history by learning more about the world these characters live in,” said Kawooya.
Audience members also recognized the production’s broader significance during Black History Month. Attendee Kamryn Cabrera ’28 observed that the show fostered collaboration and connection among students of color across campus.
“[‘Saturday Night, Sunday Morning’] supported Black History Month because it allowed for a lot of students of color on campus to perform together and create friendships that they never had before. I know a lot of students there, but I’ve never seen them hang out together, and a lot of them got to bond and connect because of it. And it was just a very heartwarming scene to see how impacted the community was, and how still and soon we are with such issues, and how, instead of just being ashamed by it, people were somewhat open to hearing about it, and fighting towards a change,” said Cabrera.
Kawooya reflected that the cast’s bond extended beyond rehearsal and became a defining part of the experience.
“I think the chemistry was impeccable. I was telling them today that in all my life, I’ve never been part of a show that had such strong cast bonding, especially given the short period of time. A term is only a couple of months, and in that time we went from being people who knew of each other and were vaguely aware of each other’s presence on campus to being extremely close friends. The cast really did feel like a family,” said Kawooya.
