male announcer: "Theatre Corner" is brought to you by the Harold K. Brown Economic Development and Education Foundation.

Harold and LaVerne Brown, Rachel Malvo, Tania Adami, and viewers like you, thank you.

Michael Taylor: Welcome to "Theatre Corner."

I'm your host Michael Taylor.

As a lifelong theater enthusiast and a former board member of one of the nation's top theaters, I've witnessed firsthand the transformative power of embracing a multitude of perspectives on stage and in the audience.

This interview series was born from my passion for theater and aims to amplify the rich tapestry of voices that make up the theater world.

Join us as we engage with leading professionals in the entertainment industry delving into their artistic process, careers, offering inspiration for aspiring creatives and exploring ways to make theater resonate with a broader audience.

Michael: Ladies and gentlemen, today on "Theatre Corner," we are honored to welcome the multifaceted Victor Morris.

Born in Germany and raised in New York City, Victor is a classically trained singer, actor, dancer, and instrumentalist.

His impressive career spans performances at esteemed venues such as the Old Globe and La Jolla Playhouse, as well as roles in notable films.

Victor Morris, welcome to "Theatre Corner."

Victor Morris: Brother Michael, thank you so much.

Michael: You took the long way around to get here.

Victor: I'm sorry.

I mean, you've been trying for what, a year and a half, something like that?

Michael: No, it's certainly worth the wait, brother.

Victor: Thank you so much.

Michael: But I'm glad you finally made it here off your hot schedule.

Victor Morris: It's crazy, you know, I turned 68 and the phone hasn't stopped ringing.

I don't know what's going on, but it's been great.

Yeah, I've been living my golden years right now.

Yeah, I didn't think I'd be doing any more theater, I've been focusing mostly on film and music and singing and but be careful what you wish for, and be ready when it comes.

That's what I like to tell everybody.

Michael: Right, because you're coming off a role at the Old Globe Theater.

Victor: A role of a lifetime invented for me by Mr. Barry Edelstein.

I played "Old Salisbury," which I should have been dead in the first scene of the first act, but somehow he miraculously, being the genius he is of American Shakespeare, had me expanded through not only the first part but through the second part with a death scene.

So yeah it was the role of a lifetime and my favorite parts were when I wasn't speaking, he insisted I always be on stage.

Michael: Oh really.

Victor: Yeah so I learned a lot about that, about silence and emotions and holding back and pulling back and just listening, which is the essence of all theater is to listen, right?

Michael: What is that like to be in the skin of an actor in a Shakespearean play on that historic stage?

Victor: It is the dream.

I mean there's Ashland, but it's The Old Globe to me is the epitome of doing Shakespeare in America and it was great because I got to use everything that I knew how to do.

I got to sing because when I do Shakespeare I'm singing, I actually sing it, and I got to perform with 34 of the most amazing actors.

For the first time I was the oldest person in the cast and I've never had that experience.

Now I'm at that point where I'm the senior, so instead of having to jump off buildings and do sword fights I can say, you know, wonderful things and stand there and just be present and be surrounded by the language which I love, and being taught while being directed but also being taught by the greatest Shakespeare director I think in America which is Barry.

I don't know, I I just felt so fortunate I've been waiting a long time, but then when I got there it didn't feel like a long time, it felt like it was the right time.

And that's what it's all about, it's about being in there at the right time.

Michael: The Old Globe's a major regional theater.

You are a beautifully melanated actor.

What do you think about a young child that looks like you and I sitting in that audience taking in someone that looks like them on that stage performing Shakespeare.

Victor: I just hope that it means as much to them as it meant to me when I was 16 and I saw my first play in New York, the Shakespeare Festival outdoors Shakespeare Festival.

I grew up in New York, I had my puberty in New York so and it was just amazing to see like Ken Page or somebody walk across the stage or Andre Brawer or somebody and I was like, what is he doing there?

Oh, he's doing what I wanna do and that's when I fell in love with it.

So I'm just hoping I have that kind of influence on people our color, especially the young ones and just to make them want to do the work.

Michael: What does your artistic trajectory look like?

Victor: Well, I started off as a trumpet major.

When I was in high school I was going to be you know, the next Maurice Andre, but unfortunately it was in the 70s, so everyone's like, "No, you're gonna be Louis Armstrong."

I didn't want to be Louis Armstrong, I love Louis Armstrong.

So I went and auditioned for Manhattan and Juilliard and Mannes, all these schools like we do when we're 18 and we just get out of high school, but I didn't get in any of them because I didn't have the music theory.

So because I wasn't taught that at least that was the excuse they gave.

So then I went to a more traditional college and then fell in love with theater by being in the pit orchestra for "West Side Story" in the theater and the gentleman playing who is it?

Action, he got sick, so I took over and I literally changed my major overnight to theater.

I said this is much more fun being up here than being down there in the pit.

So I then went the next 20 years being a dancer in musical theater and I learned how to sing and then-- Michael: This is in New York?

Victor: No, this is in everywhere.

This is New York, Poland, Chicago, Denver, where I lived and Boulder, and Greeley, where I went to school in University in Northern Colorado, and then eventually I got here to you with all of that.

You know, I was a jack of all trades and master of none, but then I decided during the pandemic to say what am I, what do I want, what do I wanna do?

So I went back to playing trumpet, but then I fell in love with the tuba.

And so I decided I was gonna focus on that so for the last 4 years I've just been strictly really focusing on tuba getting my 10,000 hours in, you know, practice and so now I'm a principal tubist in an orchestra.

Michael: So you selected a very subtle instrument.

Victor: But you know it is, it's a subtle--it really is the quietest instrument in the orchestra.

Yeah, what do you think the loudest one is?

Michael: Trumpet.

Victor: No, the piccolo, that little tiny thing is the loudest instrument in the orchestra.

And the tuba is the grounding, it's kind of like if you hear a tuba in an orchestra, he's too loud.

But if you feel him along with the string bass and the bass trombone that's what your job is, to just keep everybody right here.

The conductor should never have to look at you.

You should just keep everything grounded and I love it because I'm by myself, there's no four or five tubists.

That's right, I do feel good about that.

Michael: I wanna talk about one piece that you performed in masterfully actually is "1222 Oceanfront" written by Dea Hurston, the late Dea Hurston, but there's something special about your part.

talk about that.

Victor: Well Michael, it is the first time in my life that a part was written just for me.

Not many people can go through their whole career and never hear that or have that happen, but I met her, she asked me to do a reading during the pandemic via Zoom.

And I did the reading and I met her once at a black arts committee function, and she and I just hit it off right there and then a couple of years later during the pandemic she called and said, "Will you do this Zoom play?"

And then we were finished with the play and she said.

"Victor," I go, "Yes, Miss Hurston," she says, "I am going to make you, I'm gonna write a play and I'm gonna make you the premier senior black leading man in this town."

And I said, "Yeah, well thank you that's really great."

And she wrote this play, Michael, about a black cowboy who during the day is a postman and he has a ranch and he falls in love again and it is the most beautiful thing that anyone's ever wrote.

The songs were written for me by Melina Phillips and just everything was just, just fell into place.

Michael: And so there's one particular song that it's just really quite incredible.

I think the title of the song is something along the lines of, he was your puppy, I'm your dog.

Victor: Oh yeah The Cowboy Song.

Michael: The Cowboy Song, okay that's the name of it.

Let's take a look at that song.

♪ Oh it's true, want's to keep you I know that ain't true.

♪ ♪ I've seen many sunrises and sunsets too, ♪ ♪ and I want to share ♪ ♪ the rest of mine with you, Yodel-Ay-Ee-Oooo.

♪ ♪ I'm not trying to replace the love y'all knew, ♪ ♪ he was your puppy and I'm your dog.

♪ ♪ He was your arf and I'm your woof!

♪ ♪ He was your puppy and I, ♪ ♪ I'm your Yodel-Ay-Ee-Oooo, ♪ ♪ Yodel-Ay-Ee-Oooo, Yodel-Ay-Ee-Oooo, ♪ ♪ Yodel-Ay-Ee-Oooo, Yodel-Ay-Ee-Oooo.

♪ ♪ Yodel-Ay-Ee-Oooo, Yodel-Ay-Ee-Oooo ♪ ♪ Yodel-Ay-Ee-Oooo, Yodel-Ay-Ee-Oooo ♪ ♪ Yodel-Ay-Ee-Oooo, Yodel-Ay-Ee-Oooo ♪ Michael: That that is some incredible--I love it, absolutely love it.

It really is quite a powerful role, and I could see.

I mean we've been knowing each other for I can see you all throughout this character.

One thing an actor is trying to do hopefully is reach some point of authenticity, for the character.

How easy was that for you?

Victor: Michael, there was no work involved in that.

The words that came out, she knew me better than anyone I've ever known outside of my wife and my children.

I had to change nothing, I had to do nothing.

I just had to worry about not worrying, just follow the script, follow her, sing the songs and just be in the moment, be present and not be afraid to be present, which is sometimes happens when you're an actor you're like, "Oh no, I'm too present."

Or "Oh no I'm too much myself."

No, that role taught me to just be who I am and what I am.

And the cast made it easy, and the directors made it easy.

Both Delicia and Candice were amazing directors for it and I love working with women directors because they don't BS, you know, or they, they're on to my stuff you know they're on to me they'll just like Victor, that's you're acting stop it, you know.

Michael: Victor Morris was quoted as saying I just wanna be a 21st century Renaissance man.

Victor: Michael, I think I'm achieving it right now.

In my later years here, as I approached the septuagenarian, is that how you say?

I think it's finally happening.

I wanted to be one in the 20th century in my 20s and 30s and 40s, but it didn't happen, it's happening now.

So I feel like that I can walk into a place and sing with the opera chorus, which I get to do the privilege of working with Bruce Desna once in a while.

Barry Edelstein hired me to do Shakespeare, I'm a principal tubist in an orchestra at First Presbyterian in the Westminster Orchestra, and I got to sing as a soloist for them, whatever I want to sing.

So I feel like I'm pretty renaissance and I just love the feeling of it and I feel like that I'm at a point in my life where I can just do what I wanna do, Michael.

And my other love is film I usually play cops and fathers in shows, but the good news is I'm no longer running around chasing people, I'm now the desk sergeant or I graduated to lawyer, I've graduated to, you know, more sustainable roles and I'm up for a couple so.

I'm hoping something happens that I have to come back here and bug you and tell you about them.

Michael: That's what's up, and it's great for you to be here.

Victor Morris I really appreciate you.

You coming in here and increasing the value of the show.

Victor: Thank you Michael you know I love you.

Michael: I appreciate you brother, I just love what you do and I love the example that you set.

Victor: Thank you so much Michael for being here for my being here, it's just an honor I mean-- Thank you so much for having me here.

Michael: Very good, very good.

And thank you viewers for tuning into another episode of "Theatre Corner," and we'll see you next time.

Michael: Next, I have the pleasure of welcoming Joy Yvonne Jones, a versatile artist whose journey spans from writing black history speeches in her youth to captivating performances on San Diego stages.

Join us as we explore her evolution as an actress, playwright, and influential voice in the theater community.

Michael: Joy Yvonne Jones, welcome to "Theatre Corner."

Joy Yvonne Jones: Thank you for having me.

Michael: It is a joy to have you here, I can be corny sometimes, but yeah you got to excuse me.

So I appreciate your presence here.

I mean you've been doing it up here in San Diego for a minute, and on stage.

I know you've done a little bit of film work so but what I wanna talk about is your artistic journey.

You know, give me an idea, what does that trajectory look like?

Joy: It starts in church.

I started writing my own black history speeches when I was really young with my great grandmother.

She was the like main church speaker and I wanted to be as great as she was, and so I started writing there.

And then I really fell in love with theater and went to the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Houston, Texas, and the University of Minnesota and the Guthrie Theater BFA training program, but I really learned how to be an artist when I didn't have jobs.

My husband was in the military and we were on base in the middle of nowhere and when I got tired of saying monologues to the walls, I really started to figure out what I wanted to be as an artist and learn different parts of my practice.

Michael: For young and up and coming actors, how important would you say it is to to get a foundation of theater, especially I mean, people end up in film and such how important is that?

Joy: I think it's very important, it was important to me because it taught me to think on my feet, so I can handle anything that comes at me because going back to the yes and qualities of it and once you're on stage you're on stage there's no going back, you have to keep moving forward with the story.

So with theater I feel like I have to master the story as well as the text, the movement and everything else and so if something happens and I need to carry the story forward, I have a firm understanding of where I'm going, where I've been and where it needs to go.

Michael: Talk about the importance of that energy from the audience I mean I think that's a huge difference right there.

Joy: It is, it's my favorite thing in the world.

I mean the audience can be also your downfall if they're giving you nothing on like the Sunday matinee and it's just the blue hair crowd and it's like okay, we gotta work a little harder to get them in the story but when they're moving and grooving with you, when they're with you from the beginning it's the greatest thing in the world because you're really in it together, you're building the story together, and you also learn what they understand and what they don't, and what you need to work on, what you need to work on for the next show.

It's my favorite thing.

Michael: What about when the audience laughs at something where it's not intended to be funny?

Joy: It teaches you about the story and your delivery.

If you're not tapping into the true meaning of the line or the moment, then the audience might call your bluff or they might call you out on it.

Like you're not really investing in this, or you're overdoing it, and that's not earned.

And so it--the audience really teaches you how you've crafted this story, how you've crafted this journey and whether it's authentic or not.

My favorite thing was in college.

We were working on a Greek play and it was a musical and I thought it was a drama because we're doing Greek tragedy and you know, everyone is dying and clawing at their faces, but when the audience came in I learned that it was a farce.

We took everything so seriously that it gave them the space to laugh and so that is to my, to this day my favorite performance that I did in college because it was like, oh do the work and the audience will let you know what the journey is.

Michael: You were at the New Village Art Theater for some time.

Tell us about your role there.

Joy: I was at New Village Arts in several--like I started as an actor doing "Men on Boats," and then I was a front of house, and then I became their head of education and associate artistic director.

Michael: So they renamed that theater, please tell us about the renaming and who it was named after and your interaction with The Dea.

Joy: Yes, The Dea Hurston New Village Arts Center has been named after Dea Hurston, and she was like a theater mom to me.

I said that we had a special relationship.

She told me the unabashed truth, and I said "Yes ma'am."

Our relationship started with the founding of the San Diego Black Artists Collective.

She was one of our founding members, a part of our leadership committee, and she led me a lot on those early years.

And our conversations were life-changing.

One of my favorite things that she's ever said to me was, "The work you do makes you a big target, don't be an easy target."

Yes.

Michael: That's what's up.

Joy: An incredible experience to work with somebody who had done so much and really wanted to make a mark on the world and impact theater artists in an important way.

Michael: Let's move on to your one person show "Cleopatra."

You just kickin' down doors, you're all up in there.

Tell us about this incredible performance.

Joy: So I had done a string of shows where I was cast, I feel like as a wilting flower, and I sat down with myself and I was like what do I wanna show the world about myself?

What characters do I wanna play?

So I sat down and wrote it.

My heart is in classical theater, I love Shakespeare, I love the poetry.

'Cause at my roots I'm a poet and I wrote this incredible woman.

I took Shakespeare's words and then added a little spice into it.

Joy: Do Caesar what he can.

No, sir, that I will not wait pinioned at your master's court, nor once be chastised with the sober eye of dull Octavia.

Shall they hoist me up and show me to the shouting varletry of censuring Rome?

Rather a ditch in Egypt be gentle grave unto me.

Rather on Nilus' mud lay me stark naked and let the waterflies blow me into abhorring.

Rather make my country's high pyramids my gibbet and hang me up in chains.

Michael: In terms of time, is it a modernized version of it or is this dated back in her time?

Joy: That's an interesting question.

It is I like to say out of time.

So yes we have the traditional historical timeline so it's when Cleopatra meets Caesar and when she dies after the war with Octavian and the costuming is again, out of time it's timeless beautiful fabric, rich fabrics, but I'm not beholden to being historically accurate, because we also wanted to bring in elements of Afrofuturism and making it out of this world.

So that people aren't like, "Well that's not accurate, Caesar was this color, Antony was that color, Cleopatra doesn't look like that."

So we don't get into those type of arguments.

We're taking it out of time and elevating it.

Michael: When you don Cleopatra's skin on that stage, what do you feel?

What does that do to you as an artist?

Joy: It's empowering, I really feel like Cleopatra has like seeped into my entire life, like it is really wonderful to play a character that never dims her light, and to really live in that and be confident in it.

After having two kids being like no, I am gorgeous, I am beautiful, I am powerful every day.

Yeah she's been a very empowering character to portray.

Michael: Where have you performed this show of yours?

Joy: So the world premiere was at MOXIE Theatre.

Michael: Okay, MOXIE Theatre right here in San Diego?

Joy: Yes, it's an artistic home for me.

Michael: Performing it at the MOXIE Theatre is quite significant because that's not just any theater.

Can you talk about the sort of the theme and what type of plays they put on there?

Joy: So MOXIE produces work that empowers women.

It is a woman founded, woman run and led theater.

And so they wanna create work that it empowers women and pushes the needle forward for a representation of underrepresented genders.

Michael: Right, right and so that piece fits in there like hand in glove.

What's been most influential on you?

Joy: What's been--well first my great grandmother, that's number one.

I always wanna make her proud and then I would have to say, reading Sidney Poitier's book "The Measure Of A Man" was really like okay, this is the stepping stones the fact that he worked backstage in a theater and learned by observing and practicing and working and building up was really like this is how I will do it.

Michael: So what are you working on now?

What are you--are you writing?

You're performing?

What's going on with Joy in her in her career?

Joy: I am focusing more on film and Cleopatra.

I'm trying to get Cleopatra to have more regional premiers.

I believe that she is my Tony.

Oh yes, I believe Cleopatra is my Tony and I'm gonna say it as much as I can.

The show is incredible and I want the world to see it and so I'm putting a lot of my artistic energy towards that and focusing on film and trying to really grow my presence in that medium.

And I'm also writing an adaptation of The Scottish Play.

Shakespeare's Scottish play, I don't wanna say it in the theater.

Yeah, that's my next adaptation.

Michael: Okay, a modernized version.

Okay, you're keeping busy.

Joy: I am, I don't do well with downtime.

But I know in my soul I meant to share through performance.

And it takes a lot of effort to keep going.

Michael: Joy Yvonne Jones, thank you so much for coming here on "Theatre Corner."

I really appreciate you, sister.

Keep doing your thing on the stage and setting the example, all right.

And thank you for tuning into another episode of "Theatre Corner," and we'll see you next time.

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ female announcer: Support for this program comes from the KPBS Explore Local Content Fund, supporting new ideas and programs for San Diego.

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