Rehearsals capture the charisma of Rise Up! Cinderella!
Monday, February 28, 2022 | Arts & Cultural Affairs
The cast of Rise Up! Cinderella! rehearse the gala scene at Lundstrum Performing Arts. Photo by Pierre Ware.
Producer and director Tanya L. Eubanks, and choreographer LaTanya Cannady drop a classic tale into a 21st century urban neighborhood.
Tanya L. Eubanks and LaTanya Cannady, recipients of a 2021 Creative Response Fund grant will be presenting Rise Up! Cinderella! on March 26th and 27th at Lundstrum Performing Arts in North Minneapolis.
Liz Pangerl, consultant with Arts & Cultural Affairs interviewed Tanya and LaTanya in mid-February on the progress of their ambitious theatre, dance and singing production; managing weekend rehearsals and staying focused on the healing qualities of the narrative. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Tanya L. Eubanks and LaTanya Cannady
How are rehearsals coming along for each of you?
Tanya: Every Saturday our actors rehearse from 2:00-4:00 pm and every Sunday our dancers rehearse from 3:30-5:30 pm. We will have rehearsed 17 weekends by opening night. We’re down to the last five weeks, and it’s time to blow the horn. My husband Michael is our production and stage director, he also has a singing part and dances in the gala scene. So, we’re all tying up loose ends. The actor, De’Monica Flye who was rehearsing for the part of the stepmother lost her son in the middle of production and had to plan two funeral services. Her understudy had to take on the role, but De’Monica is still part of the play and sings a cappella in one scene and with a soundtrack in another. Her singing brings healing to all of us – while she gives – she receives. We all know how hard this has been for her. As we’re rehearsing this play for the people, we ourselves are some of the people going through what’s happening in our community and in our state.
LaTanya: For me, it’s going well. I’m choreographing the dance portions and we’re rehearsing the gala scene now. All the actors will be together for the ballroom waltz, so I’ve been working through different dance, steps and “all that jazz.”
Your previous productions of, A Heart That Forgives, Christmas Bah Hum and The Prodigal Dancer, all reflected your work in bringing healing to the community through dance and theatre. How does Rise Up! Cinderella! continue this narrative for you?
Tanya: The plays I write are heartfelt, they build relationships and deal with overcoming situations in life that everyone can relate to. My plays always have some sort of a twist in them. Rise Up! Cinderella! is about rising up—meaning get up and do something. Tragic and terrible experiences like losing a loved one, a job or a business, or all these things, prompt us to ask ourselves; how do I rise up? How do we rise up as a neighborhood, as a community, as the Northside? Things happen but we can’t stay in our beds or in our rooms isolated away from the rest of the world—it just doesn’t work that way. If we do hide away, then addiction issues can surface, and we might get to the point of wanting to give up because we believe we’re alone in what we are experiencing. In Rise Up! Cinderella! there are people hurting like Cinderella and who have been through similar situations. The play becomes the place of shared experiences with spaces to gather for healing and solidarity.
LaTanya Cannady rehearses Shequitta S. Lenoir, production coordinator and Eric Howell, assistant acting coach and stage director, both cast members as well. Photo by Pierre Ware.
How has your mother’s influence differed from your own personal journey as a dancer?
LaTanya: I started dancing at our church under the mentorship of my mom. I learned dance from her for the first 16 years of my life. Her training was with dance teams like Dance Line. I attended Mainstreet Performing Arts High School, which is now known as the Performing Institute of Minnesota and trained in contemporary/modern, hip-hop, Broadway, ballet, jazz, tap and Urban Heels. I’ve also participated in musical theatre. What sets me apart from my mom’s dance journey is the work I’m doing now. I teach classes within the Twin Cities dance community and teach adult pop-up classes.
… and how have your own life experiences informed you as a dancer?
In high school I had a teacher who really believed in me and was able to include me in a lot of music videos. I was doing commercial dance even while I was in high school, and I really liked the music video work. I enjoyed the fast pace of being on the set, going from studio to studio and the long days didn’t bother me. I’m also a very adventurous person and I’m very curious so I’m just always trying to learn new things and gain knowledge.
Cast L to R: Legaci Hammick, Jazzlyn Brown, Minika “Minnie” Warden, Michael Price-Gilbreath. Second photo: Minika “Minnie” Warden, Gabrielle “Gabbie” Curry, Telina Lasharon Fleming, Third photo: Leonnia Gresham, Minika “Minnie” Warden. Fourth photo: Gabrielle “Gabbie” Curry, Emmanuel D. Franklin, Jazmine Curry. Photos by Pierre Ware.
… and what do you think will surprise the audience most about your choreography and your dancers?
Expect that nothing dance wise is going to be the same. Each dance has a different vibe, for example the intro dance is more of a hip-hop 90’s feel, and then there’s an urban jazz dance and a street jazz number. The gala dance will have my “LaTanya” twist, which will be a play off of traditional types of ballroom dance.
Cast L to R: Eric Howell, Emmanuel D. Franklin. Second photo: Shequitta S. Lenoir, Michael Eubanks, Shantella “Cassie” Dunn. Third photo: Emmanuel D. Franklin. Fourth photo: Choreographer LaTanya Cannady. Photo by Pierre Ware.
As a licensed professional clinical counselor, how do you connect your professional work in trauma prevention with your artistic practice in trauma healing?
Tanya: Let’s use dance, dance is healing. I’ve been a dancer my entire life. When someone isn’t feeling good, dance can help reconnect one to oneself. If there are two dancers, the dance is spirit to spirit. And in terms of acting, you put aside your real self, and take on another character, but the character is still you. Afterwards you can share or journal the answer to the question of what it felt like to be that other person.
In therapy we role play, for example we may ask a client to pretend that the person the client didn’t get the chance to say goodbye to is sitting in a chair in front of the client. What would the client say to that person? In a different scenario, if the (imaginary) person had injured the client, and the client didn’t have the confidence to express their thoughts, then we would practice and practice. It’s a wonderful way to receive healing and it builds confidence. No one is really ready to face their fears, so role playing is a skill that can be used to help people.
What would you each like your audience to think about – in a more intentional way – after they experience Rise Up! Cinderella!
Tanya: A first take away would be an awareness that we are all “overcomers,” but we can’t overcome alone, we need each other. Everybody needs somebody to lean on, especially in this time and age.
A second would be reclaiming a personal garden of hope. There is hope in everything, although losing someone is an emotional experience and I can’t say things will get better. Things might be different and everyday might feel a little bit better than the day before. We can learn to live with our hurt and sorrow.
A third would be forgiveness. In most Cinderella stories, the stepmother remains a mean person. My story is about how people who are hurt also hurt people. The stepmother is hurting and therefore hurts Cinderella terribly and Cinderella, who is kind, forgives her stepmother who has experienced great loss. Everyone deserves a second chance and a heart that forgives is huge.
LaTanya: This play is about bringing everyone together and showing that there is a bigger picture to everything than what we see immediately. And a garden is a space and place that anyone can experience. It’s a healing sanctuary. The garden in Rise Up! Cinderella! is a symbol of what we want for our community — a healing space to be with other people in solidarity.
Minika “Minnie” Warden as Cinderella. Photo by Pierre Ware.
Is there anything else we should know before the performance?
It has funny and tearful moments. I coach the actors to make the audience remember them. I tell them, “if you’re on and you only have two lines, make me remember you!” —Tanya L. Eubanks
Rise Up! Cinderella!
Saturday, March 26, 2022 at 6:30 pm
Sunday, March 27, 2022 at 4:00 pm
Lundstrum Performing Arts
1617 N. 2nd Street, Minneapolis, MN 55411
Tickets will be available on March 1, 2022 here.
This event will follow Minnesota Department of Health COVID-19 safety protocols.
Publisher's Note: The name, "The Office of Arts, Culture & the Creative Economy" has been updated on August 13, 2023 where it appeared within the content of this article to "Arts & Cultural Affairs" to reflect its new name as a department of the City of Minneapolis.