Play: Pretended
“Not long ago, Lanise Antoine Shelley was in a health food store on the North Side helping her mother pick out some nutritional supplements. “I’m a vegan and a bit of a health nut,” says the Chicago stage and TV actor (you may have seen Shelley on “Chicago Fire” and “Empire,” or in the Goodman Theatre’s recent streaming production of “School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play”). She’s also from Haiti, adopted by her mother when she was 4 years old. As she tells it, a salesperson didn’t know what to make of this picture of a young Black woman advising an older white woman about nutrition. “She came over and interrupted us with this ‘Can. I. help. you?,’” Shelley said.
Having to explain herself, constantly, to people has been a difficult part of Shelley’s life, and that life informs her new play, “Pretended,” that launches a new-works initiative this month at the Paramount Theatre. Called the Inception Project, it was made possible by a $40,000 Healing Illinois grant in November from the Illinois Department of Human Services in partnership with the Chicago Community Trust. The Inception Project will be headed up by director Amber Mak, in charge of developing new works at the Paramount since 2016, and actor and artistic associate Paul-Jordan Jansen.”
“Shelley is directing her own play; the Paramount actually first contacted her to direct, she said, but then she told them about “Pretended.”
“Pretended” is very personal to her, she said. It’s not about her, storywise — the character at the center is named Elly who flees from Chicago to Seattle when she finds herself pregnant. “But I don’t say ‘Pretended’ was written by me, I say ‘lived by.” A lot of the dialogue was taken verbatim from my life.”
Her mother, a single woman from Northern California, adopted her and a non-biological sister from an orphanage in Port-au-Prince. Coming to America, she only spoke Creole, had never eaten American food. Over years of adjustment she became Americanized, she said, but now only speaks English. She keeps in touch with her Haitian parents and siblings but can no longer speak Creole.
“There are some who’d say I’m not Haitian enough now, but I disagree,” Shelley said. She has channeled her experiences growing up and finding her identity into both “Pretended” and a weekly podcast, “When They Were Young,” which brings together adoptees, families and experts on the subject of adoption.
“I am not the result of a charitable deed. I am a person,” Shelley said, citing a misconception she wants to change. “We are charged with feeling indebted, but I would not have chosen to be given up for adoption. I would not have chosen to be brought to America. I address this in the play, too.””
[Chicago Tribune 1/6/21 by Doug George]
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