Knock Me A Kiss featuring Ben Guillory

Knock Me A Kiss opened this past weekend!  

Cast of Knock Me A Kiss
Top left to right: Jason Mimms, Ben Guillory, Keir Thirus.
Bottom left to right: Toyin Moses, Rosie Lee Hooks, Ashlee Olivia.
Photo courtesy of Tomoko Matsushita

Here's what a few people had to say Opening Night:

“Loved the show; the writing and the performances.  And it seemed to be cast very well...I thought the direction was phenomenal.” 

- Bill 

“Very captivating.  (The play) draws you in, makes you care for the characters. It was entertaining and I really enjoyed it.” 

 - Jessica

Knock Me A Kiss written by Charles Smith is a tale that explores the ideas surrounding romance, marriage, intimacy, and legacy in 1928 Harlem.  It is a fictional account of a true event, the marriage of the daughter of W.E.B. Du Bois, Yolande, to the poet Countee Cullen.  
W.E.B Du Bois called the nuptials, “The symbolic march of young and black America…a new thing rejoicing in a ceremony as old as the world.”

I asked Ben Guillory Artistic Director of the Robey Theatre Company, who also plays W.E.B Du Bois in Knock Me A Kiss, how he came to know the production and why he thought it was a fit for the Robey to produce.

Ben: First, it was Dwain A. Perry's interest in the play that got my attention because I'm very respectful of Dwain's taste in theatre and his understanding of what the Robey Theatre

Ben Guillory as W.E.B. Du Bois in
Knock Me A Kiss
Photo courtesy of Tomoko Matsushita

Company is all about; the kind of work that reflect's the social conscience that Robey represents.  Then, of course, the play itself.  The private moments in the Du Bois family dynamic and what's revealed, the sacrifice we are forced to make in the battle for social justice and how that plays out in the relationships with those we love.  All of these elements are present in this story.  A hard realistic look is taken.  I'm interested in that and I believe our audience is as well.

"...It's German, made from a special hybrid grape which the Germans developed after years of careful crossbreeding.  You see, that's the secret of superior quality.  Careful crossbreeding.  Care to join me?" 
 - W.E.B. Du Bois from Knock Me A Kiss.




Question:  I had some fun with Dwain, the director of Knock Me A Kiss, and played a little game of word association, in light of Yolande Du Bois' rather interesting notions about

Dwain A. Perry and Ben Guillory.
Photo courtesy of Tomoko Matsushita.

romance.  If I say romance to you Ben, what is the first word that comes to your mind?

Ben: Imagination.

Congratulations to Ben Guillory for receiving the 2013 Larry Leon Hamlin Producer Award for profound contributions to the world of Black and American Theatre and the Entertainment Industry.

Ben Guillory with Sylvia Hamlin after receiving the 2013
Larry Leon Hamlin Producer Award.

Cullen and Du Bois.

Father and Daughter Du Bois.

Knock Me A Kiss runs April 5th- May 4th 

At:

The Los Angeles Theatre Center

514 South Spring Street

Los Angeles, CA 90013

General Admission - $30
*Student - $20  *Senior (60+) - $20  *Veteran - $20  *LAUSD Teacher - $20
Thursdays - $10 (Limited Number Available; No Show April 10)
*with ID









Tickets:
log onto: http://www.thelatc.org 
Or, call: 886-811-4111

Content contributor and writer: Kellie Dantzler