Photo Source: Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine
In April, Val Kilmer staged a production of his solo play "Citizen Twain," which revived interest in a movie he's developing based on Mark Twain's life. The Geffen Playhouse is staging a one-person production titled "The Pianist of Willesden Lane," starring Mona Golabek and based on her book about her family, and over the next six weeks REDCAT is mounting solo productions from actors Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine and Sandra Bernhard.
Mwine was only getting a couple lines each episode on HBO's "Treme." But instead of waiting around for the series writers to create a storyline for his character, Jacques, Mwine wrote "A Missionary Position."
The show portrays the plight of the LGBT community in Uganda, where some lawmakers have sought to make homosexuality a crime that warrants the death penalty. It features a Ugandan government official, a transgender sex worker, a gay priest, and a lesbian, according to a press release.
On "Treme," where he's had a recurring role for the past two years, Mwine said he worried about getting "comfortable."
"Half of the work is done for you," he said. Doing a one-person show, "it's a whole different set of muscles being exercised."
Mwine's career is proof that solo performances can enhance an actor's job prospects. The other play he wrote, "Biro," helped kick-start his career. "I was in L.A. I wasn't working much," Mwine said. "Sometimes your back's against the wall and you create some really interesting stuff." The play premiered at the Uganda National Cultural Centre about a decade ago and then played theaters from London to Los Angeles.
Mwine, who spent part of his childhood in Africa with his Ugandan mother, went on to land roles in films such as "Blood Diamond" and on series including CBS's "CSI" and NBC's "Heroes." "I've done more African roles since that play," he said. Yet there still are times when he goes in to see a casting director and she tells him, "You're not African enough," Mwine said with a laugh.
Mwine said that it's good for actors to work in different formats because it helps develop craft. "I think working helps, regardless of what you're doing. As long as you're exercising these muscles, you're moving forward."
Mark Murphy, executive director of REDCAT, said he's hopeful that Mwine's production will further his career. "I think it could have a long life, and that would be good for him," Murphy said.
Mwine proposed the project through REDCAT's New Original Works Festival last summer. Murphy became interested in helping develop the production and gave the actor time to research the material on the ground in Uganda. It was slated to debut last November, but Mwine's shooting schedule on "Treme" got in the way. He also had a trove of documentary material he'd gathered, including documentary video footage and still photographs that are layered into the production, which Mwine co-directed with Emily Hoffman.
"It became more complicated as he spent more time in Uganda," Murphy said.
Mwine's not expecting "A Missionary Position," to open doors to more network parts, though. "I don't think theater stuff counts for or against you in L.A. I don't think it registers much in the bigger picture for casting directors," he said. "For the bigger picture, it's working on network television."
