Arts Commons, the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, and Theatre Calgary are teaming up to showcase the world premiere of Ragtime: A Concert Performance. While Ragtime features artists from across Canada and as far away as the UK, this production also showcases some of this city’s greatest local talent.
Misha Maseka on what it means to play Sarah
Misha Maseka is a local multidisciplinary artist and will be playing the principal role of Sarah, a strong-willed “hopeless romantic.”
Misha Maseka at rehearsal for Ragtime: Photo by Arts Commons
After seeing Audra McDonald play the role of Sarah in the original Ragtime broadway performance in the ‘90s, Maseka knew she wanted to be a part of this particular piece of art.
“It’s honestly been a dream of mine for two decades,” she says. “Because when it came to singers on Broadway, but specifically Black singers on Broadway, none of them sounded like Audra McDonald.”
Maseka further explains how Black artists like Jennifer Hudson, Jennifer Holiday, and Aretha Franklin were the greats to look up to, but for classically-trained young Misha, experiencing Audra McDonald – a classical singer who looked AND sounded like her – was especially inspiring.
Now Maseka gets to play the very role she saw Audra McDonald play all those years ago, fulfilling a lifelong dream.
“Ten-year-old Misha and thirty-year-old Misha are having a party,” she says.
Tenaj Williams on what it means to play Coalhouse
Tenaj Williams is a local actor and will be playing the principal role of Coalhouse, a passionate character who holds his values and the people he loves dear.
Tenaj Williams at rehearsal for Ragtime: Photo by Arts Commons
“The role of Coalhouse on a big stage like this is the first leading Black male role that I’ve seen since I started being a professional actor in Calgary,” says Williams. “So for me, when the time came and they were going to do Ragtime I was like ‘if I’m so lucky as to be cast, this would be iconic for me.’”
Williams speaks to the lack of onstage representation in this city, and he feels both the joy and the burden of what it means to be Black and on stage.
“It definitely is not lost on me that there will be children that will come to see this, that will get to see themselves in me, and it’s incredible,” he says. “It’s hard to explain, but it feels so right and there can be a sense of obligation or a sense of, ‘well now I have to make sure that we do this right because we don’t get a lot of opportunities like this very often so it has to be perfect.’”
Despite his experience and a proven skillset, Williams often feels the pressure to be perfect and to prove that he belongs in a leading role.
“I have the expectation that since we don’t have roles like this often, I have to be perfect, but also I have to prove why I’m deserving of an opportunity like this,” says Williams. “People don’t always think that we earn these roles, but because there’s apparently less of us out there, they’re given to us. There’s a lot that we try to navigate with that.”
Maseka and Williams on choosing your own path
Historically, Black creatives in this city have had limited options when it comes to what they can do, when and how. But both Maseka and Williams are carving their own paths and designing realities for themselves and future creatives.
“I just want to feel like I belong on that stage the exact same way that everybody else does,” says Williams. “I don’t want to have to prove anything. Unfortunately that is not the case for us, but it’s the reality that I’m choosing for myself.”
Maseka also embodies principles of choosing her own reality as she continues to carve out her own artistic path, finding freedom in pursuing her passions authentically.
“The way that I’ve chosen to live my life as a multi-disciplinary artist has been the most freeing thing,” she says. “I made the decision a couple of years ago, instead of being like ‘Is it singing? Is it film? Is it opera? Is it all of the things?’ It’s like, ‘why not have it all?’”
By embracing her various talents, Maseka has been able to grow in all the creative areas that inspire her, not limiting herself to one discipline. “One month I’m making a film, the next month I'm on stage singing beautiful music in the Jack Singer,” she says. “to live an expansive creative life has been so fulfilling.”
Maseka and Williams on Ragtime
While Ragtime has been in production since the ‘90s, this adaptation is unique, particularly because of the collaboration with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra.
“We haven’t done anything like this in Calgary,” says Williams. “I think people will be completely blown away by the scale, by the beauty of the show, by the messages of the show, and I think the orchestra just enhances all of that. I think it’s going to be pretty spectacular.”
“There’s going to be such a grand and decadent feel to this adaptation,” says Maseka. “I’m so excited for people to get to experience that as well, particularly in this city. What a great gift to give to ourselves and to those who are coming to watch.”
Ragtime: A Concert Performance runs for three performances only on Friday & Saturday, June 10 & 11, 2022 at the Jack Singer Concert Hall at Arts Commons.