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King Day celebrated
 Media Credit: Gretchen Lundberg/Staff Photographer Byron Nora and Shawn Stembridge (behind), members of 7AM Productions, performed poetry in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Tuesday night at the Atwood Quarry.
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He is called the greatest philosopher of nonviolence and is also the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize.
To us, he is Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
The Mixed Blood Theater Company performed the one man performance “Dr. King’s Dream” Wednesday in the Atwood Theater in a birthday celebration for the human rights activist.
“It brought tears to my eyes,” said Tesha Alston, senior.
Marvin Grays, an actor and original member of the Mixed Blood Company, portrayed King.
Set in the Lorraine Motel in Memphis on April 4, 1968, King is portrayed as answering a young colleague’s question about the Montgomery bus boycott with an anecdote. The audience is then brought back into the time of Montgomery and Rosa Parks.
From there, King tells of the events and actions leading from 1955 up to his assassination in 1968. He tells of the adversity, pain, tragedy, courage, devotion, humanity and triumph of his nonviolent crusade for racial equality based on his dedication to an idea and to a dream.
He tells that as “the boycotts became stronger so did the threats on his life.”
King speaks of being afraid, but trusting in the Lord for strength and courage. He also tells of the 1956 lead to the busses, his visit to India to witness the suffering there and his lunch counters of the 1960s. He also remembers all his time spent in prison because of his nonviolent demonstrations.
He spoke of his meetings with Malcolm X, his march in Washington in 1962 and his march from Selma, Ala. to Birmingham, Ala.
He reminded people that “we are tied by a single destiny; what affects one man directly affects all men indirectly.”
Grays emotionally spoke to the audience. He made King’s spirit come to life, and so the obviously expected ending seemed harshly unexpected, and especially tragic.
“When King died he left behind a wife, four kids and his dream. Let us not forget that,” Grays said.
Grays is no stranger to the stage. He has plenty of background acting experience, including time spent with the Minnesota Opera Company, the Germinal Stage Denver, Bonfils Theatre, Midwest Playlabs and the Guthrie Theatre.
Besides acting, he is also a theater and English teacher at Highland Park High School in St. Paul. He has also served as an adjunct instructor in Education at the University of St. Thomas, where he earned his doctorate in 1997. Grays is a graduate of Denver University and the University of Minnesota.
He has performed “Dr. King’s Dream” since 1987 and last year he appeared in “A Jew On Ethiopia Street” for Mixed Blood’s main stage season.
Grays has been well seasoned in the career of acting. In his sophomore year in high school, his drama instructor told him that he was going to be in the spring show and has been acting ever since — a full 33 years young.
“It’s enjoyable being on stage,” said Grays. “Teaching theater at high school keeps me strong. The excitement of my students that keeps me going.”
However, he knows that acting can’t be all the time. Grays agrees that his teaching takes precedence over any other job. He also knows that acting isn’t a piece of cake.
“That (the hardest part of acting) for me, is that first moment right before you go on stage,” said Grays, “where you think what am I supposed to do? Then the character kicks in and then it just goes. There is always a separation between you and the character.”
Nissa Billmyer can be reached at: [email protected]
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