Brave and Poignant 'Negative' Leaves a Lasting Impact

Getting an audience to laugh at jokes on race relations is no easy task. But Black Community and Student Theater Production’s “Negative”—which ran from Oct. 2 to 4 at the Adams Pool Theater—deftly achieved this.  The production highlighted the racial conversations that have become prevalent on Harvard’s campus with cohesive directing that balances satire and serious conversation.

Directed and adapted by S. Jumai Yusuf ’16, “Negative” portrays a black roommate, Veronica Scott (Caroline B. Hubbard ’17), and a white roommate, Mary Strep (Julie S. Monrad ’15) on the first day of school at Harvard. In the first act, stereotypical race relations are reversed: the white student is the minority from a humble Midwestern background, and the black roommate is a wealthy Exeter grad with a famous civil rights lawyer as a father. In line with the tone of the production, the scene is daringly funny, satirizing the microaggressions that African-American students experience. The characters’ roles switch in the nearly-identical second act, making for an uncomfortable, less humorous commentary on college racial tensions.

“Negative” handles its subject material with bravery and poignance when negotiating race politics. From the moment Veronica Scott struts onto the scene in high-heeled boots and a leather skirt and announces “I believe in egalitarianism,” it’s clear that the play embraces caricature. Although “Negative” has its fair share of classic benign microaggressions (“Your name is so exotic”), the behavior of the dominant character is often blatantly cruel and overbearing. The play even goes as far as to have the wealthy Exeter grad pay her timid roommate to carry a suitcase to storage. At first glance, it would seem easy to dismiss “Negative” as an overstated misrepresentation of college interactions. With such an exaggerated script, the challenge of staging “Negative” lies in avoiding a simplistic bully-versus-victim dynamic and keeping the scenes nuanced and relatable.

It’s a challenge that Yusuf successfully tackled. By placing “Negative” in the context of the first day at Harvard, Yusuf created a scene to which her audience could easily relate. She mirrored the lives of her audience members, minority or otherwise, by placing some very unsettling interactions into a very familiar situation. In the first act, for example, students will recognized Mary’s uncertainty that she deserves to attend Harvard, or Veronica’s reference to the abundance of Exeter grads on campus.

What made the production of “Negative” especially relatable were the commonplace details that Yusuf deliberately planted in each scene. She placed a flip phone in the hands of one character and an iPhone in the hands of the other, creating a subtle but uncomfortable contrast in socioeconomic status. As wealthy Mary of the second act pulls out her laptop, Veronica fidgets with a hand-sewn, Midwestern dress. One roommate comes to school with her belongings packed in cardboard Collegeboxes, the other with glittering garments in leather suitcases. Yusuf made sure that the play’s tension isn’t only derived from race: the disturbing interactions in “Negative” extended to disparities of wealth, regional background, and culture.

With only two characters, the realization of “Negative” as largely dependent on its actresses. Hubbard and Monrad performed with gusto, boldly adopting the mannerisms of each character. As the privileged character, they stomp confidently across the set in heels, sitting on the other girl’s desk, pawing through their roommate’s clothes, and conquering the stage of the Adams Pool Theater. Their exaggerated actions brought a comedic energy to “Negative,” and the play’s brief dance scenes (complete with fabulous moves from Hubbard and fantastic robot from Monrad), were nothing short of hilarious. As the minority roommate, the actresses displayed insecurity and distress, at times looking as if they were on the brink of tears.

The set was brilliant in its simplicity. With two desks, two closets, and a few suitcases, it had only the essential props demanded by the script and didn’t distract from the movements or lines of the actresses. The lighting was bright and harsh, reminiscent of a typical dorm room, except for one moment when a spotlight shone upon the privileged roommate as she launched into a speech about her racial tolerance. The lighting choice came unexpectedly but made for an amusing little monologue.

The play was followed by a discussion led by Harvard’s Sustained Dialogue co-moderators Keyanna Y. Wigglesworth ’16 and Herman K. Bhupal ’16. Students of all races and backgrounds spoke of the play’s familiarity. “Negative,” with all of its exaggeration, brought  some very uncomfortable realities to light—and garnered a few laughs along the way.