Play asks, can there be unity in the community?

by Mark Lord qboro contributor

“An ode to the old days.”

That’s how Ashlee Danielle describes “The Last Block Association,” the play in which she is currently appearing at Black Spectrum Theatre in St. Albans, with five performances remaining through Nov. 5.

Written and directed by Carl Clay, the play centers on the day-to-day issues that many urban block associations face in 21st-century America.

Clay, who grew up in St. Albans, recalled in a phone interview that his parents were both involved in their block association.

“Being a young person, you’re there when they have their meetings. You can’t help overhearing the issues that come up,” he said.

As the years went by, Clay noticed that these organizations, which address common neighborhood issues ranging from housing conditions and economic development to traffic safety and social activities, were slowly but surely disappearing.

The first in-house production of this theatrical season, the 54th for the company, the play began to take shape during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to Clay.

“No one was going anywhere,” he said, and “it was something I always wanted to do,” namely, paying tribute to a dying, longstanding tradition.

Remembering that “there was always somebody in charge” at the meetings, Clay created Danielle’s character, a woman named Pauline, whose father ran a block association.

The characters in the play “were created to represent the figures that ran the block,” Clay said. “Pauline is takecharge, like her father. She wanted to be like him.”

“It’s an homage to the way communities used to bond together,” Danielle said.

The role is the first at Black Spectrum for Danielle, who studied at both the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and St. John’s University, and it presents the actress with several challenges.

“She’s a bit older,” Danielle explained of her character. “I leaned on my grandma and mama” for inspiration. “I put on my wig, nice flat shoes, and I’m in character completely,” she said.

A native of the Bronx, Danielle feels right at home here.

“The Black theater pool in New York is very tight,” she explained, so she already knew some of her fellow cast members.

Clay pointed out that the cast is a diversified group, coming from various parts of the world.

“It’s a welcome challenge to bring everybody together,” he said.

Clay expects the show’s audiences to be diverse, too, the better to relate to the play’s storyline: “A new family moves into the neighborhood and everybody has issues with them.”

The play also “represents some young people in the play; it gets into some young people’s issues,” he added.

And he said that the show is relevant to today’s society, “reflecting demographic and sociological shifts, reflecting the neighborhood at large.” Southeast Queens, he said, is “more integrated than ever.”

At the center of the play, Pauline struggles to keep her block together despite the neighborhood’s changes.

“I’m excited. It’s a fun, heartfelt, quirky piece,” Danielle said.

Performances at Black Spectrum Theatre (located in Roy Wilkins Park, at 177th Street and Baisley Boulevard in St. Albans) continue Nov. 2, 3 and 4 at 7 p.m., Nov. 4 at 2 p.m. and Nov. 5 at 4 p.m. Tickets are $35. For further information, visit blackspectrum.net or call (718) 723-1800. Q