Content warning: The play ‘Blackbird’ contains themes of sexual abuse that could be triggering to some audience members
The mission of Intrepid Theatre can really be summed up by the definition of the name itself: the founders hope to bring unique, ambitious stories to Flint and tell them on stage with fearlessness.
Their upcoming production of Blackbird at Good Beans Café fits that mold. The intense drama won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Play in 2007 and was nominated for a Tony award for its Broadway revival in 2016. It chronicles the dynamic between two characters, Una, a 27-year-old woman, and Ray, a 55-year-old man, who had an inappropriate relationship when Una was 12 and Ray was 40. After being reunited years later, the story explores complex emotions, unconventional love and feelings, and the debilitating and complex impact of sexual abuse, grooming, and other controversial moral topics.
“Blackbird actually was one of those shows that we kind of founded the company because we wanted to do work like this, that felt like wasn’t getting done (in other community theatre groups), so that was kind of the founding concept,” said Lindsay Brownfield, director of Blackbird and co-founder of Intrepid Theatre Company. “I think that sometimes theatres shy away from intense subject matter. There’s the fear of alienating an audience or that people won’t like it. But people go to the theatre to have their thoughts challenged, to have new experiences, and to find new questions about what it is to be human, what it is to live in the world. I think that if we only tell stories that are fun musicals or comedies, we’re missing so much of what it is to be a person. And the unfortunate reality is that so many people will live through sexual abuse in their life. There are so many people who will be victimized or groomed, and their stories matter too. And often their stories are not told with nuance. This play really brings the nuance and I’m very excited to be able to share that with people.”
Brownfield and friend Connor Klee launched Intrepid Theatre Company about two-and-a-half years ago. They had been involved in productions in local theatre groups for about six years, enjoyed working together, and shared a passion for wanting to take on challenging stories that aren’t always performed on local stages because the subject matter is intense.
Although the theatre has a “homebase” in the Anteroom of Good Beans, they have performed in other spaces, including a recent production of Rent at the Masonic Temple in Bay City.
“We perform all over, this actually is sort of our home base, but we do kind of think of ourselves as being nomadic,” Brownfield said.
The small, intimate setting of the Anteroom actually lends itself well to the subject matter of Blackbird, though, and Brownfield is looking forward to presenting the show in that space. Performances are March 27 and 28 at 7:30 p.m. and March 29 at 2:30 p.m. Tickets are available online. Goodbeans will be open for an hour before each show starts and approximately 30 minutes after each show ends to serve patrons.
The show also stars two Flint actors, Rhea Riley Treece and Steve Morgan. Treece has performed one other show with Intrepid Theatre and has also been on stage for several Flint Community Players performances. Morgan has previously worked with Intrepid Theatre and has also performed with Dark Room Productions and other theatre groups.
“I think these types of stories are so important,” Brownfield said. “We start every rehearsal with, kind of a circle that we hold hands and talk about it for a minute before we start. And the first thing that I say every day is, ‘This is a story that deserves to be told.’ I would just encourage people who are looking for something different to come see this. This is a very immersive show. It’s very intense and, and it kind of gives you a chance to see something that is usually so personal that you would never get to witness it unless you’re a part of it. So I think if you’re looking for really personal storytelling, this is the place to go.”
Brownfield’s love for theatre began when she was a kid. She joined the drama club in high school but the artform took a backset to becoming a parent and other adult responsibilities. It was parenthood that helped her find her way back to it, though.
“My son had to do a skit for school, and so I was just teaching him some really basic things about acting – how to stand and how to project,” Brownfield said. “He was like, ‘Wow, mom, you’re really good at this! Why don’t you do theater anymore?’ And I was like … I don’t know why I don’t do theater anymore. And so I looked for community theaters near me. Flint Community Players was about 10 minutes from my house. And so I went and auditioned for a show and I had a couple of parts and I got to do props backstage and one show kind of led to another and I just kept doing things there.”
Brownfield eventually served on the Flint Community Players board of directors and began doing work at other theatres as well. Her family also loves and is involved in theatre – Brownfield has acted, been a stage manager, and directed. Her husband acts and directs, and her son acts and does lighting design.
“It just kind of took over and eventually became a thing that I was like … I wanna spend my life doing this,” Brownfield said.
Brownfield, who is originally from Waterford, has also found a home here in Flint.
“My husband is from the Flint area, and I moved here in 2017, to be closer to family on his end,” Brownfield said. “But as soon as I came to Flint, it felt like I finally had found home, in a way that I didn’t have where I grew up. So I pretty much consider myself a Flintstone through and through.”
Brownfield hopes that Intrepid Theatre continues to grow. Currently, they’re doing a few shows per year. They’re always looking for people to get more involved with their group as volunteers, performers, patrons who attend shows, or donors. They have a Facebook page that is regularly updated with news, and
Facebook is definitely probably the first line of defense. We’re always looking for volunteers. We’re looking for people who are interested in working backstage or, even if it’s just someone who wants to learn a thing and goes, I’m interested in light design. How does that work? You know, come talk to us and if we don’t have an answer, we can send you to one of the many other wonderful theaters that do. She said that they’re even willing to teach people who have passion to learn about different aspects of theatre but not much experience, and also to plug them into the thriving Flint theatre scene that includes community theatres like McCree Theatre, Buckham Alley Theatre, and Flint Community Players, a college theatre at UM-Flint, and a professional theatre at Flint Repertory Theatre.
“I love what a diverse, vibrant theater community there is here in Flint,” Brownfield said. “No matter what you’re looking for, it seems like there’s somebody who’s doing really cool work. We were so excited to join that and to look at this as an opportunity to collaborate with different groups and to also bring something that is uniquely ours.”
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