Ep. 83 Jason Cooper - TRU-ly a One Man Show
The famous American author Truman Capote once said, ”Life is a moderately good play with a badly written third act.”
Capote’s own life is the subject of the one man play, Tru, written by Jay Presson Allen which appeared on Broadway in 1989. The play is now being performed by local theater company Pandora Productions, a group that focuses on producing plays by and/or about LGBTQ people, as an on-demand show available for two weeks: March 26-28 and April 2-4. This production of Tru stars Louisvillian Jason Cooper, a veteran theater artist. He started his own theater company, The Chicken Coop Theater, 2 years ago which focuses on producing lesser known plays. But he is also a high school English teacher at a private school where he is engaging the next generation in the love of reading and has just completed writing a memoir as part of a Master of Fine Arts Creative Writing program. Jason has immersed himself in the life of an artist whether it be acting, directing, literary appreciation, or writing.
In Tru, Cooper helps audiences see the celebrity of Truman Capote in addition to the person he was behind the mask. Some writers just do their thing and live normal lives, while others become reclusive and avoid the limelight. But Truman Capote became a celebrity whose persona, at times, eclipsed his literary works.
Jason talks to us about why Truman Capote was so important to the gay community, why working in the theater has been such a good training ground for life as a teacher, what actual Capote mannerisms Jason felt he had to tone down so audiences would find him believable, and why he thinks bad movie musicals from the 1980s are epic.
Books Mentioned in This Episode:
1- Penny's Holiday (children's book)
2- The Color Purple by Alice Walker
3- Native Son by Richard Wright
4- Ordinary People by Judith Guest
5- The Chosen by Chaim Potok
6- Tru by Jay Presson Allison (play)
7- Answered Prayers: The Unfinished Novel by Truman Capote
8- In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
9- A Christmas Memory by Truman Capote
10- The Hate You Give by Angie Thomas
11- Let Love Rule by Lenny Kravitz
12- Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix
13- I'll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara
14- The Black Kids by Christina Hammonds Reed
Movies mentioned--
1- Capote
2- Murder by Death