Local author bringing his story to the stage for Juneteenth celebrations

By Jazmine Knight

Ahead of St. Joseph’s Juneteenth festivities, a longtime community member and new author has become a playwright as well.

Gary Wilkinson’s book, “Walk on Water,” will turn into a theatrical production for Juneteenth, premiering 7 p.m. on June 19 and 20.

The play, inspired by the book, will tell the story of one family and their journey to freedom. Set during Civil War times, the family has to navigate their feelings and beliefs to escape oppression.

“It’s a story of people who were brought here under some very trying circumstances and decided to latch on to the concept of freedom that is preached in this country,” Wilkinson said.

He said he believes the family’s story will resonate with the audience because some of the battles in the play are similar to internal battles we still encounter today.

With this being Wilkinson’s first play from a production viewpoint, he said he is grateful for the effort and dedication the cast members bring.

“It’s very revealing of what goes on because you’ll see people who come and they say, ‘Okay, I’d like to portray that character,’” he said. “Then you see the transformation of them becoming that character, which is very important in getting the overall production into place.”

Wilkinson wants the audience to remember this family’s perseverance.

“This family did not give up,” Wilkinson said. “Their fight for freedom took them through some very trying obstacles … and in the end they came out free.”

Mike Wilson, director of the play, said this particular play is unique. Most plays are “three unities,” meaning they take place over one day and one story. However, “Walk on Water” is episodic because it has multiple time periods, locations and more.

The play combines 36 experienced and inexperienced actors. About half are Black and half are white. In the book, the story portrays about 80 characters, which means some actors play multiple characters, creating a great learning experience for those involved.

“The thing that’s really been good for me is just watching the inexperienced actors really learn how to act and how to grow, and they’re going to be good,” Wilson said.

Wilson is most excited for the audience to see the difficult topics discussed in this book, as it creates room for challenging conversations.

“Gary did not shy away from difficult topics in his book. We did not shy away from difficult topics,” he said. “And this play, and I think this play will challenge people and maybe, hopefully, make them think and grow some.”

Tickets for “Walk on Water’’ are $10 and available for purchase at https://www.stjosephmuseum.org/.