We chatted with actor Yorke Fryer about playing Dun in the play Pipeline written by Dominique Morisseau. The title of the play refers to the US ‘school-to-prison pipeline’ where underprivileged and disadvantaged students are funneled out of public education and into juvenile and criminal justice systems. Pipeline is playing at Unicorn Theatre from October 20 – November 7, 2021. Check out what Yorke Fryer had to say about being part of the play, his love for theater, and more.

How excited are you for Pipeline?

YF: I’m very excited for “Pipeline!” For several different reasons. The first reason is that this is the very first time that I will have ever worked in the city that I grew up in.  I’ve been acting as a professional for 18 years, and the work has never brought me back to Kansas City. So I am very excited that it finally has. The second reason it is so exciting to be a part of this production is because of the timing. 

Covid had largely ended live events, and it has been some time since actors and patrons could be brought together for this magic we call theatre. It’s very powerful to be in this first wave of shows as theatre returns. The third would be Dominique Morisseau’s play. Morisseau is such a powerful writer and as an actor you don’t always get to work with this kind of material. The message, the characters and dialogue are an actor’s dream. 

When did you fall in love with the theater and storytelling?

YF: I’ve have always liked storytelling and theatre, but I guess the moment I “fell in love” with it would be in the summer before my senior year of high school. A group from my high school went to New York City. A part of that trip was to see a couple Broadway shows. I really wanted to see some “real” Broadway shows, but “The Lion King” won out. Mostly because a girl who had graduated from Blue Springs High School (my Alma Mater) was working on the puppets for the show, and she could get us tickets. At that time there was about a 2-3 year wait to get tickets to see “The Lion King,” but still… I would have made a different choice. So we headed to the theatre and I ended up on the aisle. We were in the balcony, right up front, and then “Nantsingonyamabagithi Baba”!

These words came out of a man who was standing right beside me. I hadn’t seen him there, but was startled because the darkness into the theatre had hid him. Then singers from around the theatre started singing and the “Circle of Life” began. Before the song was over, I had seen lions walk across the stage, and a life size elephant walk up the aisle. As the last words were sung, “the circle of life….” There was a powerful drum beat, the lights went out, and I sat there, eyes open, tears running down my face… and in love.

What advice would you give to people pursuing acting?

YF: If you are going to do it, and you hope to make money doing it, go all in. This is a hard business to do halfway. If you head to Chicago, Kansas City, Los Angeles, or New York with the thought that you’ll go for 2 or 3 years to give this acting thing a try, I don’t know if it’s worth going. It could take you 2-3 years to learn and feel really settled in the town you’ve chosen. So, if you really want it, go for it, work hard and also be patient.

What do you enjoy the most about acting?

YF: What I enjoy most about acting are the stories and the characters. It is the challenge of finding, whoever it is you are supposed to be today, inside you. As actors, we read scripts and plays, and as we do, at times we will meet characters and stories that sing to our hearts. Some of these characters and stories are actually scary. Let’s take “Pipeline” as an example. To truly become Nya, a mother who is trying to save her son’s life, you have to go to a place where you can hopefully understand what Nya is feeling. To truly understand what it’s like to fear for your child’s life is scary. It’s a scary place to go, but when we go to these places as artists, then the audience can go too. 

And when the audience can go to some of these places, oftentimes they walk out changed by the journey. It’s easy for us to talk about the “Pipeline” of young black men to jail or death, but what is it like when actors can bring you into the home of a real kid stuck in that “pipeline”. What happens when we start to like that kid, or understand his mom and his dad? That’s when we have compassion and empathy, and the conversation can turn from numbers and statistics to people and love. That’s why I do what I do, so people can see a powerful piece of art, and walk away changed.

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