Piles of scripts and papers adorn the desk, sheet music is strewn to the side. It is obvious that Stanley Coleman juggles many tasks. In addition to being an instructor in speech and theater, he is also the director of the Nicholls Players, the theater group on campus and the community arts liaison for the University. Born and raised in Eunice, he attended Louisiana State University at Eunice while studying speech and theater during his freshman year. “It was interesting because I was one of very few black students there and actually earned a position in the SGA,” said Coleman. “The only reason I left LSUE was I wanted to get far away from home, and I felt like I would never get really good roles like if I were to attend a black university.”
The time period was the late 1960s and the civil rights movement had yet to take effect in southwestern Louisiana. “I got parts at LSUE but never anything big. It was probably indirectly discriminatory. In his (the director’s) mind, people would not accept me in certain roles. It is why I am such a strong believer in non-traditional casting today, because of my experiences.”
After one year at LSUE, Coleman went to Dillard University in New Orleans where he received his bachelor’s degree in speech and drama. Attending a historically black university, offered Coleman more opportunities to be involved in shows.
“Our director was also the director of the Dashiki Project Theatre, a black theater group in New Orleans,” Coleman explained. He then matriculated to Tulane to pursue a master’s degree in directing, but left after a semester.
“Tulane was very much like my earlier days at LSUE. I don’t remember anyone being black, either working in the department or as a student in the graduate program,” he said. When the semester finished, Coleman headed home to Eunice and began a career as an instructor first at St. Edmund’s, a Catholic elementary and high school, and then at Eunice High School.
“I had a rough start. A couple of parents challenged the school board, but they stood behind me 100 percent. I always had the support of the school board and the principals at St. Edmund’s,” Coleman remembered fondly. “It is where I learned to teach.”
After five years, Coleman accepted a teaching position at the local public high school. Things were a little bit different there. “For one thing, the parents did not take an active role in the school as they did at St. Edmund’s. There were a lot more students to choose from (for productions), but it was difficult to reach all of those students and develop a core group of actors who had experience and talent.”
Twelve years later, Coleman entered the world of higher education as an instructor at LSUE, teaching speech and drama while directing numerous student productions, a job he stayed with for seven years.
For the next three years he was in limbo, teaching off and on at LSUE while pursuing a doctorate at Louisiana State University at Baton Rouge. Currently in his fifth year at Nicholls State University, Coleman is excitedly preparing for the latest production of the Nicholls Players, “Sweeny Todd.” For the fall semester, the company will be tackling “The Laramie Project,” a play that answers the question: “How does a community deal with a tragedy and the accompanying media attention?” More specifically, they will be dealing with the Matthew Shepard case. Shepard, an openly gay college student, was beaten and left tied to a fence in Laramie, Wyo., eventually dying a week later in the hospital. The play focuses on the townspeople and how this event altered their lives forever.
“It’s a really touching show; I can’t even think much about it without tearing up. The story is not about being gay or what it is like to be gay, but how do you accept people that are different. The fact that people are gay is definitely a factor in diversity. After this play in the fall, maybe it will open up some awareness.”
In his free time, Coleman likes to play piano and sing and is even working on his own projects. He can often be found singing on weekends at The Coffee Table. “I am working on a one-man show about Paul Robeson.” He will be performing an excerpt from the show in Le Bijou Theatre in the Student Union on Feb. 19 at 10:45 a.m.
Stanley Coleman could serve as a role model for all students who face adversity, always willing to share his life experience so that others can benefit. “We are on a university campus; if we can’t teach students to acknowledge diversity, then I think we have basically failed on that issue.
