BY KIT SIMPSON ’27

Marcus Kwame Anderson is a Capital Region local comic book artist whose art was featured prominently in Skidmore Theater’s Mainstage production this semester. Recently, I had the pleasure of interviewing Marcus over email to discuss his work on the production, featured below:

Kit Simpson: For those unaware, what exactly is it that you did on Black Superhero Magic Mama?

Marcus Anderson: I created the designs for the characters who inhabit the comic world portion of the play. I also created the illustrations that are projected on stage throughout the show.

KS: What is your basic process? How did you go about making the designs for this show 

MA: I began by closely reading the script and making notes. Eunice Ferreira, Gary Wilson, and I met to discuss which aspects of the story should be illustrated. Their experience with stage direction and set design was helpful as I navigated translating my comic book storytelling to a three dimensional stage inhabited by actors. From there I created rough sketches of everything before drawing the completed illustrations that appear on stage throughout the play. I also shared my costume designs with Samantha Garwood who worked with her costume team to bring them to life on stage.

KS: I know that you recently worked on the graphic novel Big Jim & The White Boy. How was the process of working on this show different than a graphic novel?

MA: The process of working on Black Super Hero Magic Mama differed from my graphic novel work in that it I had to take the nuances of theatrical storytelling into consideration. I had to consider physical space and the dimensions of the 5 screens, while still creating art in the language of comics. It was also important that my art complicated what the actors were doing on stage, and not distract.

KS: What were your particular inspirations in designing for this show? Did you have any? 

MA: My work on this show was basically a larger version of my comic work. I love manga and anime, and I had some of their aesthetics in mind as I drew the action scenes. I was definitely thinking of the classic “versus” screens of video games like Street Fighter when introducing our characters’ showdowns.

KS: Do you have any emotions you hope that the work you did on this show evoke?

MA: As I mentioned before, my job was to compliment what was in the script and what’s happening on stage. So, I hope that my work will evoke all of the emotions that are on the page and brought to life by this incredible cast. This is a powerful play. It tackles issues that I think about regularly and that many in our society don’t think about enough. What I love most is that it chooses to focus on the impact of this all too familiar form of injustice on a personal level through the lens of a grieving Black mother. This play evokes heavy emotions and still manages to make people laugh. I’m just a part of the ensemble, playing my instrument in time with the rest of the band.

Many thanks to Marcus for chatting with the newsletter and for his work on Black Super Hero Magic Mama!

Photos by Sue Kessler

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Kit Simpson ’27 is the editor-in-chief of the Skidmore Theater Living Newsletter