By Michael McCarthy By Michael McCarthy | June 14, 2023 | People, Feature, Art, Entertainment,
Howard University grad and POSE star Ryan Jamaal Swain returns to DC to star at Mosaic Theater Company this month.Ryan Jamaal Swain returns to DC this month in a production of one in two at Mosaic Theater Company.
Ryan Jamaal Swain doesn’t have mixed feelings about DC. “Howard University is truly my home away from home, and I always consider DC my second home because I credit the District as the place where I found myself as a man and artist,” he says. The actor and star of POSE will be in town this month during one in two (June 1-25) at Mosaic Theater Company (mosaictheatercompany.org) for Pride month. The show’s protagonist, inspired by his HIV diagnosis, resists the narrative of HIV being a death sentence and instead focuses on living and thriving. Each night, the audience votes on the roles of the show’s three actors. We chatted with Swain during rehearsals.
When Swain returns to DC, he says he loves to visit Le Diplomate, Oohs and Aahs, and Howard China.
Why do you think POSE was such a phenomenon?
It is always a dream come true to work on the front lines of social change—[work] that has influenced and changed television history and the zeitgeist of how we tell queer and black stories forever. I believe it resonated so deeply with fans and critics alike because at the core of the show were tenets that we all desire in our lives, regardless of our intersections: love, legacy, family, and community.
What are your top memories of Howard and your time in DC?
Howard was always my first choice after attending my performing arts high school back in Alabama. Beyond my stride as an artist, I k new I had some learning to d o to understand who I a m, not just what I d o. This was the first time in my life where I wasn’t the only black or brown person in a room, so that caveat became immaterial and really made me go deeper inside of myself [as an artist]. Core memories from DC are attending Barack Obama’s second inauguration; having [Obama] as our commencement speaker, which taught me the power of hope and diligence of purpose; playing the warden in Tennessee Williams’ Not About Nightingales.
What can audiences expect when seeing one in two this month?
Patrons can expect an incredibly truthful and entertaining night of theater delivered by some of the most generous and talented craftsmen I’ve ever worked with. The idea of the audience voting differently each night for an actor to play a different role can be an actor’s worst nightmare. Thinking of that [might send] me into a frenzy of anxiety and fear, but it has been liberating to b e in the room with this company of such capable and versatile artists. The use of absurdist theater has the capacity to reveal some of humanity’s deepest, darkest truths. [The show] really asks you to trust the process and, when it asks you to expand, do it with courage.
What do you hope audiences will take away from the show?
Hope, truth, healing, and a possibility of empathy and movement in the right direction to combat everything that has been plaguing the LGBTQIA community both nationally and globally. Anyone who has ever had to be courageous despite change—this is definitely for them.
When you return to DC, what are your go-to spots?
I go to my old classrooms or performance spaces at Howard University in the Chadwick Boseman College of Fine Arts, talk with my professors and faculty, and grab a hug when I can. I go to L e Diplomate (lediplomatedc.com). I treasure the National Museum of African American History and Culture (nmaahc.si.edu), and I’d definitely go to O ohs and Aahs (oohhsnaahhs.com) and Howard China (202.332.9461) for my go-to eats, baby. They do the thing!
Photography by: MATT DOYLE