Local playwright taking audiences to ‘The Other Side Of Jordan’

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WJBF) – The Other Side Of Jordan is a theatre production that will take audiences on a journey involving faith, fathers, and family.

Playwright and Actor Samuel Williams and Co-Director and Actress Tarika Holland chat with WJBF about the inspiration behind the words and why the people should come out and witness this theatrical production.

Welcome to Celebrating Black Excellence. Samuel, you are the playwright. What inspired you to write this story?

I’m a playwright of many plays, to be honest with you, and everything that I write, I like for it to be realistic, universal, and I’m the kind of playwright that likes for you to be able to take something away other than just entertainment. So, I think that this play touches on many ideas. I’ve written it, and it actually rests on the pillars of faith, fathers, and family. So, it is something to give our fathers something to think about as far as their presence or their absence and how it impacts the family. And, of course, faith always.

Can you give us a brief synopsis about what the play is about?

The play basically is about an individual, a father, who I would describe as being somewhat atheistic. I hate to use the word abusive, but he’s somewhat abusive with his family verbally and emotionally. He’s not an old man, so he thought he had forever to live this lifestyle, and suddenly, he finds out now that he basically has a very limited number of days to live. So now the God that he said does not exist and the family that he has actually neglected for so many years now, now he has a very limited amount of time to seek their acceptance and forgiveness before he goes to the other side of the Jordan.

Tarika, you are one of the directors of this production. What made you want to sign on to be a part of this?

Oh, my goodness. There just some roles in my career that are just so divinely aligned that I couldn’t say no. I am one of the characters in the play as well, but as I have just taken initiative to make sure that this is a successful production, I have been blessed with the role of Co-Director under the mentorship of Christopher Lowe and has been absolutely incredible learning for him. He truly paved the way for Black actors here in the city, and God knew that I needed this play in this story when I did. So, I’m just feeling incredibly grateful to be using all of my gifts to make this play come to life.

You are both acting in the play as well.

Samuel: I am. It was not my original intent to be. I was very happy to have just written it, but it didn’t turn out that way.

Can you both tell me about your characters?

Samuel: Oh, well, my character is Saul, who is her dad, and I just gave you a bit of insight as far as his personality traits are concerned. We have had in doing the character analysis lengthy discussions on why Saul is this way and what makes him this way. So, I’m kind of getting around kind of going around what you ask me, but my character is a complex but simple person. He’s an ordinary person. He’s a person you will find in Black homes, White homes, rich homes, poor homes, etc. It doesn’t matter. He’s an individual who is battling with something, and he just does not know how to rid himself of it. So he takes that frustration, and it’s misdirected anger, a lot of it.

Tarika: I play Martha, so I am Saul and Beth’s daughter. She is the youngest, and she is just so courageous and strong. She’s a daddy’s girl. So watching her dad go through the things in this play, it deeply affects her and brings about a lot of emotions that she experiences. So, it is just so incredible taking on this role. Once again, I personally connect with Martha, so to be able to use my truth to bring to life her truth and also to use her truth to heal me from my truth has just been incredible, and I’m super duper grateful.

How is it for both of you playing dual roles on and off the stage?

Samuel: It’s not difficult for me per se, because I’ve done this for a while, but it is busy. You have no downtime until everything is over. So, it’s not really that difficult for me, and having written it, I have an insight to my character. So that means that I spent less time having to learn my character and analyze my character, but there’s still a level of difficulty to it because you knowing the character is one thing, but can you get the audience to know and understand your character? That’s a different thing.

Tarika: It has just been incredible to just once again use all the gifts that God has given me, and I realized that every single thing that happened prior to taking on this project has led me to this moment. You know, I think about my journey and the hardships, but also the victories, and it’s just like everything has led me here. So, I just feel incredibly grateful. I know I keep going back to gratitude. All of the things that I’ve learned along my journey are serving a purpose, and I’m able to pass on my knowledge to other actors as well. Of course, I love performance. So just to be able to do both, it is challenging, and it comes with a lot of work and responsibility, but I wouldn’t want it any other way.

Why should people come and see The Other Side Of Jordan?

I think people should come to see The Other Side Of Jordan for a plethora of reasons, but one of them is that they will not simply be entertained. I think they will be entertained, but I think they will be enlightened, and I think they will also be helped. Men, women, and the kids as well.

How can people get tickets, and when and where will the production be held?

So the show is happening Saturday, July 26^th, 2025 at Augusta University’s Maxwell Theater. You can find the tickets on Eventbrite.com. Also, we will be selling tickets at the door. So, the doors open at 2 P.M., but the show starts at 3 P.M., and we will absolutely love to see all there.