SHE’S MAKING THE ARTS COME ALIVE

A woman walks slowly on stage, laden with her belongings. The grief of poverty, of age, of being an alien in her own land of South Africa, is in every step as she walks behind her man, Boesman. But the woman, Lena, is not just full of weariness. She is also full of courage, persistence and some kind of hope.

The portrayal of Lena, in Athol Fugard’s “Boesman and Lena,” presented in October at the Educational Cultural Complex, was so genuine that when Sylvia M’Lafi Thompson is seen later in her office in the presidential suite at the ECC, it’s hard to believe you are seeing the same woman.

But Thompson, 31, is a blend of actress and arts administrator.

After an 11-year-career in theater in Washington, including roles in “Bye Bye Birdie,” “Macbeth,” “The Mousetrap” and “Boesman and Lena;” working on productions in children’s theater; narrating numerous PBS documentaries, and working with Washington arts and humanities organizations, Thompson has been (since July) responsible for coordinating cultural affairs at the Educational Cultural Center, part of the San Diego Community College District.

Robert Matthews, president of the Continuing Education Centers of the district, said of his assistant, “M’Lafi’s role is to help make the cultural component at this site come alive. She is a priceless jewel because of her contacts with the theater world and her own artistic ability in the visual and performing arts.”

Indeed, besides participating on many levels, Thompson was responsible for bringing Coretta Scott King to the ECC recently.

“The 32-acre site is an urban community college site,” said Matthews, “serving a student body which is 45% black, 27% Hispanic, 9% Asian (and increasing) and 19% white.

“It is a one-stop center for the community--vocational education, continuing education center--and college courses are offered here also. We even have a preschool. We have students from 4 years to 76.

“We’re not only an educational arm for the San Diego Community College District, but a cultural arm in an isolated community.

“Since M’Lafi came here, we’ve had a greater degree of togetherness among the total student body (approximately 4,000), and we’ve really been providing cultural diversity in a much more meaningful way.”

Thompson’s job is intimately tied to the educational component of the center. James Hardison, dean of arts and sciences at ECC, said, “We use theater arts the way a college . . . uses a football team. People find out about our academic program through theater. It is a means of reaching out to the community to serve interests in the community. People are surprised and say, ‘Oh, it’s a college too!’ ”

Most productions, such as “The Music Man” and “Kiss Me Kate” (not including “Boesman and Lena” which was presented by Southeast Community Theater) are student productions that grow out of theater classes.

Thompson acts as liaison between the school and New York agencies to obtain material, and often assists in production needs. In addition, Hardison said, “she does a dynamic job of communicating with the community and identifying community needs and interests.”

Thompson takes her outreach work seriously. “I very much want all of San Diego to know ECC exists. And I hope to raise money because we need it. People can feel comfortable here. It’s a safe place, well lit.”

Matthews echoed Thompson’s feelings and expresses the desire at ECC to have more San Diegans attend performances. “We are isolated psychologically from the rest of the community because we are predominantly populated by non-white individuals. People consider this an inferior area. We are only isolated because of the attitude of people. I’ve been fighting this all my life, but we have faith that things will get better,” he said.

Robert Henderson, dean of education at the ECC, said, “The ECC is a focal point for the community to express cultural activities and interests, and for us all to be exposed to others of different cultures. M’Lafi promotes the cultural atmosphere and encourages an awareness in the community of what we are offering.”

Thompson reflected on her job. “I like being busy. For example, when Coretta King was here I was going for two days straight with little rest, just running to the bathroom once in awhile, throwing water on my face.

“Sometimes I’m like a chicken with my head cut off--doing everything. When we did ‘The Music Man’ I even ended up walking out on the catwalk above the stage and throwing down the snow needed in the play. Whatever works, I’ll do it. I was happy to throw the snow.

“I could eat, sleep, and die in the theater. There’s something about the greasepaint, and about backstage. It is a close encounter of the theater kind.”

Thompson’s first San Diego appearance was at the Fiesta Dinner Theater in an Agatha Christie play. There were complaints later, she said, about the casting of a black woman.

“All I could think,” she said, “is, ‘Don’t they know black people live in England, too?’ ”

This experience was not a happy introduction to San Diego for her. “But I stayed around anyway, saw what was going on, and I felt I had a perfect opportunity to contribute,” she said.

Thompson, who grew up in Chicago, has always had an appreciation for the arts. “I came from a middle-class black family,” she said, “but we supported the arts, went to art museums and libraries each week, and to the ballet and symphony. I grew up loving music, dance, art, museums. I want young people to have those same opportunities.

“Chicago is a cultural city. We had the Afro-American Theater in the ‘60s. You could go there after school and hang around--hear jazz, poetry. I saw Gwendolyn Brooks and Oscar Peterson.

“Young people need to be educated through performance and visual arts. Many use drugs. . . . If they have an outlet such as a cultural center, it can give relief, hope, and carry that person until tomorrow.”

“We need a place to come together, to talk about issues and to act. And the presence of art does wonders for old and young people.I want to do my part to make that possible.”

If she seems to have two careers at once, she also has two names at once. Born Sylvia Thompson, her “only fiance” gave her the name M’Lafi 12 years ago. “It is all I have left of a good relationship,” she said. “It means ‘the one who bears all senses.’ ” These days Thompson goes by M’Lafi. “Sometimes though, I miss being called Sylvia, and I wonder--does Sylvia exist?”

Thompson is excited about plans for the 10-year-old complex. A black-tie fund-raiser on Feb. 26 is planned, when a 28-minute film on the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (underwritten by McDonald’s) will be premiered. A performance on March 2 by the SDSU Gospel Choir and UCSD Gospel Choir is planned (ECC is closely associated with UCSD in a number of ways. Often cooperative arrangements are made for performers to appear at both facilities.)

Student productions are also on this year’s calendar--”Portrait of a Gospel Queen” (life of Mahalia Jackson), “Dark of the Moon” and “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf.”

“I’d like to do an Ed Bullins play in the fall--”The Fabulous Miss Marie”--a role I played eight years ago, but I think I wasn’t really ready for it then. I had to fight with that character. Now doing ‘Lena’ twice has developed me as a character actress. And I feel San Diego would love this play. It’s a fabulous comedy, about a three-day Christmas party in California.

“And I’d like to do a one-woman show for junior and senior high school students.”

Working directly with children also appeals to Thompson. “In Washington and Maryland, I worked with children. I haven’t done that here, and I look forward to that.

“And (she’s not through yet) I’d like to do a show for the hearing impaired. In Washington, I worked with deaf actors, and it was wonderful. I’d like to do that here at ECC because we have disabled students. There are 3,000 deaf people in San Diego.

“There are so many things on board. Basically the only problem is a lack of funding. And it’s important that people come.”