Trouble in Mind

Wiletta Mayer, “a middle-aged actress [who is] attractive and expansive in personality” (7), is the protagonist of Trouble in Mind. In the play within a play, Chaos in Belleville, Wiletta plays the role of Ruby, the mother to John’s character, Job, who is lynched for voting. Her character is supposed to tell Job to turn himself in, but she can’t bring herself to do it because it isn’t a truthful portrayal. Wiletta has been in the entertainment industry for years, and in that time has learned some of the hard truths about being a Black actress. At the beginning of the play, Wiletta is accustomed to how she is treated by white directors (like Manners) and has learned to accept it in order to keep getting roles. She sees the same hunger in young John’s eyes that she used to have, and she takes him in under her wing. She tries to teach him how to behave around the white people in the company and explains the impossible standards they have set for them as Black actors. Though she tells herself, and others, that it’s just a business, there is still a clear love for the art of storytelling.