Billed as “The Mother of the Blues,” Ma Rainey was one of the earliest known professional blues singer and one of the first of her generation to record.

The 1982 August Wilson play, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” now at Temple’s Randall Theater through tomorrow, was based on her career, and took its title from her song of the same name as well as making obvious allusions to her seeing her big Black bottom.

The story is set in a seedy recording study in Chicago in 1927, where a group of veteran blues players backing the legendary Gertrude “Ma” Rainey tune up, joke and jive as they await her arrival for a session. Wilson’s story is an explosive study of racism, rage and the struggle for personal dignity and freedom of expression.

Starring in the title role, Davine-Joy Randolph, enrolled in Temple University’s Theater Department, explains the challenges and complexities of doing an August Wilson play. She says, “In an August Wilson play, it’s all about relationships and communication in the connecting of individuals. It’s a challenge to remember and keep in check with my relationship with each and every character and, in a sense, trying to keep all your background stories straight.”

Additionally, she says, she’s never done more research on a character she’s playing, and that may be because Rainey was a real historical person.

“You always have to do research,” Randolph says, “but what made this more difficult is the fact that Rainey actually did exist. In that sense I had to coincide with what the history books said of her and make sure I went along to portray, as much as possible, the real person.”

In that regard, Randolph says she listened to Rainey’s music over and over again, as well as the music of Bessie Smith who, although the two singers were rivals, gave the actress a better understanding of the music of the day. She also watched them both perform to be better able to act out their gestures and mannerisms.

“It was also interesting to learn a lot about this complex character, playing a slightly controversial role in the sense that Rainey was bisexual and an African-American woman who is telling both Blacks and white off. In her day, African-Americans had no power and unless the only way anyone paid some little attention to them was if they were entertainers,” Randolph says.

Randolph was born in Philadelphia, but in the eighth grade moved with her parents to Hershey. She began singing early in childhood and became involved in several school musicals and choir performances.

“I always wanted to be a singer but didn’t get my first year of classical training until I was in the eleventh grade,” she says. “I decided I wanted to challenge myself and applied to the Interluchen School for the Arts. I attended the school during my junior summer as a classical voice/opera major, and it was quite an amazing experience.

“After that,” she says, “I decided I wanted to go to school for classical voice and I enrolled at Temple, although I eventually switched from classical training to the theater department.”

Since then, Randolph has gone on to appear in several noteworthy productions, and after graduation next year, hopes to go on to do even more.

“I may go on to do graduate work or wait awhile and do some theater – either straight theater or musical theater. I want to do it all. I feel as though if you have the talent and the tools you must use them. I think it’s selfish not to. I’m a strong believer in giving back. So if you have talent you definitely need to share it,” Randolph says.

For times and ticket information, call (215) 204-1122.