Enacting texts: African American drama, politics, and presentation in the African American literature classroom.

Enacting texts: African American drama, politics, and presentation in the African American literature classroom. Teaching drama can be made particularly effective by emphasizinghow, through performance, drama's accessibility to an audience canbe politically potent. Relation of drama to audience remains a richresource in terms of political expression. As a result, the genre, ofall types of literature, is perhaps the most directly suited toaddressing compelling public as well as private issues of life and hasoften been used as a device that publicly evokes issues of politicalchange, particularly in the 20th century. (1) In African Americanliterature African American literature is the body of literature produced in the United States by writers of African descent. The genre traces its origins to the works of such late 18th century writers as Phillis Wheatley and Olaudah Equiano, reached early high points with slave narratives , this political connection with the audience is intensifiedby the radical nature of black drama as it expresses protest and at thesame time embodies acts of communal resistance and reaffirmation for andwith the audience. My premise in teaching African American African AmericanMulticulture A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa.See Race. drama has been that it is agenre unavoidably tied to the mission of black resistance and revolutionin response to the unique historical position of African Americans inthe U.S. This relationship with resistance is enhanced by specializedcharacteristics of black drama that seek to emphasize, above all, thegood of community and thus reflect the inherited African concept ofNommo. While Nommo is not the only disposition through which studentsmay view black drama, the concept's value here is that it can beseen as a defined approach that encapsulates the more generalinterpretations of African American protest literature, an approachintended to ultimately illustrate to students what makes black dramablack. Nommo, as an African-informed theoretical frame, can be appliedto all forms of African American literature since it addresses thedynamics of black art in culture-specific ways. Nommo delineates inparticular those qualities of African American literature that seem mostgrounded in both evident and hidden examples of the Africanisms thathave survived as part of African American communal experience. Existenceof these cultural connections to African culture is commonly accepted,and Nommo is one approach that effectively established through theseconnections a uniquely African American literary analysis. To engagestudents in studying the special qualities of African American drama, Iwork toward situating African American dramatic literature from withinthis theoretical framework of the concept of Nommo and from withinAfrican American historical experience. I then buttress buttress,mass of masonry built against a wall to strengthen it. It is especially necessary when a vault or an arch places a heavy load or thrust on one part of a wall. these approacheswith classroom activities that develop and reaffirm students'understanding of black drama through direct experiences uniquelyavailable in working with texts written-to-be-performed. The influenceof African American drama on black social reality as well as onspecifically black literary tradition prompts such exploration in theAfrican American literature classroom. If one can impart to students ofAfrican American literature and culture the distinguishing qualities ofAfrican American drama, this often understudied, if not ignored, segmentof African American literature can be made relevant to students'overall appreciation of African American literary accomplishment. Withthis goal in mind, Part I of this article explores a suggestedtheoretical and textual framing of African American drama, and Part IIdemonstrates how this framing can be effectively conveyed to studentsthrough classroom experiences. I In theorizing the political and social sense of black drama, theAfrican concept of Nommo is central. Nommo philosophy embracesinteraction of audience and the Word and is grounded in the African viewof rhetoric as "of community." According to according toprep.1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians.2. In keeping with: according to instructions.3. Maulana Karenga,this notion originates in "ancient African culture" andevolves "as a rhetoric of communal deliberation, discourse, andaction, directed toward bringing good into the community and theworld" (2003, 5-6). Nommo ultimately works through implied groupreaffirmation, operating primarily to create a release of the collectivespirit through communal participation. Within this emphasis on communityis a privileging of the Word as life force, essence, and creative energyaimed toward resisting any social forces that "deny or limit"respect for the "dignity and the rights of the human person,meaningful political participation, economic justice, and sharedpower" (7, 15). Thus, Nommo's force exists in the"sacred, indispensable, and creative nature of the Word" andis deployed into the world as fundamental to a self-representation whichbecomes socially and politically potent (8). And, although theprinciples of Nommo are seen by most American Afrocentric theorists asprimarily centered in black ritualized texts intended to evoke thespiritual energies of a communal audience, I would argue that induced,culturally specific awareness or activism that comes out of communalinteraction with radicalized African American dramatic texts can also beseen as comprising a kind of Nommo effect. According to Paul CarterHarrison Paul Carter Harrison (born March 1, 1936) is an American playwright and professor. BiographyBorn in New York City, Harrison earned a B.A. in psychology from Indiana University in 1957. Harrison earned an M.A. in his The Drama of Nommo, authentic outcomes of"inspired" black drama result from works that exhibit an"aesthetic preoccupation with black life," are aimed toward"mass appeal," and reinforce the "attitudes and traits... that reflect our continuity with a lifestyle that has its origin inAfrica" (1973, 195). Harrison continues that one of the mostimportant aims of black drama is to insure that "the collectedenergies of black people coalesce to define their peculiarly humanisticplace in a ravaged society" (196). Thus it seems that Nommo can bemanifested not only in ritualized events but also in the signifying andpoliticized outcomes of radical black dramatic events, particularly asthey embrace questions of social justice, unity in family and community,and cultural integrity. In my African American literature classes, the framework of Nommoprinciples effectively structures our approach to African Americandrama, allowing students to study its history from a unique culturalvantage point. I point out to students that from its inception, andparticularly during the 1960s, African American drama developed a uniquerelationship with the audience through an often, but not always,self-conscious acknowledgment of African rhetorical precepts,particularly those of Nommo. African American drama seems to engage mostoften three philosophically informed Nommo strategies throughrhetorical/political participation: securing justice and equal rightsfor all human beings, attaining communal unity, and insuring culturalintegrity. Engaging these very defined principles of African philosophy African Philosophy is a disputed term, used in different ways by different philosophers. Although African philosophers spend their time doing work in many different areas, such as metaphysics, epistemology, moral philosophy, and political philosophy, a great deal of the literature evidenced in Nommo precepts sets much of African American drama'sintent and agency apart from generalized (read Western) manifestationsof drama/audience relationships. African American drama'stext/audience relationship is unique in comparison to other culturaltext/audience interaction because of its consistent intent to privilege,as beneficiary of audience activism, a specific cultural community thatexists within a hostile environment See: operational environment. . Therefore, while embracing aspectsof performance/audience response inherent in performance texts ingeneral, black drama transforms this relationship into aculture-specific, inevitably politically resistant communal event, usingNommo's vision of the Word as a privileged and actualizing vehiclefor African American psycho-social reaffirmation. Politicization is, as a result, inherent in radicalized blackdramatic texts that embrace or express Nommo precepts. (2) AfricanAmerican drama can, consequently, be seen as at times reaching beyondtraditional concepts of performance, becoming, rather, livingrepresentations of political and social activism that celebrate andsupport community itself. A good analogy to demonstrate this phenomenonto students is in the occurrence of African American slave narratives.Written by individuals forbidden to learn to read or write, slavenarratives as creations of literature or the expression of literacyitself became acts of defiance; the Word thus evolved as a privilegedterrain precisely because of its enforced inaccessibility. Appropriationof the literary text becomes here a concrete representation of communalvoice and presence. Literary, particularly dramatic, works of AfricanAmericans then can be worthy of attention as art that can actuallyembody as well as evoke acts of protest and resistance aimed towardchanging racial oppression in America through the acknowledgement ofcommunal empowerment and worth. Concerning African American political history, demonstrating tostudents that black art can be Nommo (an organic agent of black communalresistance) is of value in another way. Our approach can aid inexplaining how dramatic art has also played an essential role concerningthe challenge of controlling presentation and representation of blacksin America. As Harry Elam has argued, the question of blackrepresentation has "played a significant role in the history ofAfrican American theater and performance" (2001, 6). In hisintroduction to African American Performance and Theater History, Elamacknowledges a "social efficacy of black theatricalrepresentation" and its "ability to affect thought, behavior,and even social action" (6). This ability is of vital concern inunderstanding the social implications of African American manifestationsof Nommo on the stage. As their literary tradition illustrates, forAfrican Americans the politics of black representation, both unavoidableand conflict-ridden, has demanded mediums capable of expressing theracialized polarization of blacks in America and of evoking from theblack community a focused response to destructive, vilifyingstereotypical images. I find that I can best demonstrate to studentsthrough various examples that African Americans have responded to thisneed by recognizing and embracing the potential of drama as such amedium. To illustrate, representational rep��re��sen��ta��tion��al?adj.Of or relating to representation, especially to realistic graphic representation.rep politics was at issue in thevery first black theater productions of the African Grove The African Grove was a theater founded and operated by African Americans in New York City in 1821, a full six years before enslavement of blacks was outlawed in New York state. Among its stars was Ira Aldridge. Theatre in1816, in the phenomenon of blackface minstrelsy min��strel��sy?n. pl. min��strel��sies1. The art or profession of a minstrel.2. A troupe of minstrels.3. Ballads and lyrics sung by minstrels. , and, as mentionedabove, through the protest period of the Harlem Renaissance Harlem Renaissance,term used to describe a flowering of African-American literature and art in the 1920s, mainly in the Harlem district of New York City. During the mass migration of African Americans from the rural agricultural South to the urban industrial North , and themilitant drama of the 1960s and 1970s--all of which have anticipated thecontinued recognition of the political potential of drama evidenced incurrent postmodernist work. Students gain insight into this historical trajectory by firstexploring how social and racial politics were actually imposed upon theearliest African American theatrical troupe. I take time to examine withstudents events surrounding Mr. Brown's African GroveTheatre--demonstrating that from its very beginning the African Grovetheater experiment can be seen as a metaphor both for the political andsocial experiences of African Americans and for their theater history.Students respond with enthusiasm in discussing the implications of Mr.William Brown's purpose in opening his theater group in GreenwichVillage Greenwich Village(grĕn`ĭch), residential district of lower Manhattan, New York City, extending S from 14th St. to Houston St. and W from Washington Square to the Hudson River. . (3) They find it ironic that, in spite of his intent to merelyenrich his community's social lives when he began to entertain withteas and dramatic presentations, Brown was eventually forced to changevenues because of the racial and economic climate in New York New York, state, United StatesNew York,Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of at thetime. Students are also struck by the injustice of the manner in whichBrown's theater was consistently harassed by white patrons, thepress, and the police, and then eventually shut down by New York SheriffMordicai Noah in 1822 (Hay 1994, 8). Illustrating the significance of these events in terms of AfricanAmerican dramatic history gives students an initial perspective of theimpact of white oppression on the experiences of African Americans intheir daily lives as well as in their artistic efforts. In this case,white harassment Ask a Lawyer QuestionCountry: United States of AmericaState: NevadaI recently moved to nev.from abut have been going back to ca. every 2 to 3 weeks for med. forced this originally benign, escapist theatricalendeavor into a politically resistant underground theater thatultimately demonstrated two Nommo principles: rhetorical/politicalactivism toward social justice for the black community and theconsequent reaffirmation of African American cultural integrity. Inanswer to his experience with racist harassment, Brown created the firstAmerican First American may refer to: First American (comics), A superhero from America's Best Comics First American, a division of the now-defunction Bank of Credit and Commerce International. "guerrilla theatre," moving his outlawed theaterperformances and his committed communal audience from undisclosed placeto place. (4) Indicative of his communal spirit, Brown ultimatelyreturned to the closed African Grove Theater in spite of the threats ofthe authorities and continued his performances until 1823 when hedisappeared from historical records (Hay 1994, 11). I also explore with students the subject matter of Brown'swork as an example of his efforts toward communal reaffirmation andempowerment. His performance pieces, like the tenor of his performancesthemselves, evolved from well-wrought, imitative im��i��ta��tive?adj.1. Of or involving imitation.2. Not original; derivative.3. Tending to imitate.4. Onomatopoeic. productions ofShakespeare and Euro-American dramatic pieces into openly radicalprotest drama. Brown added abolitionist issues to Euro-Americanmelodrama melodrama[Gr.,=song-drama], originally a spoken text with musical background, as in Greek drama. The form was popular in the 18th cent., when its composers included Georg Benda, J. J. Rousseau, and W. A. Mozart, among others. and, ultimately, composed the first written and producedAfrican American political play, The Drama of King Shotaway. Although nocopy of this play survives, its political and cultural implications ascommunity-based resistance in terms of African American dramatictradition are significant due in part to a number of historical facts. Asubtitle sub��ti��tle?n.1. A secondary, usually explanatory title, as of a literary work.2. A printed translation of the dialogue of a foreign-language film shown at the bottom of the screen.tr.v. of the play on a playbill play��bill?n.A poster announcing a theatrical performance.playbillNouna poster or bill advertising a playNoun 1. suggests that Brown based KingShotaway upon the Black Carib insurrection A rising or rebellion of citizens against their government, usually manifested by acts of violence.Under federal law, it is a crime to incite, assist, or engage in such conduct against the United States. INSURRECTION. at St. Vincent Island St. Vincent Island may mean: S?o Vicente, Cape Verde, one of the Barlavento islands Saint Vincent (island), the largest part of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, in the Caribbean St. Vincent Island, Florida, a barrier island in the United States in1795. Brown claims to have written the play from his own personalknowledge of this uprising. In the St. Vincent rebellion, Creolenatives--the Black Caribs--stormed a British fort, taking many lives andsucceeding in ousting the British for one day. By the following day, theBritish had in turn routed the Caribs, killing their King Chatoyer inthe confrontation (Hay 1994, 11). Brown's decision to signify onthese revolutionary events suggests a parallel to his own conflict. (5)The New York white political and theatrical establishment forced hishand in expressing his anger and disgust at the vicious reception of hiswork. Students usually see by this point that, in employing the verymedium he was forbidden to use and by inspiring and actualizing thecontinued support of his family and patrons, Brown defied theinfringement of his freedom through an appropriation of art andeconomics reflective of social and political activism. To the benefit ofthe black community, he was temporarily successful in challenging theeconomically and culturally established white theaters' monopoly onselling theatrical productions. However, as in the failure of theCaribs, Brown's theatrical revolt was brought forcefully to an end.This brief history is a most effective approach in illustrating tostudents how African American drama evolved from what became a verypoliticized beginning and at the same time demonstrates to them thepolitical potential of drama as a genre in general. Of course, it is necessary for students to be aware that theaterhas been used as an effective tool in serving dominant cultures as well.There are the cases, for example, of the European medieval church andits mystery plays, of the Aristotelian premises of poetics, or, closerto home, of the blackface minstrelsy performances so common in thenineteenth century here in the U.S. In attempting to explain this viewof drama as a vehicle of dominant discourse, I find it fruitful todiscuss as an example the impact of minstrelsy, particularly in thehistory of African American drama. Students are both shocked andfascinated by the complex role minstrelsy has played in the creation ofstereotypical images of African Americans that exist even to this dayand the function of performance as crucial to the social and politicalproliferation proliferation/pro��lif��er��a��tion/ (pro-lif?er-a��shun) the reproduction or multiplication of similar forms, especially of cells.prolif��erativeprolif��erous pro��lif��er��a��tionn. of those images. I explain to students that whiteblackface minstrelsy, as Eric Lott Eric Lott (b. 1959) is an American Professor of English and social historian.Lott received his Ph. D. in 1991 from Columbia University. He has been a faculty member in the Department of English at the University of Virginia since 1990. has convincingly shown in Love andTheft: Blackface Minstrelsy and the American Working Class (1995),subconsciously sub��con��scious?adj.Not wholly conscious; partially or imperfectly conscious: subconscious perceptions.n.The part of the mind below the level of conscious perception. Often used with the. endeavors to define whiteness by constructing opposingimages of black physicality and culture. An active force in the successof blackface minstrelsy was precisely its revaluation RevaluationA calculated adjustment to a country's official exchange rate relative to a chosen baseline. The baseline can be anything from wage rates to the price of gold to a foreign currency. In a fixed exchange rate regime, only a decision by a country's government (i.e. of a white senseof decorum DECORUM. Proper behaviour; good order. 2. Decorum is requisite in public places, in order to permit all persons to enjoy their rights; for example, decorum is indispensable in church, to enable those assembled, to worship. and acceptability through the open ridicule of"darky dark��yalso dark��ie ?n. pl. dark��ies OffensiveUsed as a disparaging term for a Black person.Noun 1. " ignorance, vulgarity and physical excess. Lott focuseson this construction, arguing that "minstrelsy's contradictoryappeal" was an "attempt to shore up 'white' classidentities by targeting new enemies such as immigrants, blacks, andtipplers." Thus early minstrelsy's "plots and typesalready hinted at the uses of minstrel acts for whites insecure abouttheir whiteness (1995, 137)." (6) I explain and describe tostudents different examples of black racial stereotypes most commonlylinked with minstrelsy tradition: the mammy, the pickaninny, the sambo,and the slick coon coon:see raccoon. . (7) I then point out how each of these identitiesreifies the constructed characteristics of blacks as asexual asexual/asex��u��al/ (a-sek��shoo-al) having no sex; not sexual; not pertaining to sex. a��sex��u��aladj.1. Having no evident sex or sex organs; sexless.2. ,animalistic, shiftless, and ignorant. I also point out that there is anadded twist to the white social necessity of these creations. AsLott's title Love and Theft suggests, there seemed a fascination,if not envy, for the very aspects of stereotyped black life that whiteblackface minstrels ridiculed in their acts. These aspects included apassion for life and a freedom in dance and expression, and, ultimately,raise fascinating questions as to the considerable influence of blacklife and culture on white Americans. Students can see from thesecontradictions the significance of race performance in terms of socialand personal affirmations of identity and power. Another compelling issue that elucidates for students thecomplexities of the historical and ideological role of blackfaceminstrelsy, particularly as an example of an early manifestation ofNommo, is in a development of black-face minstrelsy performance thatoccurs in the latter half the 19th century. A number of African Americanactors during that period, compelled by a limited theatrical market,actually began to perform in blackface themselves. These historicalevents are significant examples for students concerning appropriation ofand signification SIGNIFICATION, French law. The notice given of a decree, sentence or other judicial act. on the minstrel mask. We explore as a class howeventually whole African American minstrel troupes began to put blackcork on their own already brown or black faces as a way to improve thepossibilities of their financial success as actors. In some instances,black blackface performers became more successful artistically andfinancially than their white counterparts. We also examine how suchincidences of blacks in blackface suggest an irrepressible mirroringeffect. African American performers established a resistant strategyaimed toward the development of equal dignity for blacks by in somecases deriding whites through successfully perfecting their own art ofimitating whites in blackface. I explain that whites were imitating andderiding, through stereotypical blackface performances, the antics ofplantation blacks who originated this cultural phenomenon by parodyingthe behaviors of their white owners. Our discussion thus arrives at themanner in which layers of ontological on��to��log��i��cal?adj.1. Of or relating to ontology.2. Of or relating to essence or the nature of being.3. meaning can thus complicate analready mystifying mys��ti��fy?tr.v. mys��ti��fied, mys��ti��fy��ing, mys��ti��fies1. To confuse or puzzle mentally. See Synonyms at puzzle.2. To make obscure or mysterious. American racial phenomenon. We also conclude that, asthese early performances demonstrate, embracing performative per��for��ma��tive?adj.Relating to or being an utterance that peforms an act or creates a state of affairs by the fact of its being uttered under appropriate or conventional circumstances, as a justice of the peace uttering Nommoprinciples of resistance is at times a risky enterprise. For example,students often observe astutely that, in their signifying performances,blacks in blackface could not escape perpetuating the stereotypes thatthey wished to subvert. Such an observation is of course a valuablediscussion point and leads to animated exploration of yet anotherparadox of minstrelsy history. I ultimately observe to students that, inany event, appropriation of blackface by blacks can still be seen as acompelling example of Nommo--black performers signifying on theminstrelsy performance and thus attempting to refigure African Americanracial reality by rhetorically reclaiming and reaffirming black culturalintegrity. For students to see the continued trajectory of African Americandramatists' resistant activism informed by Nommo strategies towardsocial justice, African American communal unity, and cultural integrity,a look at the new theorists of the early 1900s is the next necessarypoint of reference. Our class explores the work of the New Negroes whowere calling for an outright confrontation and negation NEGATION. Denial. Two negations are construed to mean one affirmation. Dig. 50, 16, 137. of theassumptions of minstrelsy stereotypes. Discussing the two schools ofAfrican American thought concerning black art aesthetics allows me toemphasize the vigorous debate in the 1920s on art and the politics ofrace and representation. We look at the resulting aesthetic divisionwithin the Black dramatic community, precipitated by the Lockeian and DuBoisian schools of drama. I emphasize to students that the literaryfruits of this debate have secured a significant place for AfricanAmerican drama in the development of art aesthetics in African Americanliterary tradition. The early polemical po��lem��ic?n.1. A controversial argument, especially one refuting or attacking a specific opinion or doctrine.2. A person engaged in or inclined to controversy, argument, or refutation.adj. essays on black art aestheticscentered on drama and engaged the following two sides of the debate: thepurpose of art seen as celebrating folk tradition, a livingrepresentation of the Nommo precept for establishing cultural integrity;or the purpose of art seen as a political tool for the uplift of thepeople, informed by the Nommo precept of rhetorical activism towardsocial justice. Students observe that, because of the elements of Nommoevident in both approaches, they are not surprised to see that theseseemingly opposing philosophies ultimately establish a foundation for asynthesis of both views on black art aesthetics in contemporary blackdrama. They quickly observe that both schools were very much concernedwith the positive development of black communal unity and empowerment. I also point out to students that the work of more radical blackrevolutionary dramatists of the 1960s, as in Ed Bullins's NewLafayette Theatre Lafayette Theatre may refer to: Lafayette Theatre (Suffern), in Suffern, Rockland County, New York, USA Lafayette Theatre (Harlem), in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA , Amiri Baraka's Black Arts Repertory Theatre repertory theatreProduction of several different plays in a single season by a resident acting company. The plays chosen may be classic works by famous dramatists or new works by emerging playwrights, and the companies that perform them often serve as a training ground for , orthe Free Southern Theatre, extended, by demanding radical change, theaesthetics debate begun by early theorists. (8) This more contemporaryapproach readily engages students' interests. For example, theyoften make reference to their parents' experiences and thus seem tobe able to personalize per��son��al��ize?tr.v. per��son��al��ized, per��son��al��iz��ing, per��son��al��iz��es1. To take (a general remark or characterization) in a personal manner.2. To attribute human or personal qualities to; personify. their responses. The class explores first themilitants' call for a violent, didactic di��dac��ticadj.Of or relating to medical teaching by lectures or textbooks as distinguished from clinical demonstration with patients. aesthetic, and studentsseem fascinated with the direct, politicized rhetoric of black militanttheater. When students are asked to contrast the more traditional blackprotest drama (which envisioned a strategy emphasizing shared power)with the theatre of black revolution (which demanded seizing power),they are at times puzzled as to how both can be termed black protestdrama. I emphasize the importance of historical context and progressionhere. I then introduce more fully black militant drama's consciousespousal of African-informed performance strategies evidenced in itscelebration of and emphasis on agit-prop and ritual drama. (9) Both ofthese types, while commonly seen as identifiable elements of westernexperimental dramatic traditions, are also profoundly related to Nommo,as black militant dramatists implement them in their pursuit of socialjustice for African Americans and through their call for communal unityunderwritten by a reaffirmation of black culture. To illustrate here, I choose for students a relevant exampleconcerning the evolution of black militant drama. We turn to thetheories and practices of black theater activist John O'Neal, aco-founder of the Free Southern Theater. His "Dialog: The FreeSouthern Theater" argues for a black political drama that openlyembraces communal responsibility and reaffirmation. O'Nealdescribes the Free Theater concept: "By free we mean more than thefact that the theatre doesn't charge anything. We mean we areseeking a new kind of liberation--a liberation from old forms oftheatre, old techniques and ideas" (Moses, et al. 1999, 103-04).This concept, he continues, was developed through "a personalcommitment to theatre, a belief that the theatre is the most universalof the arts ... at the intersection between political and artisticforces. Its forms, from the Greeks on, have been concerned with thecommunity in conflict" (104). For students, this example of theFree Southern Theater, conceived by John O'Neal and Gil Moses,illustrates effectively how a theater can be designed toward"grafting an idea onto a community" (105). O'Neal'sgroup saw the southern populous as a community unique in its needs since"modern American culture is biased against things domestic,southern and rural" (1999a, 98). Envisioning and producing atheater for the poor, rural, black southerner, the founders recognizedthe value of art as depending "on its ability to illuminate theimportant political and aesthetic concerns of life," thusprivileging its role in assuring the good of the community (99). The Free Southern Theater's history demonstrates to studentshow carefully this theater nurtured its connections to the southerncommunity. Founded in Mississippi in 1963 the Free Southern Theater inconjunction with the African American militant movement had relocated toNew Orleans New Orleans(ôr`lēənz –lənz, ôrlēnz`), city (2006 pop. 187,525), coextensive with Orleans parish, SE La., between the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain, 107 mi (172 km) by water from the river mouth; founded by 1966, establishing its headquarters in the Desire StreetHousing Project, notorious for its high rates of joblessness and poverty(Dent and Ward 1999, 124). The group toured until the 1970s in theblack-belt South, through Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia,in communities as small as county seats and as sophisticated as Atlantaand Memphis. Surviving primarily by donations, with casts sometimesboarded in the black community's sharecropper homes, churches, andschools, the troupe is recognized as one of the first to introduce blackcommunity theater to the South (Moses et al. 1999, 105). Their view oftheater as "a living art" where "immediate communicationtakes place between the actors on stage and the audience"encouraged an experience in which "the audience is confronted witha theatrical not a literary experience" (O'Neal 1999b,118-19). O'Neal sums up the political stance of the Free SouthernTheater: "in the creation of a relevant theater the development ofan active and critical rather than a passive audience is the mostimportant task" (120). Through a close study of some of the productions of the NewSouthern Theater, students see first-hand the manner in which AfricanAmerican political drama can affect as well as reflect contemporaryblack social experience. A discussion of the theater's choices ofperformances and the subsequent varied reception of these plays (likeDuberman's In White America or Beckett's Waiting for Godot Waiting for Godottramps consider hanging themselves because Godot has failed to arrive to set things straight. [Anglo-French Drama: Samuel Beckett Waiting for Godot in Magill III, 1113]See : DespairWaiting for Godot orBrecht's The Rifles of Senora Carrar) in the rural, deep Southdemonstrates vividly for students the theater's emphasis on thepublic element of drama and its consequent capacity to performativelyaffect black audiences' perceptions of communal responsibility. Forexample, O'Neal points out that the experimental decision toperform Beckett to uninitiated black audiences was disputed by many:"Time and again, the question was raised, 'What possiblerelevance do you imagine Godot to have with the lives of Black people inthe South?"' O'Neal continues that "one of the mostcommon arguments against the play was that it was too 'complicatedand intellectual' for the 'ignorant rural mind.'"However, O'Neal found the contrary to be true, observing that"not only is this a condescending and patronizing argument, itillustrates misplaced mis��place?tr.v. mis��placed, mis��plac��ing, mis��plac��es1. a. To put into a wrong place: misplace punctuation in a sentence.b. Western values, presuming pre��sum��ing?adj.Having or showing excessive and arrogant self-confidence; presumptuous.pre��suming��ly adv. education as aprerequisite for intelligence" (1999b, 118). In fact, this stanceis proven accurate by the black audience itself, as O'Nealdemonstrates through some of their responses. In one example, withoutformal study of literature, Fanni Lou Hamer, a community member ofRuleville, Mississippi Ruleville is a city in Sunflower County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 3,234 at the 2000 census. GeographyRuleville is located at (33.726883, -90.549191)GR1. , was still able to see Godot as a kind ofcommunal allegory allegory,in literature, symbolic story that serves as a disguised representation for meanings other than those indicated on the surface. The characters in an allegory often have no individual personality, but are embodiments of moral qualities and other abstractions. . O'Neal offers her comments: "Every day wesee men dressed just like these, sitting around in bars, pool halls andon street corners waiting for something! They must be waiting for Godot.But you can't sit around waiting. Ain't nobody going to bringyou nothing" (119). O'Neal concludes that such a responsedemonstrates how, although those without education may be lacking incertain capabilities, "they are no less intelligent. Often the veryabsence of those skills forces people to greater application of creativefacilities simply in order to survive" (118). Hamer'sinterpretation of the play in terms of a southern black woman'spersonal understanding is a powerful demonstration, as O'Neal makesclear, that black drama projects that embrace principles of communalresponsibility and cultural integrity can immediately address in anaccessible manner, and even embody, social themes and subject matterrelevant to African American life, within and, by extrapolation (mathematics, algorithm) extrapolation - A mathematical procedure which estimates values of a function for certain desired inputs given values for known inputs.If the desired input is outside the range of the known values this is called extrapolation, if it is inside then , outsideof the South. II At this point in our exploration, it is feasible to actualize forstudents the above-described living processes inscribed in��scribe?tr.v. in��scribed, in��scrib��ing, in��scribes1. a. To write, print, carve, or engrave (words or letters) on or in a surface.b. To mark or engrave (a surface) with words or letters. in the specialfeatures of African American drama experience. I find that my classesgrasp the idea of African American self-conscious appropriation of dramaas a communally responsible act more effectively and with moreenthusiasm if the students are involved in activities designed toemulate actual black performance and its connection to audienceinvolvement. Designed to recreate black dramatic texts as living eventsreflecting a Nommo inspired privileging of the Word, these activitiesrequire students to participate in dramatic presentations of chosenscenes from specified plays with a focus on students' experiences.Emphasizing in the moment the political and social impact of drama uponAfrican American lives African American Lives is a PBS television miniseries hosted by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. focusing on African American genealogical research. It aired in February 2006, and included research into the ancestral lineages of nine prominent African Americans: Gates, Whoopi Goldberg, and literature, the assignments at the same timeencourage students to experience first-hand the performativerelationship between actors, plays, and audience. The activities enhancestudents' appreciation of the impact of dramatic texts upon whatstudents see as the real world they live in. More specifically, theassignments involve students in understanding how the African Americanplay as living political text can work directly upon the audience,making immediately available the dramatist's claims for socialjustice, communal unity, and cultural celebration. Finally, moregenerally, these presentations at the same time work well towardpainlessly, perhaps even enjoyably, developing student skills of themeidentification, public explanation, and interpretation. There are a number of general strategies for guiding studentstoward instructive dramatic presentations that enhance the experience ofdrama in the African American literature classroom. Presentations shouldnot occur until the second half of the semester, and plays to beperformed should be assignments that have already been read earlier inthe term. A directive hand-out with summations of themes and questionsfor students as they reread Verb 1. reread - read anew; read again; "He re-read her letters to him"read - interpret something that is written or printed; "read the advertisement"; "Have you read Salman Rushdie?" their chosen play is necessary to encouragestudents to select effectively the scenes they will perform (see examplein Appendix A). This strategy also gives students specific ideas to lookfor and discuss as they prepare their presentations. After students havechosen their play, I allow for two to four class periods--depending onlength--for group meetings and actual presentations. I usually havealready assigned groups (most effectively four to six students) and havehad them do other in-class activities before assigning presentation worksuch as this. This approach creates a sense of safety and familiarityamong students that will facilitate their confidence in working witheach other and before fellow students. There should be on average fiveor six groups in a class. Each group meets for ten to fifteen minutes atthe end of a class period and chooses a play from a list of three orfour with no more than two groups for each play. After the plays have been chosen, students are given play-specificguides to consider as they reread the play for their homeworkassignment. A challenging part of the assignment is that they must alsocreate a prologue pro��loguealso pro��log ?n.1. An introduction or preface, especially a poem recited to introduce a play.2. An introduction or introductory chapter, as to a novel.3. An introductory act, event, or period. or epilogue ep��i��loguealso ep��i��log ?n.1. a. A short poem or speech spoken directly to the audience following the conclusion of a play.b. The performer who delivers such a short poem or speech.2. that constructively explains their choiceof scene in relation to themes or questions raised by the text. The nextclass day, I allow student groups a preliminary meeting of about fifteento twenty minutes to choose scenes and players based upon the handoutsthey have received and their careful readings. The groups are requiredto identify and commit to their chosen scenes to avoid repetition and tothen strategize strat��e��gize?v. strat��e��gized, strat��e��giz��ing, strat��e��giz��esv.tr.To plan a strategy for (a business or financial venture, for example).v.intr. their performances. I insist that each student must insome way participate, if not as a character, as a narrator NARRATOR. A pleader who draws narrs serviens narrator, a sergeant at law. Fleta, 1. 2, c. 37. Obsolete. , as part of a"chorus," as provider of sets or props, or as presenters of aprologue or epilogue. I mention that students may meet outside of classto prepare if they like, but that they must certainly prepare thereading of their parts or the requirements of their participationindividually (see Appendix B). This stipulation An agreement between attorneys that concerns business before a court and is designed to simplify or shorten litigation and save costs.During the course of a civil lawsuit, criminal proceeding, or any other type of litigation, the opposing attorneys may come to an agreement encourages some amountof organization in the productions and thus promotes substantive classactivity. Also such preparation ensures the involvement and, hopefullythe enjoyment, of all students concerning the event. On the days ofperformances, I again allow ten minutes for students to meet and preparein their groups so as to produce a more cohesive and effective beginningto a busy and varied class day. Finally, I incorporate recognition forthe most effective performance (determined by the students themselves),which might include extra points or other creative ways of rewarding thewinners. This has consistently resulted in creating a certain excitementand a commitment in the students to become enthusiastically involved. I have found three African American dramas to be particularlyprovocative in terms of student engagement. Angelina Weld Grimke'sRachel (1916) is effective for its early historical significance inAfrican American dramatic protest and propaganda tradition, itsenjoyable melodramatic mel��o��dra��mat��ic?adj.1. Having the excitement and emotional appeal of melodrama: "a melodramatic account of two perilous days spent among the planters"Frank O. Gatell. scenes (students love them) and numerous vitalcharacters, and its unapologetic political stance in terms of socialjustice. Douglas Turner Ward's Day of Absence (1965) fascinatesstudents with its confrontational use of irony. Also, through its use ofmasking and its unabashed presentation of stereotype as a culturalconstruct, the play encourages spirited student performances andprovokes valuable discussion about the role of minstrelsy in the historyof stereotypes and African American drama. George C. Wolfe's TheColored Museum (1988) engages students through its bold variety incharacters and scenes that students delight in presenting, the radicaland humorous nature of the script, and the play's potential forstudying the impact of satire as a device toward communalself-awareness. The first of these plays we present, Rachel, is a valuableselection for student performance because it demonstrates that aformally traditional drama can still intend to elicit political responsefrom spectators. A play about a young black woman who refuses to marryand have children to avoid bringing black babies into a violent world,Rachel is the first serious drama written and produced by an AfricanAmerican in the 20th century. The play was produced with the help ofW.E.B. Du Bois Du Bois(d`bois, dəbois`), city (1990 pop. 8,286), Clearfield co., W central Pa., in the region of the Allegheny plateau; inc. 1881. and the N.A.A.C.P. in 1916 and subsequently published in1920. An example of a traditional African American protest andpropaganda play, it is for its time courageous in its subject matter asa text concerned with issues of racial and, more radically, sexualliberation. Grimke explores in this play questions of female autonomy,motherhood, and issues of racial violence. And Rachel is interesting tostudents particularly because of its reception. Many black criticsvirulently denounced the play for purportedly proposing racial suicide.Such reception demonstrates for students the power of drama in terms ofsocial response and indicates the varied stances that existed within theblack community concerning issues of race uplift and politicalresistance. I like to point out to students that Grimke's views on thevalue of drama in expressing the political intricacies of gender andrace are directly presented in a little-discussed article that she wrotein defense of her play, "'Rachel,' The Play of the Month:The Reason and Synopsis by the Author," published in The Competitorin 1920. In this article, Grimke reveals her insights concerning issuesof race, gender, and dramatic theory. Students are usually intriguedwith how she courageously addresses within the piece the role of whitewomen in the question of racist oppression. She argues that the majority of women, everywhere, although they are beginning to awaken, form one of the most conservative elements of society. They are, therefore, opposed to changes. For this reason and for sex reasons, the white women of this country are about the worst enemies with which the colored race has to contend. (Grimke 1991b, 414) Grimke saw drama as an accessible genre and, thus, the way to reachthese women through an appeal to their positions as mothers. Shesuggests that, "certainly all the noblest, finest, most sacredthings in their lives converge about this. If anything can make allwomen sisters underneath their skins it is motherhood" (1991b,414). In addition, Grimke wished to dramatize dram��a��tize?v. dram��a��tized, dram��a��tiz��ing, dram��a��tiz��esv.tr.1. To adapt (a literary work) for dramatic presentation, as in a theater or on television or radio.2. African Americans in apositive light. Like Du Bois, she felt that, in order to encourage theuplift of the race, a positive representation of the character of blackswas a crucial element for white sympathy. She observes in her articlethat, "since it has been understood that 'Rachel'preaches race suicide 1. The voluntary failure of the members of a race or people to have a number of children sufficient to keep the birth rate equal to the death rate. , I would emphasize that that was not my intention.To the contrary, the appeal was not primarily to the colored people, butto the whites" (413). Grimke's willingness to openly confrontwhite women and address the politics of black representation illustratesvividly for students the defiant nature of early African Americandramatic texts and how this defiance is a manifestation of theresistance tradition in Nommo, revealing a strategy toward accomplishingsocial justice through claiming a voice and establishing a presence inhistory. Students enjoy working with the numerous well-defined and spiritedcharacters in Rachel. Also, the period nature of the piece hasinfluenced students to use props and costumes, encouraging researchconcerning social aspects of life in the first decades of the 20thcentury. Although not necessarily elaborate in execution, working withthese material dimensions of performance has introduced to students someof the possible technical aspects of theater and has demonstrated thecooperative nature of staging dramatic texts. In one instance, forexample, students provided a painted bed-sheet backdrop held up by twostudents (living props) who flipped it at the appropriate time, thusproducing for the audience two effective "scenes" thatrepresent a shift in time sequence for the characters. Part of thisstudent presentation included the riveting words of Rachel after shehears of the lynching of her father and seven year old brother George.Two students performed her dawning understanding of the impact of racistviolence upon mothers and children: RACHEL: Then, everywhere, everywhere, throughout the South, are hundreds of dark mothers who live in fear, terrible suffocating fear, whose rest by night is broken.... How horrible! Why--it would be more merciful--to strangle the little things at birth. And so this nation--this white Christian nation--has deliberately set its curse upon the most beautiful--the most holy thing in life-- motherhood! Why--it--makes you doubt God! MRS. LOVING: Oh, hush! Little girl. Hush! RACHEL: Why, Ma dear, you know. You were ... George's mother. So this is what it means. (Grimke 1991b, 149-50) The students explained this scene as their choice for the climax ofthe play, describing this moment as Rachel's "dramaticepiphany Epiphany(ĭpĭf`ənē)[Gr.,=showing], a prime Christian feast, celebrated Jan. 6, called also Twelfth Day or Little Christmas. Its eve is Twelfth Night. [we had just discussed this new term] that shows the directionof her downfall. But also shows that it is the result of the cruelty ofracism." In addition to the early thematic concerns of black drama,this play also introduces students to the historical development ofblack drama from its significant incubation period incubation periodn.1. See latent period.2. See incubative stage.Incubation periodduring the HarlemRenaissance. Finally, if scenes in this play are assigned to bepresented first in the series of class performances, the almostinevitable success of working with a traditional play (with whichstudents consistently seem to feel a certain comfort) will increase thepossibility of subsequent successful group presentations. A second valuable source for student presentation is Douglas TurnerWard's 1960s play Day of Absence. The play depicts widespreadconfusion caused by the sudden and mysterious disappearance of all the"nigras" (who work as servants, shoe shine boys, maintenanceworkers, janitors) in a small southern white town. Initial stagedirections of the play require that all of the characters, white andblack, be portrayed by blacks in whiteface: "the play is conceivedfor performance by a Negro cast, a reverse minstrel show minstrel show,stage entertainment by white performers made up as blacks. Thomas Dartmouth Rice, who gave (c.1828) the first solo performance in blackface and introduced the song-and-dance act Jim Crow, is called the "father of American minstrelsy. done in whiteface" (1966, 266). Laden with irony, this reversal offers terrainfor students to examine racist stereotyping of both blacks and whites.In addition, the author's emphasis on masking illustrates tostudents the continuing influence of the minstrelsy heritage on AfricanAmerican dramatic tradition. Masking in the play has inspired students to confront directly thedynamics of stereotyping and to recognize the tactic of appropriatingthe minstrelsy tradition for the purpose of destroying bigotry BigotrySee also Anti-Semitism.Beaumanoir, Sir Lucas deprejudiced ascetic; Grand Master of Templars. [Br. Lit.: Ivanhoe]Bunker, Archiemiddle-aged bigot in television series. andreaffirming cultural integrity, as is well illustrated in several oftheir presentations from the play. In one very interesting instance, forexample, students were hesitant to actually paint on whiteface, so theycreated cardboard masks, but added the interesting twist of painting onehalf of the face white and the other half black. Students explained thatthe two painted sides were to represent blackness of the cast if whitestudents were wearing the masks and also to indicate stereotypicaloppositions and assumptions as the central theme they wished toemphasize. The scene that they chose included the comments of one veryanguished white mother named Mary: I always had Lula, John. She never missed a day at my side.... How am I gonna git through the day? My baby don't know me, I ain't acquainted wit' it. I've never lifted cover off pot, swung a mop or broom, dunked a dish or even pushed a dustrag. I'm lost wit' out Lula, I need her, John, I need her. (Ward 1996, 271) The presenting students argued that the dually painted masks"could symbolize" the interesting dynamic of "black Lulaas white Mary's other half." They quite perceptively observedthat somehow the black side and white side of the mask "kind ofdepended on each other to make a whole mask" and that "is howstereotypes might work." The effect of this presentation was alsocompelling visually, and students ended this particular class with avibrant debate on the question of social masking in general. The third example, The Colored Museum, fascinates and entertainsstudents while introducing them to modernist and postmodernistrenderings of black culture. One of few African American plays to openlyembrace and exploit the use of satire, this play offers students theopportunity to work at their own skills in social criticism andcommentary. Students thoroughly enjoy choosing scenes from this play andperforming them, often emulating Wolfe's creative stance as heprivileges the signifying Word. One group of students, for example,rewrote portions of "The Last Mama-On-The-Couch Play,"featuring a "choral" rapper who, in very astute asidesexpressed in current street language, explained the meaning of certainmetaphors as they related to African American culture African American culture or Black culture, in the United States, includes the various cultural traditions of African American communities. It is both part of, and distinct from American culture. The U.S. . In each instance,the rapper declared "Freeze!" Students immediately suspendedthe action. The rapper then provided commentary. In one example,referring to our discussions of Wolfe's allusions toHansberry's A Raisin in the Sun A Raisin in the Sun is a play by Lorraine Hansberry that debuted on Broadway in 1959. The story is based upon Hansberry's own experiences growing up in Chicago's Woodlawn neighborhood. and Shange's for colored girlswho have considered suicide when the rainbow is enuf by naming hischaracter Walter-Lee-Beau-Willie-Jones, the rapper declared "WalterLee There have been two notable people named Walter Lee. For the Nationalist Party Premier of Tasmania, see Walter Lee (Australian politician). For the 19th century New Zealand MP, see Walter Lee (New Zealand). For the Australian rules footballer, see Dick Lee (footballer) refers to Hansberry / and Shange gave us Beau Willie / and if youlook close it's inter-text-u-a-lity!" Such innovative thoughtand creative enthusiasm has consistently generated in students a new,more intimate understanding of the living dynamic of performanceespecially as it relates directly to community. Their responses alsoilluminate the intersection between dramatic text and audience response,particularly as the students themselves can own this relationship. To enhance the value of these presentations, a number ofthought-provoking questions in handout form aid students in negotiatingthe difficulties of dramatic performance and its relationship withspectators, whether a text is traditional or experimental. And while notintended to probe deeply the theories of performance and performativitythat certainly inform political appropriation of the dramatic text,these questions can allow students to become aware of their own roles asspectators and performers. Students are given two types of worksheets(See Appendices ap��pen��di��ces?n.A plural of appendix. C and D). One sheet is a series of questions that theymust consider as members of the audience. (10) Audience questions rangefrom determining how visual representations by performing studentsaffirm or challenge the spectator-student's own imagined notions ofcharacters, setting, blocking, and motion. Additional questions worktoward requiring students to repeatedly refresh a consciousness of theirown responses to the presentation they are witnessing. Example questionsinclude whether the language and action of the performer entice astudent to believe in the illusion of a narrative or, in other words Adv. 1. in other words - otherwise stated; "in other words, we are broke"put differently ,whether the students find themselves forgetting their sense asspectators. Could the students feel compelled to political or socialaction based upon the events they have seen or based upon the themespresented before them? A second worksheet allows students to evaluatetheir experiences as performers. These questions are given before thepresentation and are answered formally after the presentation hasconcluded so that students may be aware of the dynamics of the completeevent. Students are asked, for example, how audience response reflectedand/or affected the tenor of their performances. All of this informationis then discussed in a final class analysis where students share theirexperiences as individuals and as groups. The strategies for presentations suggested here have in generalproduced provocative results. Although not all presentations are equallysuccessful, there are almost always one or two per class that createrousing discussions and responses to the power of drama as an immediateand living genre. Students also nearly always find a way to make theassignment theirs. Furthermore, the learning benefits of the dramaticpresentation assignment are numerous. Students by necessity must acquirea more complete working knowledge of the text. Students learn to becomeactive rather than passive readers. Group interaction fostersrelationships among students within groups, peer teaching experiences,and collaborative learning Collaborative learning is an umbrella term for a variety of approaches in education that involve joint intellectual effort by students or students and teachers. Collaborative learning refers to methodologies and environments in which learners engage in a common task in which each . In addition, student performance develops acapacity to speak and interpret before others. Presentations in classalso foster a sense of community as a whole, encouraging students tointeract with each other in new and productive ways on subsequentassignments and class discussions. Finally, students participate in arefreshing learning experience as an alternative to the class lectureenvironment while also engaging first-hand the political implications ofaudience/actor relationships. Although the strategies described here arecharacterized for specifically teaching and developing in students avital understanding of African American drama, certainly thesestrategies may be used in any classroom drama experience. At times, Ihave implemented a modified approach in my literature survey courses,and even in my special topics composition courses. In terms of the impact of class presentations on how we understandand teach African American drama, the results are threefold. Performingstrategically chosen plays reinforces for students the historicalimplications of drama in terms of black social/political resistance byillustrating the potential of performing dramatic texts in terms ofactualizing audiences. Students seem to recognize immediately that suchperformances can also sway the attitudes of unschooled or evenunreceptive audiences through their ability to inform, shock, and/orentertain. The possibilities of controlling the representation ofindividuals and cultures through action on stage also become immediatelyevident to students when they discuss the long-term conscious andunconscious impact that such constructed and easily accessible imagescan have upon audiences, as in the case of minstrelsy, for example.Finally class dramatic presentations allow students to observe andexamine first hand the living examples of Nommo in African Americandramatic texts. These performances demonstrate how for AfricanAmericans, creating and performing texts were, and still are, defiantacts; in addition to expressing artistic endeavor, such effortsestablish voice and presence in a hostile world, work towardestablishing social justice for African Americans, and celebrate AfricanAmerican community and cultural traditions. Through dramatic presentations and through the suggested readingsand classroom discussions examined here, an instructor can create forstudents an understanding of African American dramatic texts as livingrepresentations of African American adaptability, creativity, andintellectual achievement. Study of African American drama from thisapproach also richly provides for students a better comprehension of howdrama works in general as an organic and consequential body ofliterature, and how it may function in the "real world" of thestudent. Ultimately, guiding a class toward reading, discussing,interpreting, and observing a written text as living--as aprocess--offers for students ways of seeing drama as relevant to theirexperiences and, most importantly Adv. 1. most importantly - above and beyond all other consideration; "above all, you must be independent"above all, most especially , of embracing literature as their own. APPENDIX A: DRAMATIC PRESENTATION EXPERIENCE Group Reading Guide for Grimke's Rachel Set in the first two decades of the twentieth century, AngelinaWeld Grimke's Rachel can be seen to be a radical dramatic text interms of a number of points. When you are rereading this play in orderto choose your scene, keep in mind some of the following issues, and ifyou identify an issue not listed that you would like to present, pleaseclear it with me next class period. Remember that, using notes from ourprevious class discussions regarding historical, social, and politicalimplications, you must create a prologue or epilogue that clearlyexplains your choice of scene as it relates to the theme or issue youhave selected. Lynching -- as we have mentioned in class, C. Eric Lincoln reportedthat over 1000 African Americans were lynched in the year 1914 alone.This violence was directly related to the racially charged atmosphereevident in the 1890s and the resulting outcome of the Plessy vs.Ferguson case in 1896. Choose a scene that illustrates Grimke is nothesitant to address openly the issue of American racial violence in herplay. Northern Hypocrisy -- as we have noted, racial prejudice was notlimited to southern regions. Find a scene that presents Grimke'sopinion of the racial climate in the North. Economic Opportunity -- work options for African Americans wereextremely limited due to the Jim Crow laws Jim Crow laws,in U.S. history, statutes enacted by Southern states and municipalities, beginning in the 1880s, that legalized segregation between blacks and whites. The name is believed to be derived from a character in a popular minstrel song. and attitudes we havediscussed in class. Select a scene that illustrates Grimke's viewconcerning education and restricted resources for African Americans inthe 1920s. Female Autonomy -- considering our discussion of the Comstock Lawand the sexual, political, and social marginalization mar��gin��al��ize?tr.v. mar��gin��al��ized, mar��gin��al��iz��ing, mar��gin��al��iz��esTo relegate or confine to a lower or outer limit or edge, as of social standing. of women in the19th and early 20th century, choose a scene in the play thatdemonstrates Grimke's opinion in terms of the rights of women,womanhood, motherhood, or control of the body. Be certain to address howthese are affected by race. Reception -- Grimke was accused of encouraging racial genocide inthis play. Select a scene that might be used by her critics to supportsuch an accusation. Your Choice -- carefully choose an issue not mentioned above and beprepared to articulate effectively that topic in relation to the scenethat you choose. APPENDIX B: DRAMATIC PRESENTATION EXPERIENCE Group Performance Directions 1. As a group discuss and choose a play from the list provided onthe board. You will have the remaining fifteen minutes of this class tomake your decision. Only two groups may work with one play, so makecertain that you have a second choice if your first choice is takenbefore you have made your decision. When you have come to a consensus asa group, please bring your choice of play to me in writing. At that timepick up from me the Reading Guide that corresponds to your chosen play.Each member of the group must have his/her own copy of this guide. Iwill establish the order of performances based upon the choices ofplays. 2. The assignment to be completed for our next class meeting is foreach member of the group to reread the play you have chosen using yourguide. Write notes as to why you have chosen certain scenes and issues,making sure to include page numbers; be prepared to discuss these withyour other group members. 3. Next period you will have the last twenty minutes of class todecide upon the scene your group will present, and who will beresponsible for the different aspects of the performance (memorization mem��o��rize?tr.v. mem��o��rized, mem��o��riz��ing, mem��o��riz��es1. To commit to memory; learn by heart.2. Computer Science To store in memory: of lines is not necessary, but readings must exhibit enthusiasm and asmuch "acting" as possible). Every member of your group mustparticipate actively in some way. Some suggestions of possibleresponsibilities are the following: character performance, narrators,choruses, writing/presenting prologue or epilogue, providing simplesets, props, or costumes. No scenes may be repeated, so again you mustidentify the scene your group has chosen and present it to me inwriting. Although not required, you are welcome and encouraged to meetoutside of class to prepare your performances more fully. If you chooseto do so, make sure to update your group phone lists. At the end ofclass, I will announce the order in which groups will present andprovide you with both audience and performance Response Question Sheets.You will need to become familiar with these questions beforeperformances begin. 4. The Response Question Sheets will help guide you through theperformance experience as both audience members and as performers. Ifyou are in the audience you will take notes and answer these questionsduring the performance. If you are in a performing group, you willanswer the questions after you have presented. 5. In the two classes following next period, we will take the firstten minutes of each for performing groups to prepare for the day. Two tothree groups will perform that day. Plan for your performance to befifteen minutes in length, including your prologue or epilogue. APPENDIX C DRAMATIC PRESENTATION EXPERIENCE Audience Response Questions Sheet (Based on the concepts of NormanHolland's feedback model of the transactive theory of reading) We are basing our analysis of audience response on a concept thatemphasizes the "transactive" nature of the relationshipbetween a reader, or audience, and a text. In this concept the reader orspectator brings her/his own individual experiences to the text and, ass/he reads the text, helps to construct it while at the same time s/heis influenced by the text. In other words, the text acts on the readerwhile the reader acts on the text by reading it. In this approach, atext cannot exist independently in meaning without a reader. Thisrelationship is interestingly complicated in drama performance by theinclusion of an interpreter of the text (actor, scene/prop designer,director) who inevitably affects the reception of the audience. Thefollowing questions are designed to allow you to attempt to analyze yourresponses to the performance as a self-conscious and evaluativespectator. Answer all a) questions during the performance and all b)questions after the performance. Be prepared to discuss these responsesin class. 1a) Does the performance remind you of any personal experiences? b)Did your memory of these color your response to the action? 2a) What are your feelings toward familiar characters and actions?Engagement, boredom, contempt, comfort, humor humor,according to ancient theory, any of four bodily fluids that determined man's health and temperament. Hippocrates postulated that an imbalance among the humors (blood, phlegm, black bile, and yellow bile) resulted in pain and disease, and that good health was , or other? b) How arethese responses affected by your moral values? Your memories? 3a) What are your feelings toward unfamiliar characters orunpredictable behavior of characters? Judgement, anger, discomfort,shock humor, other? b) How are these responses affected by your moralvalues? Your expectations? 4a) Is the performance in keeping with your imagined response whenyou read the text or with the illusion of the narrative? b) If so, how?If not, why? 5a) If you were performing this scene, would you do it differently?b) If so, how? If not, why? 6a) Does the performance seem to engage what you believe to be themeaning or theme that the text seems to intend? Could it encourage youto take a stand concerning the issues? b) Explain your answer. 7a) Are you aware of the responses of other students to theperformance? b) Did they affect your response? 8a) Do you find answering the questions during the performanceannoying? Would you have rather been entertained? b) If so, whatexpectations of performance do you believe this response reveals? APPENDIX D: DRAMATIC PRESENTATION EXPERIENCE Performers' Response Questions Sheet The communal experience of drama does not rely only on theassemblage of an audience. In effect the impact of audience response onperformers helps to create the performance itself. The drama event thenbecomes a communal project or effort. The following questions are aimedat developing your awareness of audience/actor relationships as you areactually in the performance moment. Whether you are an actor, setperson, chorus, narrator, or other, review these questions carefullybefore your participation in the performance, and keep them in mind asyour group performs your scene. You will be required to answer themeffectively after you have finished presenting. Be prepared to discussthese responses in class. 1. What were your initial feelings as you found your positionbefore the audience? 2. Did the presence and behavior of the other performers in yourgroup affect these feelings in any way? How? 3. Did you have a strong awareness of audience response? 4. As you played your part in the scene performance, did yourawareness of the audience change? How? 5. Did the audience response ever change? How did this affect yoursense of comfort? Your sense of success? 6. Did audience response affect your participation in the scene?How? 7. Did the audience response seem to reflect the intent of yourperformance? 8. If you performed this scene without an audience, how would yourperformance be different? Notes (1) In looking at the dramatic tradition in African Americanliterary history, it is especially helpful to explain to students thatpolitical and social bodies have long attempted to exploit drama'sunique interaction with the will and response of reader/spectator. Toillustrate drama's impact as a genre that bears a unique capacityto directly engage human experience, particularly in terms of resistanceand revolution, I often explain briefly a few global examples. Idescribe the purposes and characteristics of agit-prop(agitation-propaganda) plays of Communist revolutionaries, perhaps bestculminating in Bertolt Brecht's Epic Theater epic theater:see Brecht, Bertolt; Piscator, Erwin. ; the avant garde,experimental plays of Europe such as those of Antonin Artaud'sTheatre of Cruelty Theatre of CrueltyTheory advanced by Antonin Artaud, who believed the theatre's function was to rid audiences of the repressive effects of civilization and liberate their instinctual energy. or Jerzy Grotowski's Poor Theatre; the ArenaTheater of Sao Paulo embodying the theories of Brazilian AugustoBoal's Theatre of the Oppressed The Theatre of the Oppressed is a method elaborated by the Brazilian director Augusto Boal, who was influenced by the work of Paulo Freire, starting from the 60s, first in Brazil and then in Europe. , or Ngugi Wa Thiong'o'sAfrican revolutionary theater of the Kenyan masses. All are examplesthat have established historically ways theater has been adapted bypopulist revolutionary movements as a site of cultural and/or politicalresistance. (2) For a detailed discussion of Nommo precepts, see Harrison(1973). (3) Several sources contest Mr. Brown's first name. It hasbeen suggested in certain documentation of the period that he might alsohave been known as James or Henry. I have taken what seems to me themost believable be��liev��a��ble?adj.Capable of eliciting belief or trust. See Synonyms at plausible.be��lieva��bil of these, discovered by Jonathan Dewberry dewberry,name for several species of the genus Rubus of the family Rosaceae (rose family). See bramble. dewberryAny blackberry (genus Rubus) that is so lacking in woody fibre in the stems that it trails along the ground. in the 1823Record of Assessments for New York City's 8th Ward which Dewberrycites in his article "The African Grove Theatre and Company,"(1982, 129). For further reading consult Hatch and Abdullah (1977). (4) Samuel L. hay describes Brown's efforts in his AfricanAmerican Theatre: An Historical and Critical Analysis (1994). Heemphasizes the importance of this guerilla theater to black dramatichistory, arguing that "Brown used theatre, as Du Bois would lateradvocate it to be used, to protest racism" (10). (5) My use of this term in this context is informed by Henry LouisGates's discussion of signifyin(g) texts, describing a type of"motivated signifyin(g)" where one text "signifies uponother black texts, in the manner of the vernacular ritual of 'closereading'" (1988, xxvi). In the case of Brown, the revolt ofthe black Caribs is a cultural text or model for the development of hisrebellious drama. For further discussion on signifyin(g) see Gates, Jr.(1988). (6) Information on the racio-cultural implications of Americanblackface minstrelsy is also available in Toll (1975) and Mahar (1999). (7) For an excellent video resource on the historical developmentand types of black stereotypes in America see the documentary EthnicNotions (1997). (8) Numerous informative discussions of the black arts theatre The Arts Theatre is a small club theatre in London, England.In August 1955, Peter Hall, aged 24, directed the English-language premiere of Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot at the theatre. This was an important turning point in modern theatre for Britain. andother drama of the 1960s and 1970s are available. See, for example,Williams (1985) and Steele (1987, 30-44). A valuable discussion of majorfigures in Revolutionary Black Theater can be found in Hill (1987,192-209) and hay (1994). (9) For an extensive study of Teer's theories on ritual inblack drama see Thomas (1997); for an example of black militant ritualdrama see Jones/Baraka's Dutchman (1964) and Sanchez' DirtyHearts (1971). (10) Sources on audience study can aid the instructor in preparingstudents for this approach. See Bennett (1997), Chaim (1984), and Boan(2002). For earlier standard works in reader-response theory seeThompkin (1980) and Sulieman and Crossman (1980). Works Cited Bennett, Susan. 1997. Theatre Audiences: A Theory of Production andReception. London and New York: Routledge. Boan, Devon. 2002. The Black 'I': Author and Audience inAfrican American Literature. New York: Peter Lang. Chaim, Daphna Ben. 1984. Distance in the Theatre: The Aesthetics ofAudience Response. Ann Arbor Ann Arbor,city (1990 pop. 109,592), seat of Washtenaw co., S Mich., on the Huron River; inc. 1851. It is a research and educational center, with a large number of government and industrial research and development firms, many in high-technology fields such as : UMI UMI University Microfilms InternationalUMI United States Minor Outlying Islands (ISO Country code)UMI University of MiamiUMI Universal Management Infrastructure (IBM)Research Press. Dent, Tom, and Jerry W. Ward. 1999. "After the Free SouthernTheater." In A Sources Book of African American Performance: Plays,People, Movements, ed. AnneMarie Bean. New York: Routledge. Dewberry, Jonathan. 1982. "The African Grove Theatre andCompany." Black American Forum 16 (Winter):129. Elam, Harry. 2001. "Introduction." In African AmericanPerformance and Theater History: A Critical Reader. New York: OxfordUniversity Press. Ethnic Notions. 1997. Dir. Marlon Riggs with narration by EstherRolle Esther Rolle (November 8 1920 – November 17 1998) was an American actress of stage and television, widely known for her portrayal of Florida Evans in two 1970s television series, Good Times and Maude. . San Francisco San Francisco(săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden : California Newsreel (documentary). Gates, Jr., Henry Louis. 1988. The Signifying Monkey: A Theory ofAfrican American Literary Criticism. New York: Oxford University Press. Grimke, Angelina Weld. 1991a. Rachel. In Selected Works of AngelinaWeld Grimke Angelina Weld Grimk�� (February 27, 1880 – June 10, 1958) was a prominent journalist and poet.She was born in Boston, Massachusetts to a biracial family whose members included both slaveowners and abolitionists. , ed. Carolivia Herron Carolivia Herron (born July 22, 1947) is an American writer of children's and adult literature, and a scholar of African-American Judaica. Personal lifeShe was born to Oscar Smith Herron and Georgia Carol (Johnson) Herron, in Washington D.C. . New York: Oxford University Press.(Original edition, Boston: Cornhill Company, 1920). _______. 1991b. "'Rachel,' The Play of the Month:The Reason and Synopsis by the Author." Selected Works of AngelinaWeld Grimke. New York: Oxford University Press. [Original edition,Competitor 1 (Jan. 1920):51-52.] Hatch, James V James V, king of ScotlandJames V,1512–42, king of Scotland (1513–42), son and successor of James IV. His mother, Margaret Tudor, held the regency until her marriage in 1514 to Archibald Douglas, 6th earl of Angus, when she lost it to John ., and Omani Abdullah, eds. 1977. Black Playwrights,1823-1977; An Annotated Bibliography An annotated bibliography is a bibliography that gives a summary of the research that has been done. It is still an alphabetical list of research sources. In addition to bibliographic data, an annotated bibliography provides a brief summary or annotation. of Plays, New York: Bowker. Harrison, Paul Carter Paul Carter is the name of: Paul Carter (academic) (born 1951), historian, writer, artist and interdisciplinary scholar at the University of Melbourne Paul Carter (politician), councillor on Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council . 1973. The Drama of Nommo. New York: GrovePress. Hay, Samuel. 1994. African American Theatre: An Historical andCritical Analysis. New York: Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press (known colloquially as CUP) is a publisher given a Royal Charter by Henry VIII in 1534, and one of the two privileged presses (the other being Oxford University Press). . Hill, Errol, ed. 1987. "The Delicate World of Reprobation REPROBATION, eccl. law. The propounding exceptions either against facts, persons or things; as, to allege that certain deeds or instruments have not been duly and lawfully executed; or that certain persons are such that they are incompetent as witnesses; or that certain things ought not : ANote on the Black Revolutionary Theatre." In The Theatre of BlackAmericans. New York: Applause Theatre Book Publishers. Jones, LeRoi Jones, LeRoi:see Baraka, Amiri. Jones, LeRoiSee Baraka, Imamu Amiri. /Amiri Baraka. 1967. Slave Ship: A Historical Pageant.Negro Digest April, 62-74. Karenga, Ronald. 2003. "Nommo, Kawaida, and CommunicativePractice: Bringing Good into the World." In Understanding AfricanAmerican Rhetoric: Classical Origins to Contemporary Innovations, ed.Ronald L. Jackson and Elaine B. Richardson. New York: Routledge. Lott, Eric. 1995. Love and Theft: Blackface Minstrelsy and theAmerican Working Class. New York: Oxford University Press. Mahar, William. 1999. Behind the Burnt Cork Mask: Early BlackfaceMinstrelsy and Antebellum American Popular Culture. Urbana: Universityof Illinois Press The University of Illinois Press (UIP), is a major American university press and part of the University of Illinois. OverviewAccording to the UIP's website: . Moses, Gilbert, et al. 1999. "Dialog: The Free SouthernTheater." In A Sourcebook of African-American Performance: Plays,People, Movements, ed. AnneMarie Bean. New York: Routledge. O'Neal, John. 1999a. "Motion in the Ocean: Some PoliticalDimensions of Free Southern Theater." In A Sourcebook of AfricanAmerican Performance: Plays, People, Movements, ed. AnnMarie Bean. NewYork: Routledge. ______ 1999b. "A Road Through the Wilderness." In ASourcebook of African American Performance: Plays, People, Movements,ed. AnneMarie Bean. New York: Routledge. Sanchez, Sonia Sanchez, Sonia(1934–) poet, writer; born in Birmingham, Ala. She studied at Hunter College (B.A. 1955), and taught at several institutions, such as Temple University, Philadelphia, beginning in 1977. . 1973. Dirty Hearts. In Breakout! In Search of NewTheatrical Environments, ed. James Schevill. Chicago: Swallow Press. Steele, Shelby. 1987. "Notes on Ritual in the New BlackTheatre." In The Theatre of Black Americans, ed. Errol Hill. NewYork: Applause Theatre Book Publishers. Sulieman, Susan, and Ing Crossman. 1980. The Reader in the Text:Essays on Audience and Interpretation. Princeton: Princeton University Princeton University,at Princeton, N.J.; coeducational; chartered 1746, opened 1747, rechartered 1748, called the College of New Jersey until 1896.Schools and Research Facilities Press. Thomas, Lundeana Marie. 1997. Barbara Ann Teer and the NationalBlack Theatre: Transformational Forces in Harlem. New York: GarlandPress. Thompkin, Jane. 1980. Reader-Response Criticism: From Formalism Formalismor Russian FormalismRussian school of literary criticism that flourished from 1914 to 1928. Making use of the linguistic theories of Ferdinand de Saussure, Formalists were concerned with what technical devices make a literary text literary, apart toPost-Structuralism. Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press. Toll, Robert. 1975. Blacking Up: The Minstrel Show inNineteenth-Century America. New York: Oxford University Press Ward, Douglas Turner. 1996. Day of Absence. In Black Theatre U.S.A.Ed. James V. Hatch and Ted Shine. New York: The Free Press. Williams, Mance. 1985. Black Theatre in the 1960s and 1970s: AHistorical-Critical Analysis of the Movement. Westport, CT: GreenwoodPress. Wolfe, George C. 1996. The Colored Museum. In Black Theatre U.S.A.Ed. James V. Hatch and Ted Shine. New York: The Free Press. Jacqueline Wood teaches African American literature at theUniversity of Alabama at Birmingham. She has published articles onAfrican American women dramatists and has completed editing a collectionof the plays of Sonia Sanchez.