Examination 2 There are many black men and women who have contributed to the advancement of theatre in the African American community through acting, directing, playwriting, choreography and much more. Trailblazers such as, August Wilson, Ntozake Shange, and Pearl Cleage have all used theatre to change the way African Americans in theatre are viewed. Regina Taylor is also a part of this group. Taylor has greatly influenced the African American theatre community through her acting, playwriting, and directing. However, before one can know how Taylor has influenced African American theatre, one must know how it began. African American theatre began as a farcical portrayal of black life. Blackface and “cooning” were common practices. The first …show more content…
in theatre in 1981 from Southern Methodist University (Hill 465). Taylor also helped usher in a new era for African American theatre by becoming the first black female to ever play Juliet in Romeo and Juliet on Broadway. She became a pioneer for actresses such as Condola Rashad, who also played Juliet on Broadway, by taking on roles that black women would not have been considered for in times past. She was also in two other Shakespearean productions, Macbeth and As You Like It (Hill 465). Taylor not only established herself in the theatre world but also in the world of television and film. She won a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Drama and received an Emmy Award nomination for her role in the series “I’ll Fly Away” (Peterson 327). Her most recent role is in the show Dig, which premiered in March 2015 and ended in May …show more content…
Taylor “was struck by the Chekhov characters ' link to the past, as descendants of serfs – enslaved servants in Russia” (Jones). Taylor set her version in South Carolina, where many generations of black families have lived. She saw the parallels between a Russian family that was attached to the slavery of their past and an African American family that struggled to keep their children connected to the sacrifices of their ancestors. Her strength of combining different cultural thoughts of theatre has expanded African American theatre because she has made it more relevant and relatable to people of other cultures. It shows people how similar they are to those who seem exceptionally different. This leaves very little room for stereotypes and much more for
Gill, Glenda Eloise. No Surrender! No Retreat! : African American Pioneer Performers of Twentieth-Century American Theater. New York: St. Martin's, 2000. Print.
Cullen, Frank, Florence Hackman, and Donald McNeilly. Vaudeville, Old & New: An Encyclopedia of Variety Performers in America. New York: Routledge, 2007. Print.
Minstrel shows were developed in the 1840's and reached its peak after the Civil War. They managed to remain popular into the early 1900s. The Minstrel shows were shows in which white performers would paint their faces black and act the role of an African American. This was called black facing. The minstrel show evolved from two types of entertainment popular in America before 1830: the impersonation of blacks given by white actors between acts of plays or during circuses, and the performances of black musicians who sang, with banjo accompaniment, in city streets. The 'father of American minstrelsy' was Thomas Dartmouth 'Daddy' Rice, who between 1828 and 1831 developed a song-and-dance routine in which he impersonated an old, crippled black slave, dubbed Jim Crow. Jim Crow was a fool who just spent his whole day slacking off, dancing the day away with an occasional mischievous prank such as stealing a watermelon from a farm. Most of the skits performed on the Minstrel shows symbolized the life of the African American plantations slaves. This routine achieved immediate popularity, and Rice performed it with great success in the United States and Britain, where he introduced it in 1836. Throughout the 1830s, up to the founding of the minstrel show proper, Rice had many imitators.
Ira Aldridge’s early life is one of the reasons why Aldridge was such an important actor. Aldridge was born in New York sometime in 1807 (Evans). When he was a teenager, Aldridge acquired his education at one of New York’s African Free Schools, earning an education most African-Americans did not receive in Aldridge’s time (Evans). In essence, the extra schooling Ira Aldridge received helped him to advance his career, because most African-Americans at the time were still working in low ranking jobs and did not get the opportunity to further themselves as Aldridge did. Aldridge went even further to get into an acting career. The first taste of theatre Ira Aldridge got that sparked his interest was at The African Grove Theatre performi...
A newspaper from 1899 refers to a Negro paper that said, “There is nothing elevating or ennobling about ‘coon songs’ and ‘rag-time music’ and the cakewalk is positively degrading”. This critique is interesting because it is not only by African Americans, but it scorns African Americans. Even though it is odd to say, one could understand where some Cakewalk critics come from if they stay open-minded. Another colored critic from 1897 shared his feelings about a cakewalk in a newspaper that said, “He thinks the exhibition vulgar and degrading to its participants.” and “All the quaint charm of the old negro who did these things for their own sake is lost by these people who do them as a matter of show. Their self-consciousness spoils their naturalness.” The critic’s accusations of the dancers only performing to put on a show rather than “the purpose of keeping alive a characteristic custom of the negro” are comprehensible. While it is certain that some dancers performed honorably, the critic seems to have been justified in his opinion that dancing without a meaningful purpose is rather shameful. White critics had similar things to say about the Cakewalk, and another way that whites degraded African Americans was through sheet music covers filled with stereotypes and
Marlon T. Riggs’ video, Color Adjustment, offers the viewer an exciting trip though the history of television, focusing on the representation, or lack thereof, of African-Americans. A perfectly chosen combination of television producers, actors, sociologists, and cultural critics join forces to offer insight and professional opinion about the status of African-Americans in television since the inception of television itself. As Color Adjustment traces the history of television shows from Amos n’ Andy and Julia to "ghetto sitcoms" and The Cosby Show, the cast of television professionals and cultural critics discuss the impacts those representations have on both the African-American community and our society as a whole. Color Adjustment continually asks the question: "Are these images positive?" This video raises the viewer’s awareness about issues of positive images for African-Americans on television.
Jackson, P. (1992). (in)Forming the Visual: (re)Presenting Women of African Descent. International Review of African American Art. 14 (3), 31-7.
The history of African Americans in early Hollywood films originated with blacks representing preconceived stereotypes. D.W. Griffith’s 1915 film, Birth of a Nation, stirred many controversial issues within the black community. The fact that Griffith used white actors in blackface to portray black people showed how little he knew about African Americans. Bosley Crowther’s article “The Birth of Birth of a Nation” emphasizes that the film was a “highly pro-South drama of the American Civil War and the Period of Reconstruction, and it glorified the role of the Ku Klux Klan” (76). While viewing this film, one would assert that the Ku Klux Klan members are heroic forces that rescue white women from sexually abusive black men. Griffith introduced “mulatto, faithful mammy, Uncle Tom, and brutal buck” character; some were disguised as villains and obnoxious individuals. Donald Bogle’s “Toms, Coons, Mulattoes, Mammies, & Bucks” describes the brutal black buck as “big, bad niggers, sexed and savage, violent and frenzied as they lust for white flesh” (13-14). Some of the film’s most objectionable scenes depict black men trying to rape white women and Negros destroying the south however, the Ku Klux Klan is riding to the rescue. Bogle also recorded some scenes in the film that presented blacks as a joke. For instance, Bogle reaffirms that “freed Negro legislators are depicted as lustful, arrogant, and idiotic: one bites on a chicken leg, another sneaks a drink from a liquor bottle, and another removes his shows during legislative meetings” (12).
Rogin (1996) argues that American films became popular from popular images at the time of caucasian people painting an image of African Americans using the well known "Blackface".
Over the course of approximately one-hundred years there has been a discernible metamorphosis within the realm of African-American cinema. African-Americans have overcome the heavy weight of oppression in forms such as of politics, citizenship and most importantly equal human rights. One of the most evident forms that were withheld from African-Americans came in the structure of the performing arts; specifically film. The common population did not allow blacks to drink from the same water fountain let alone share the same television waves or stage. But over time the strength of the expectant black actors and actresses overwhelmed the majority force to stop blacks from appearing on film. For the longest time the performing arts were the only way for African-Americans to express the deep pain that the white population placed in front of them. Singing, dancing and acting took many African-Americans to a place that no oppressor could reach; considering the exploitation of their character during the 1930's-1960's acting' was an essential technique to African American survival.
With the turn of the century, society and technology evolved and so did the minstrel shows. The introduction of the television gave the shows a new platform to broadcast their content to more american audiences. While not as harsh as the shows in the 19th century’s shows, the modern minstrel shows were “vestiges of their racial stereotyping and performances aesthetics persisted for decades in various performance mediums. ” (7). The show 's popularity forged a strong foundation for careers in the entertainment industry for African Americans. African Americans often could find great success in pursuing musical, or comedic careers following the minstrel shows. And as the shows finally died out, this underlying principle stayed true as the United States progressed. The minstrel shows facilitated African Americans into many forms of the entertainment as various performers. The shows play a major role in developing the comedic basis for African American entertainers even today. As referred to in the modern day , “Black Comedy” is extremely favored by the populus. Famous black comedian Dave Chappelle, once played a role as a “racial pixie”. Chappelle performed as a oddly dressed pixie on the shoulders of African Americans and sang, danced, and encouraged the individual to given into the stereotypes of society (4). Perhaps what disturbed Chappelle the most was the
Kenrick, John. Musical Theatre A History. New York: The Continuum International Publishing Group, 2008. Print.
As one can see, Washington and DuBois played a tremendous role in creating the atmosphere which took African Americans into the Harlem Renaissance era. Without them, particularly DuBois, the movement for cultural identity would have lacked essential inspiration and foundation. We hope that we have provided our readers with information that shows this.
"Blackface! - The History of Racist Blackface Stereotypes." Blackface! - The History of Racist Blackface Stereotypes. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2014. .
Effiong, Philip U. In Search of a Model for African-American Drama: a Study of Selected Plays