National Black Theater Analysis

This book holds scenes from 16 individual plays during the Harlem Renaissance. It holds scripts from playwright and social activist, Langston Hughes. This

The article is about black creative production (theater) since the play is directed by African American playwright Richard Wesley. In addition, the predominantly black casts are spectacular and deliver a strong performance. The ability to be multi-skilled in your craft displays creativity and versatility where the actors can utilize their many talents.

The presentation of a 150 year timeline of Black newspapers: from their roots during the Reconstruction period, to their “deaths” shortly after the Civil Rights Movement through various aids proved the film’s strength. The use of actual photographers, journalists, and editors from the Black newspapers solidified this film’s sincerity; it allowed the people that actually lived through those changes and events to recount their stories. Even when it profiled different people from the past, the filmmakers used voiceovers that fit each character, facilitating the film’s narrative. These qualities elevated the movie and enhanced the understanding of it overall.

To begin with, the scenery of the play wasn’t traditional by any means. Rather than this being a common stage with a large crowd, this was a black box theatre play. Basically, the stage was in the middle of the room and the audience surrounded the performers. The room was about the size of an average high school classroom, which made the play more personal. In fact, the actors would interact with the crowd at times throughout the play. Next, when I first entered the room, I sensed a smooth vibe from the way the room looked. It was very dim and the director played songs by black artist from our generation to serenade the audience with black culture. At this moment, I began to feel very

During the 1950’s, black artists and entertainers chose either to directly or indirectly supported. Everyone in spite of where they came from and regardless of their identity, race, and gender all came together to fight the injustice. Black women entertainers bridged the entertainment world and popular culture to the civil rights politics. They were able to highlight the inequality between black and white people and men and women. Their activism allowed for global perspective on race relations and was continually reinforced through the interactions between entertainers, diplomats and other intellectuals. After World War II, black people in New York were rallying support for the movement by using creative strategies to represent blackness politically.

The articles The Ground on Which I Stand by August Wilson and Steps toward the Negro Theatre by Alain Locke were both phenomenal read. Wilson and Locke discussed the design of black theatre and how it needs to be and can be structured for the future. They also discussed the racial and dividing system in America society which branched off to theatre.

Though there was a heightened sense of tension over civil rights in the late 1950s when A Raisin in the Sun was written, racial inequality is still a problem today. It affects minorities of every age and dynamic, in more ways than one. Though nowadays it may go unnoticed, race in every aspect alters the way African-Americans think, behave, and react as human beings. This is shown in many ways in the play as we watch the characters interact. We see big ideas, failures, and family values through the eyes of a disadvantaged group during an unfortunate time in history. As Martin Luther King said, Blacks are “...harried by day and haunted by night by the fact that you are a Negro, living constantly at tiptoe stance, never quite knowing what

The United States has long been a country that has accepted that change is a necessity for prosperity and growth. However, each change within the nation's history was hard fought against those who resisted such change either through racism, bigotry, and blatant discrimination. African American cinema is enshrouded in history that depicts these themes of racism, struggle, and deprivation. Yet, this same cinema also shows scenes of hope, artistic spirit, intellectual greatness, and joy. Black actresses, actors, directors, producers, and writers have been fighting for recognition and respect since the great Paul Robeson. The civil rights movement of the 1950's and 60's was fueled by black cinema through films like A Raisin in the Sun.

Black theater is as old as the first tribes in Africa who would dance with wooden masks to represent gods or legends (Kerr, p3). The playwrights of this time were the Griots, who were known as the keepers of history in African tribes and mark the beginning of African literary tradition (Freeman.) But when does the development of black playwright actually take off?

George C. Wolfe’s satirical play, The Colored Museum, elicits emotion from those who read its powerful lines and make its sentiments spring to life on stage. The play is Wolfe’s indelicate way of handling sensitive subjects related to the African American community. The play carries just enough humor to keep its audience captivated and just enough scalding stereotype to keep its audience from growing bored. The satire and parody presented in The Colored Museum depicts the harsh truth about the lives of African Americans.

He pointed out that at the time he wrote this article, most American theatres are “racially mixed”. Black actors could cooperate with a white playwrights. It was no need to separate which theatres are “black” and which are

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

In 1750 the great era of Broadway began. At this point in time, Broadway Theater was not yet located in Manhattan. “Thomas Kean and Walter Murray, actor-managers in the area, established a theater company that housed 280 residents. The Revolutionary War abruptly stopped all productions and the theater did not open back up until 1798,” (newyork.com). This landmark of renewal suddenly sprang the theater district into action and the first actual theater was built. According to an internet source, “Built on Chatham St in Downtown Manhattan, the Park Theater NYC ushered in a new era of theater in New York,”(nyctourist.com). Park Theater in NYC was the first of many theaters that make up what the world knows today as the Theater District in Manhattan.

life in the mid to late twentieth century and the strains of society on African Americans. Set in a small neighborhood of a big city, this play holds much conflict between a father, Troy Maxson, and his two sons, Lyons and Cory. By analyzing the sources of this conflict, one can better appreciate and understand the way the conflict contributes to the meaning of the work.

The production spearheaded with a solemn poem by Langston Hughes entitled "Harlem." Preparing for an emotionally empowering theater piece, the poem quieted the audience and placed a serious blanket over us. While appropriate for me, I found it extremely coincidental that the poem's title, ties in directly with James Baldwin and his extensive writings on the 1943 Harlem race riots. With the lights off and just a solitary voice reciting the poem, it gave us, the audience, an immediate notion of play's melancholy style.