African American Theater: A Cultural Companion / Edition 1

African American Theater: A Cultural Companion / Edition 1

by Glenda Dicker/sun
ISBN-10:
0745634435
ISBN-13:
9780745634432
Pub. Date:
08/04/2008
Publisher:
Polity Press
ISBN-10:
0745634435
ISBN-13:
9780745634432
Pub. Date:
08/04/2008
Publisher:
Polity Press
African American Theater: A Cultural Companion / Edition 1

African American Theater: A Cultural Companion / Edition 1

by Glenda Dicker/sun
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Overview

Written in a clear, accessible, storytelling style, African American Theater will shine a bright new light on the culture which has historically nurtured and inspired Black Theater. Functioning as an interactive guide for students and teachers, African American Theater takes the reader on a journey to discover how social realities impacted the plays dramatists wrote and produced.

The journey begins in 1850 when most African people were enslaved in America. Along the way, cultural milestones such as Reconstruction, the Harlem Renaissance and the Black Freedom Movement are explored. The journey concludes with a discussion of how the past still plays out in the works of contemporary playwrights like August Wilson and Suzan-Lori Parks.

African American Theater moves unsung heroes like Robert Abbott and Jo Ann Gibson Robinson to the foreground, but does not neglect the race giants. For actors looking for material to perform, the book offers exercises to create new monologues and scenes. Rich with myths, history and first person accounts by ordinary people telling their extraordinary stories, African American Theater will entertain while it educates.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780745634432
Publisher: Polity Press
Publication date: 08/04/2008
Series: Cultural History of Literature , #2
Pages: 256
Product dimensions: 5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Glenda Dicker/sun is Professor of Theater and Head of African American Theater Minor at the University of Michigan.

Table of Contents

Picture Credits vi

Acknowledgements vii

About this Book viii

Timeline of Significant Events x

Abbreviations xiv

Introduction: A Journey with the People who Forgot how to Fly 1

1. The People who Could Fly: Slavery, Stereotypes, Minstrelsy, and Myth 6

2. A Leap for Freedom: The Anti-Slavery Movement 29

3. We are Climbing Jacob’s Ladder: Progressing and Migrating 57

4. The Harlem Renaissance: A Sunburst Something like Spiritual Emancipation 80

5. War Stories: Buffalo Soldiers, Black Bird Men, and the Bloods 96

6. Sitting Down, Sitting In, and Standing Up: The Black Freedom Movement 113

7. Black is Beautiful: Protest and Performance 137

8. Conversations: A Second Generation Takes Center Stage 153

9. A Presence of Ancestry: I Believe I Can Fly 174

References 193

Index 202

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