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Essay african american theatre
Essay on history of African theater
Racial Discrimination in the Movies
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African American Theatre African American Theatre interests me, since African American actors, actresses, and playwrights have overcome so many obstacles, and yet some of the best people in film are African American. It interests me that they have endured so much rough history in this country, and yet many people forget about their rough history and admire many talented African American associated with the theatre. I like how the African American theatre deviates from an integrated society, to a simple black society. Many African American based plays and films show a simple African American family and how they live their lives, in the midst of so many obstacles they face. While watching several of the African American films assigned for this
The minstrel show is considered by many as the first American form of musical theatre (Bordman, 2010). However, the tradition of minstrelsy, in various forms, dates back to well before Thomas Dartmouth Rice first jumped Jim Crow. In the sixteenth and seventeenth century, it was common for actors to darken their faces for dramatic effect, as illustrated by Shakespeare’s Othello (Strausbaugh, 2010). It could be said that minstrelsy continues to be alive and well today, in the form of reality television and hip-hop culture. While opinions on what may be considered minstrelsy today may differ, there is no denying that Rice revolutionized how the centuries old tradition of blackface was used to create a new art form, the minstrel show.
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.
I chose this particular documentary because I am African-American and have personally experienced this issue with myself, my sisters and my daughter. Currently in the African-American community you see that there is a lot of unrest. We see this playing out in the media with the violence that is happening and question how to bring awareness to the issues and to make this better. I feel that this ties heavily to our self-worth and the love and respect that we must have and demand amongst ourselves first.
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?
The African arts formed an essential platform for the promotion of the African American culture today. This culture could not have been created and maintained without the aspiring poets, artists, writers, and musicians that all played a role.
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.
it addresses the many issues that African Americans deal with in this country, giving viewers a
Minstrel shows were the first form of American entertainment that developed in the North during the nineteenth century. They involved a variety of acts that were performed by white performers in blackface makeup before the civil war. The acts they performed were a mockery of the lives of the blacks who lived on the plantation farms in the south. Minstrelsy was popular between the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century and this had a huge impact on the American entertainment industry. It led to the development and popularization of African American dances as well as the basis for the development of black stereotypes.
American Theatre: History, Context, Form. Edinburgh: Edinburgh Univ, 2011. Print. Scott, Freda L. "Black Drama and the Harlem Renaissance."
My persona doll name is Ann, an African American. Ann has an afro puff hair style, shaped in two big balls. The children laugh at her hair and states, what are those balls on your head. Ann is upset and very emotional about this, because her mom does her hair like this, to last for a month. One of the white children stated your hair is ugly Ann. She also said you need to wear your hair like minds. Ann pulls on her hair all day in the classroom, as she looked sad.
Communication marks one of the most important features of a culture, and it is one of most easily observed. A culture's approach to people they are familiar to as well as strangers is indicative of the group's overarching values as a whole, which has been discussed in this course. This essay will examine communication in regards to African American and Indian cultures.
I’ve learned to appreciate the beauty of how theater is more than a mere performance, but rather an artform with nuance and depth. My knowledge on theatrical styles has expanded and some of my favorites we have studied in class are Brechtian and Chinese theatre styles. I grew up participating in musical theatre, but never had the opportunity to truly learn the history and details of the craft. After studying RENT, I am inspired by the various possibilities for theater beyond acting, singing, and dancing. Theater can be used for activism or as a form of commemoration. Theater is relevant by communicating issues to the world. Theater is so much more than a dramatic presentation. The theater that I have come to appreciate the most are the performances that relay a greater purposeful message about society amidst the theatricals on
In this paper, I will be focusing briefly on my knowledge and understanding of the concept of Applied theatre and one of its theatre form, which is Theatre in Education. The term Applied Theatre is a broad range of dramatic activity carried out by a crowd of diverse bodies and groups.
“… Without a continuous bond uniting men, without a continuous current of shared thought, … there could be no living worthy of being called human.” Richard Wright spoke these words in his autobiography Black Boy. He, as well as many other black Americans have displayed exmplemtory talent in the arts. As a matter of fact, blacks have contributed their talents to the arts, for many years, especially in the areas of painting, literature, and music.
My experience watching a live theatre performance on stage was a fascinating one, most especially since it was my first time. I attended a staged performance of “The History Boys” in a small theatre called “The Little Theatre of Alexandria” at 8:00 pm on Wednesday June 8, 2016 in Alexandria, Virginia. The overall production of the play was a resounding experience for me particularly the performance of the actors and the design of the scene made the play seem real.