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62 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Burlesque in Europe
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- (probably) from French for “to send up”
- Breeches roles and double entendre - Known as “classical” or “musical” burlesque |
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Burlesque in Europe 14th century
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England and the Canterbury Tales
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Burlesque in Europe 17th century
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Italy and France: “grotesque imitation”
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Burlesque in Europe 18th c.
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Europe: musical parodies as middle class entertainment
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Rise of American Burlesque (1870-1920)
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- Blend of satire, performance art, and adult spectacle
- Term referred only to adult revue shows - Elaborate sets, costumes, and effects - Reaction against English Victorianism - Focus on lower, more bawdy subjects - Lydia Thompson’s “British Blondes - System of rules and regulations - Decline in 1930s, enjoying contemporary revival |
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Vaudeville 1880s-1930s (or 1950s)
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- Multiple entertainments on a single stage
- Common acts included both representative and non-representative performance - Tony Pastor’s “polite” variety shows, 1881 - Voix de ville and respectability - Vaudeville and the archive |
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Vaudeville’s empire
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- B.F. Keith and the business of vaudeville
- Albee and respectability - Orpheum circuit - Multiple levels of contracts and circuits tied to the popularity of an act - Specialized circuits - Film led to the form’s demise |
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Ntozake Shange (b. 1948)
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- Born Paulette Williams in Trenton, New Jersey
- Attended recently de-segregated school - Parents exposed her to numerous black artists - Bachelors’ and Masters’ degrees in American Studies - Bouts of depression led to a suicide attempt - Changed name in 1971 - Moved to New York in 1975, OBIE for for colored girls in 1977 |
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The Jazz Aesthetic
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- Joni Jones/Omi Osun Olomo
- New way to describe “what is a black play/what is playing black” - Experimental work - Emphasis on ensemble over protagonist - Process over product - “Polyrythmic”/musical language - Individualized sense of time and space - Exploration begins with the body in space |
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For colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf (1975)
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- First staged at Bacchanal, a women’s bar in Berkeley, CA.
- “clarifying our lives” - A way of knowing “a woman’s mind and spirit” - The “mechanics of self-production” - “Smitten by my own language” - “The space we used was the space I knew” - Began with improvisation and exploration |
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Theatre and the Harlem Renaissance
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- Flowering of African American culture in the 1920s and 30s
- Artists and intellectuals - “New Negro Movement” - Harlem as center of the African American community - 1917: Ridgely Torrence’s Three Plays for the Negro Theatre |
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Lorraine Hansberry (1930-1965)
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- Born in Chicago to a real estate broker and a professor
- Lived in an all white neighborhood and faced lots of discrimination - Hansberry vs. Lee, 1940 - Left college for New York and worked for Freedom - A Raisin in the Sun (1959) first play by an African American author on Broadway |
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A Raisin in the Sun
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- An examination of black family homelife in the face of segregation and racism
- Differing constructions of blackness - Integration vs. segregation, aspirations vs. injustice |
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Amiri Baraka (b. 1934)
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- Born Everett leRoi Jones in Newark
- Left college for the army, but discharged for “soviet writings’ - Totem Press in 1958 - 1966 founded Spirit House Theatre - Black Arts Movement and the Black Arts Repertory Theatre/School - Dutchman (1964) |
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Hispanic
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The word "Hispanic" is a bit more universal than "Chicano." Historically, areas conquered by the Spaniards were considered part of a region originally called Hispania. Modern countries which can trace their history to Spain are now considered to be Hispanic, and include Mexico, Central America, and most of South America where Spanish is the primary language. The only exception to this Hispanic designation is Brazil, which was settled by Portugal, not Spain. Any citizen of those countries originally colonized by Spain can be considered Hispanic. People from Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Panama and other areas south of the American border would all be considered Hispanic.
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Latin American (Latino/a)
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"Latino" is very close in meaning to Hispanic, but it also includes other countries such as Brazil. The regional description "Latin America" now refers to the countries where Romance languages (Spanish, Portuguese) are spoken, but was originally used by Napoleon to describe other Romance speaking (French included) territories throughout the Americas. To be described as a Latino is not considered derogatory, although it can be construed as a generic for all Hispanic cultures, much like referring to a Korean or Japanese-American as "Asian." While "Latino" may be politically and socially correct, it may more culturally sensitive to learn a person's specific heritage and refer to him or her as "Nicaraguan" or "Guatemalan" rather than the broader "Latino."
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Chicano/a
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"Chicano" refers specifically to Mexican-Americans, or anyone else of Mexican heritage. When Mexican workers and their families first moved into America, they were often referred to as "Mexicanos," which became shortened over time to "Xicanos" or "Chicanos". At first, "Chicano" was considered to be derogatory, somewhat akin to "Chinaman" or "Negro." Eventually, however, many in the Mexican-American community embraced the term, at least informally. There are still older Mexican-Americans who view "Chicano" as something less than respectful. It should only be used to describe those of Mexican descent, not those of Central or South American descent.
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Tejano/a
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1 : a Texan of Hispanic descent
2 [probably short for conjunto tejano, literally, Texan ensemble] : Tex-Mex popular music combining elements of traditional, rock, and country music and often featuring an accordion |
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History and Central Concerns
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- Pre-colonial performance relied on ritual and a connection to the world
- Europeans used performance to spread Christian doctrine - Exploitation of spectacle - Moving forward, theatre becomes about finding voice - Concerns include family, religion, language and cultural identity and history |
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El Teatro Campesino (1965)
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- Cultural arm of the United Farm Workers’ Union
- Original members were all farmers, staging events from their daily lives - Performances on flat bed trucks in fields - Founded by Luis Valdez (“father of Chicano theatre”) - Led to the founding of numerous campus and community-based troupes |
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Zoot Suit (1978)
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- Luis Valdez-first Chicano play on Broadway
- Blends events of the Sleepy Lagoon murder trial with the 1940s Zoot Suit Riots - “Pachucos” - Running commentary and news headlines |
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María Irene Fornés (b. 1930)
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- Born in Havana, Cuba. Moved to U.S. in 1945
- Trained as a painter, traveled to Spain and France - 1972: New York Theatre Strategy - Fefu and her Friends (1977) - Emphasis on precise movement and actor position on stage |
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From an interview with Fornés
Interviewer: Are you a diva? : |
Maria Irene Fornes: No, I am a poor, honest, simple, truthful little girl who's always looking for the truth, the meaning of life, but it seems I adore divas and waste all my time dealing with divas instead of looking for the meaning of life.
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From an interview with Fornés:
Michelle Memran: What's the meaning of life? |
Maria Irene Fornes: No. Well I haven't found it. That's what I'm telling you. I'm looking for it. How would I know what it is? If I knew what it is do you think I'd waste my time looking for it? I would know what it is. I would know where it is. If I knew what it was it would love me, it would adore me and it would be next to me all the time. But because I don't know what it is it may be next to me all the time - it doesn't recognize me. I don't recognize it. So that's why there is no meaning in my life.
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From an interview with Fornés:
Michelle Memran: Come on. There's no meaning in your life? |
Maria Irene Fornes: No: No meaning at all. It is all despair. It is all anguish. It is all desire. It is all the hope for the pleasure of encountering it. It is what I encounter - they think I am in it for fun, they think I am in it for sex, they think I am in it for romance . . . No, no, no, no, no - I am all for the meaning of life.
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Cherrie Moraga (b. 1952)
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- Born in Whittier, CA, both Anglo and Hispanic roots
- Identifies most strongly as Chicana lesbian - Kitchen Table Press - Essayist, academic, and writing teacher, A Bridge Called My Back - Heroes and Saints, 1994 - Spanglish |
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The Renaissance (early 16th century-early 17th century)
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- “Rebirth” of classical material
- Humanism - Tie between science and art - Martin Luther and the Reformation - Edmund Spenser and John Milton - Queen Elizabeth I stabilized English religion |
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Professional Theatre Companies
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- Elizabeth outlawed religious subjects
- Theatre as commercial, money making venture - Company formation depended on patronage - Theatrical profession still feared for its questionable morality - Foundation of numerous companies led to heavy competition for audiences (and artists) |
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The Theatres
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- First - The Red Lion (1567)
- The Theatre (1576) became The Globe (1599) - Globe burned down in 1613 and rebuilt - Open air spaces - Thrust stage - Galleries vs. pit space - “The Heavens” - The tiring house - No scenery - Costumes mostly contemporary |
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The Companies
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- Shareholders-part owners, part artists
- Temporary/contract salaried workers - Apprentices (young boys) - Parts written for specific actors like Richard Burbage, William Kempe and Robert Armin - Skilled verse speakers, singers and dancers - Plays generally had to contain something for everyone - Quick turnover of new material |
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William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
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- Born to a glove maker in Stratford-Upon-Avon
- Moved to London (alone) as actor and playwright - Lots of controversy, many details unknown or unclear - 38 plays, 154 sonnets, 2 long narrative poems and other works - “Upstart Crow” - Plays usually not set in England - Blank verse and iambic pentameter - Quarto vs. Folio texts |
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Shakespeare’s contemporaries
Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593) |
- University educated
- Dr. Faustus (1592) - Questionable political and religious ties |
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Shakespeare’s contemporaries
John Webster (1580-1634) |
- Born and lived in London
- Dark, disturbing, violent view of humans - The Duchess of Malfi (1612) |
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Shakespeare’s contemporaries
Ben Johnson (1572-1637) |
- University educated
- Lord Admiral’s Men under Henslowe - Volpone (1999), satirical and humorous |
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Much Ado About Nothing (1598)
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- First recorded performance in 1613 at Princess Elizabeth’s wedding
- One of Shakespeare’s later (more “mature”) comedies, uses well-known conventions - Ambiguity surrounding the title - Shakespeare drawing from well known sources and mythology - Renaissance gender roles |
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What is Minstrelsy?
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- Racist 19th Century popular form of entertainment
- American form of performance: NOT originated by African Americans - Blackface-cork used to paint actors’ faces - Most popular in the North |
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Why Study Minstrelsy?
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- Performance of Race: fiction as fact
- Coming to terms with U.S.’s past - Continues to influence our culture: Stereotypes Performance forms Songs |
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Origins
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- Blackface performance in Europe
- T.D. Rice: “Jump Jim Crow” - Northern White men: mimicking Black street performers - Entr’e Acts: intermission performance ***Distorted interpretation of Black American Culture |
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Black American Minstrels
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- First troupe formed in 1855
- STILL used Blackface - William Henry Lane and Thomas Dilward: first Black minstrel performers - Bert Williams: vaudeville performer who used blackface |
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Structure: Three Acts
Walkabout |
- Song and dance procession
- Semi-circle |
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Structure: Three Acts
Olio |
- Variety show
- Stump Speech |
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Structure: Three Acts
Afterpiece |
- Large one act
- Tom Show |
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Stock Characters
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Uncle Tom
Sambo Zip Coon Mammy Tragic Mulatto Pickanniny |
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Advantages of Black Americans in Minstrelsy
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- Entryway into theatre
- Paid performances - Opportunities for subversion |
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Drawbacks of Black Americans in Minstrelsy
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- False authenticity
- Catered to white audiences - NOT theatre for social change |
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Legacy of Minstrelsy
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- Performed well into the 1950s
- STILL seen in: Advertisements Cartoons Popular songs “Ghetto” Parties |
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Quick and Dirty History: What came before the theatre
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- Fall of Rome 476 C. E.
- Traveling minstrels - Christianization, rise of the Catholic Church - Catholic Mass - Transubstantiation |
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Liturgical Drama
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- Enacted by priests during Catholic Mass
- Quem Quaeritis (c.915) - In Latin - Dramatized readings/chants of Biblical stories - As churches get more elaborate, playing spaces begin to be built into them. |
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Theatre moves out of the church
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- Saint’s Plays,
- Morality Plays, - Miracle Plays - Performance in the classroom as a rhetorical exercise - Hrosvitha (c.935) |
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The Mystery Plays (aka the Cycle Plays)
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- Recognizable actors
- Part doubling - Anachronism - Audience participation - Day-long festivals - Special effects - In the vernacular - Performed by guildsmen - Pageant wagons - Processional - A way of accessing Biblical stories, perhaps for the first time |
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What is a guild?
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- Beginnings of labor unions
- Established standards for their trades - Allowed a sense of identity - Facilitated participation in developing market economy |
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Mystery Plays and the guilds
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- Rivalries for “the best” plays
- Tie between religion and economics |
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Mystery Plays and the Eucharist
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Processions may have developed from processions designed to take the Eucharist wafer to the sick or feeble.
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Lady in yellow
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- Detroit
- lost virginity on graduation night in a black Buick - lost touch with reality, was able to be hurt, survive on intimacy and tomorrow, being a woman, colored, and alive is a metaphysical dilemma that she hasn't conquered yet, her love is too delicate to have thrown back in her face. |
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Lady in blue
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- Manhattan... New Jersey
- Hints of spanish, likes to dance - Temper went out of control when Willie Colon wasn't able to make it - Had an abortion secretly - Her new world is Harlem... made her creul - i need to be loved and haven't the audacity to say where are you and don't know who to say it to... we should just be white so we don't have to deal with emotion and can be abstract. - my love is too magic to have thrown back on my face |
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Lady in brown
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- Chicago
- Found Toussaint in adult reading room, lost prize for reading 15 books in one summer - Went after Toussaint 'Ouverture ended up with Toussaint Jones - Tried to move to Haiti - Ran away from integrated home, street, and school - my love is too delicate to have thrown back on my face |
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Lady in purple
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- Houston
- Love between sisters... one man could not seperate them from each other... she liked him, but he was a player. friends are there forever. - Let me love you just like i am, a colored girl, no longer impervious to pain - my love is too sanctified to have thrown back on my face |
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Lady in red
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- Baltimore
- Ended affair - Vengeful Seductress, does one night stands with men, wanted to be an unforgettable memory, wound to every man... cried herself to sleep - my love is too complicated to have thrown back on my face |
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Lady in green
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- San Francisco
- Sechita, Creole Carnival - my love is too music to have thrown back on my face - somebody almost stole all of my stuff, was almost kidnapped? raped? the man who almost stole all of her stuff was a man, a lover, and the one running with it doesn't know that he's got it. |
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Lady in Orange
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- St. Louis... New York City
- Was the consollation prize for a man, didn't believe in leaving bitterness in other people, didn't like for someone to be colored and sorry, but was that way because she had no one else? - my love is too saturday night to have thrown back on my face |
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Shakespeare wrote:
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Histories, Comedies, Tragedies, then Romances. That is the correct order.
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1925
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the New Negro Movment (aka The Harlem Renaissance) was firmly established at that time.
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