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All African American Cast (high school)....please help

  • 1.  All African American Cast (high school)....please help

    Posted 09-01-2018 12:03
    Hello all!

    Let me first say that I discovered this community a week ago, and i have been reading discussions non-stop since, searching for answers to my questions and you all are AMAZING!!!

    NOW! To the topic at hand. I have taken on the role of Drama Club sponsor at our inner-city historical black high school (HBHS). Our drama club consists of all black students, a very close representation of the school's entire demographic. Here's my question/area of uncertainty....I am having a VERY DIFFICULT time finding plays that my kids will enjoy AND that don't portray them as slaves, inmates, or criminals (since this is an HBHS, this factor is important to my administration). I really want to find a play that can have the same effect with an all black cast.  A play I found that I LOVE is "Angie", but the play takes place partly in a juvenile detention center, which I know I'll have a hard time getting approved. 

    Please advise!

    Things to Consider:
    • Im literally building this program from the ground up so our budget is tight. 
    • 10-15 cast members
    • Trying to stay away from musicals for this year due to the large licensing fees but I am open to plays with music. 


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    Thespian Chemist

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  • 2.  RE: All African American Cast (high school)....please help

    Posted 09-01-2018 16:21

    This may not be valid for this year since you aren't looking for a musical, but.... 

    You should read a bit about what the Denver Center for the Performing Arts is doing this year with an all african-american cast of "Oklahoma".  Here is a link to the show- be sure to scroll to the bottom to check out the in-depth articles.  Wilson Chin, the set designer for the show, has a really interesting concept.  They are setting it in an all African-American town.  I've been fascinated by the idea for this material.  You will really get something out of this for *your* kids.  Best wishes to you and your cast/crew!

    https://www.denvercenter.org/tickets-events/oklahoma/



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    Tammy Franklin
    Director, Producer, Designer
    The Curtain Playhouse
    Imagine Theatre Competition
    Denver CO and Anaheim CA
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    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: All African American Cast (high school)....please help

    Posted 09-02-2018 11:51
    I appreciate your challenge. I have been doing plays by Black playwrights for nearly 15 years and high school appropriate ones are a difficult to find. There are tons of beautiful, small-cast shows but you want 10 to 15 characters!

    You might want to look at THE AMEN CORNER by James Baldwin. It is a favorite of mine.

    My students enjoyed working on A RAISIN IN THE SUN by Loraine Hansberry although it is fairly common now and includes several white characters. I am sure you have already considered this.

    I have found my reps at Samuel French to be especially helpful in finding plays. I would put a call into them.

    ------------------------------
    Mark A. Zimmerman,

    Theatre Director
    Akron School for the Arts
    Firestone Community Learning Center
    470 Castle Blvd
    Akron, Ohio 44313

    Troupe 5570

    mzimmerm@apslearn.org
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    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: All African American Cast (high school)....please help

    Posted 09-03-2018 09:55
    I am a huge fan of Suzan-Lori Parks' plays. Her work is mostly done by regionals and colleges because it is hard-hitting. However, from what I can remember, TOPDOG/UNDERDOG (cast of two males) and THE AMERICA PLAY (cast of 3 leads and a chorus of sorts). I've been teaching in a prison and I know, if I was allowed to read plays with my students (which I am not--too "stimulating"), the men would be into them.

    Here's a contemporary playwright list that has the greats who are thriving right now. Love B J-J The Octoroon. If I had more time, I would be more specific. Check them out.

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    Annemarie Bean
    Long Trail School
    Dorset VT
    abean@longtrailschool.org
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    Original Message


  • 5.  RE: All African American Cast (high school)....please help

    Posted 09-02-2018 12:36
    Two suggestions:
    Shakespeare & other classic theatre.
    Have students write their own plays based on their own experiences.

    Shakespeare and student-written plays have been the cornerstones of my program for decades. I included both of them in every theatre season.

    Billy Houck
    Theatre Teacher, retired
    Carmichael, CA



    Original Message


  • 6.  RE: All African American Cast (high school)....please help

    Posted 09-03-2018 08:56
    I know that your budget is tight, so maybe a musical is a bit of a reach, but I suggest Once on This Island and The Wiz.  Both are musicals that can be done on a budget, and actually still sound good with minimal instruments.

    And I thought long and hard about suggesting this next one (because it's kind of a cliche), but what about Our Town?  There have been so many really cool takes on this story in recent years. 

    Additionally, I'd look at adaptations of myths and folk tales.  You could adapt your own, avoid paying a royalty, etc. 

    Good luck!

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    Eric McNaughton
    Theatre Director
    Marist School
    AtlantaGA
    mcnaughtone@marist.com
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    Original Message


  • 7.  RE: All African American Cast (high school)....please help

    Posted 09-03-2018 09:19
    One African-American play, not so well known, is She'll Find Her Way Home. It doesn't have 15 characters but it does combine a bit of history. It's a love story about the founders of Mound Bayou,MS, shortly after the Civil War. It's by Valetta Anderson, a contemporary African-American writer. You might Google her name as a playwright to see what other plays she might have.

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    Jean Klein
    [Playwright/Founder HaveScripts/BlueMoonPlays]
    Virginia Beach VA
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    Original Message


  • 8.  RE: All African American Cast (high school)....please help

    Posted 09-03-2018 11:21
    Hi there!

    I also teach at an all-black high school and have been directing musical theatre here for the past 6 years. I'd be happy to serve as a resource for you so please e-mail me at caity.schneeman@kippdc.org if you'd like to problem-solve! 

    In the meantime, I would say don't limit yourself to plays written for black actors, per se. Hamilton has led the way to opening up all roles for people of color. We've done High School Musical, Grease, Bring it On, Seussical, and Hairspray (costumes were essential there) with all-black casts and it's gone very well.

    One play/musical I've thought about that might work for what you're thinking is "The Me Nobody Knows." There's also a really nice short version of "The Bluest Eye." 

    Lastly, if budget is an issue, there is a LOT of money to be had out there through grantwriting and charitable donations. Don't be afraid to ask! People want to support diversity in the arts. 

    Best of luck!

    ------------------------------
    Caity Schneeman
    Theatre Arts Teacher
    KIPP DC College Prep
    Washington DC
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    Original Message


  • 9.  RE: All African American Cast (high school)....please help

    Posted 09-03-2018 14:19
    I don't know if you'll want to or be allowed to take this on, but one of my all-time favorite plays is A Day of Absence by Douglas Turner Ward. It is brilliant, scathing and funny and could be done with a minimal set. I think most actors would have a great time with the roles and playing with the stereotypes in the play. Plus, there's a lot of history you could get into - minstrel shows, blackface, the use of vicious stereotypes in media then and now. 

    Dramatists Play Service, Inc.
    Dramatists remove preview
    Dramatists Play Service, Inc.
    Winner of the coveted Vernon Rice and Obie Awards. Coupled with HAPPY ENDING in its successful Off-Broadway production, this clever and enormously amusing satire is described by the author as "A Reverse Minstrel Show. "Here the all-black cast, made up in white face, recount the uproarious emergencies which occur when a Southern town is faced with the sudden and inexplicable disappearance of all its black citizens.
    View this on Dramatists >


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    Ken Buswell
    Drama Teacher
    Peachtree City, GA
    http://mcintoshtheater.org/

    Theater kills ignorance
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    Original Message


  • 10.  RE: All African American Cast (high school)....please help

    Posted 09-03-2018 14:23
    Tarell Alvin McCraney's "Marcus; or the Secret of Sweet" and "In the Red and Brown Water" both have casts of 10, 5M 5W. The fantastic original productions basically were done on a bare stage. Dramatists Play Service.

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    Cora Turlish
    Metuchen NJ
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    Original Message


  • 11.  RE: All African American Cast (high school)....please help

    Posted 09-04-2018 10:38
    I love August Wilson's Joe Turner's Come and Gone.  It has 11 characters, 5 of which are women.

    Mention of an all-black Oklahoma made me think of Pearl Cleage's Flyin' West.  It is just 2 men, 4 women, though.  It takes place in an all-black town on the frontier.

    I agree with doing Shakespeare.  If you would like some slight abridgments of  Romeo and Juliet, Comedy of Errors, or Much Ado About Nothing, let me know and I'll be happy to send you mine.

    I also love the idea of having your students write something to perform, but that can be particularly chaotic and frustrating in an extracurricular setting.  If your kids are psyched about writing, and if you don't have much training in playwriting, you might see if you can find a local playwright or dramaturg to come in and help sequence pieces and give the students' writing some shape as a performance piece.

    I have many, many plays by African American writers in our classroom reading library.  The non-black students get a lot out of reading the plays, but many African American students find them depressing.  I tell them that when women playwrights really started emerging in the 1980s, many of the plays were utterly depressing.  I think the bile that has gathered must be spit out, and a marginalized group must feel some strength in their position in the society, before they can write comedy.  We like to be laughed WITH, not at.  I challenge them to write their happy and optimistic stories, if they feel there is a need for such.

          

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    C. J. Breland
    Asheville High School
    Asheville NC
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    Original Message


  • 12.  RE: All African American Cast (high school)....please help

    Posted 09-04-2018 12:00
    I agree with what was said earlier about not limiting yourself to shows billed as having an all black cast (though I also understand wanting to specifically choose something that does as well). Maybe just look for good material that would work for anyone. You can look at past discussion threads on this forum for good shows for around 15 people and for beginners. Here are few additional ideas...

    Given that you do have beginners and you yourself are just getting started with them I'd look into shows that are low cost and maybe scene based with a thematic thread between them, but can be rehearsed separately and are easy to replace or switch out actors as you go if needed and have a flexible cast size. A great example would be something like "All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten." You could also work with the kids to write their own scenes and monologues on a theme that you choose or they pick together and agree upon for the same effect and little to no cost. I think low risk, high reward is the best way to grow and if you are doing these types of shows, you can keep the cost low but the reward high as each student gets a moment to shine. 

    If you want to explore all black cast shows look into works by August Wilson or Lorraine Hansberry which may not all be school appropriate but maybe you could get permission to do selected scenes from several of his or her works for the same effect as above. 


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    Kathleen McNulty Mann
    mcnulkl@bay.k12.fl.us

    Program Director
    Arnold High School Theatre
    Thespian Troupe 6371
    Panama City Beach, FL

    District 10 Chair & State Logistics
    Florida State Junior Thespians

    Board Member
    Membership Committee Chair
    Florida Association for Theatre Education
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 13.  RE: All African American Cast (high school)....please help

    Posted 09-04-2018 12:12
    I am going to second Our Town although I don't feel it is cliche.  I've done it twice and students loved it both times.  I find the show is quite magical and hopeful and timely.  There have been at least two discussions on the forum about the show so you might search for those and see what you think.  It's quality material and nothing objectionable.

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    Amy Learn
    Ballwin MO
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    Original Message


  • 14.  RE: All African American Cast (high school)....please help

    Posted 09-04-2018 15:41
    Glad you liked Angie! 

    I'm going to suggest you take a look at a play, CONSTITUTION AVE, from an up-and-coming young playwright named Dave Harris. It's going to feel a little edgy and a little dangerous, but I think it will speak powerfully to your community. It's definitely a majority black cast, although there may be some roles for other ethnicities as well. 

    If you'd like, I can put you in touch with Dave, and he can send you the play. You can email me at donzolidis@gmail.com 


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    Don Zolidis
    Austin TX
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    Original Message


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