Robey Theatre Research Paper

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 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.

Theatre is a collaboration of various forms of fine art which utilizes live performances presenting before the audience on a stage at a specific place within a scheduled time (Dugdale 10). The message is communicated through a combination of various channels like songs, speech gestures or dances. Stagecraft skills are combined with elements of art to make the performance more physical and near to real life experience. Theatre is categorized broadly into drama, musical theatre, comedy, tragedy and improvisation. Any form of these accepts integration of various production modes and collective reception to influence the artwork being presented. As a result of this cooperation of items in the theatre

August Wilson’s 1996 address entitled “The Ground on Which I Stand”, sparked a vigorous debate in the world of theater over the idea of “colorblind casting” and he presented the need for a Black Theatre. Mr. Wilson was outraged by the fact that of the 66 major companies belonging to the League of Resident Theaters, only one was black. He felt that the supporters of black theatre used their funds to increase black hiring in primarily white theatres as opposed to creating a theatre for the black community. Hw wanted to have more black theaters established to cater to the black actors as well as draw in black audiences. He attacks the increasingly popular trend of “colorblind casting” which basically meant casting black actors in roles traditionally

The Union enjoyed overall success in the Western Theater in 1862, but the year also brought defeat and setbacks between the times of Grant’s River War and the Battle at Stones River during the Civil War. These events contradicted the Unions success with strategic embarrassments that demonstrated the Union’s youth in military strategy in handling two separate theaters and management of men and goods.

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.

The national black theater has been here for almost 5 decades and hopefully will still be here even longer after 5 decades. The goal of black theater at the time was to strengthen and heal black communities in Harlem, as well as to tell the ordeals

What did the globe theater look like and what plays had been shown here you might ask. There are many different things about the globe theater such as when was it built, what was it built out of? What were the different plays that were shown? The different kinds of audiences did the theater get and many more interesting facts on the theater. The Globe Theater is a cool old rustic building that everyone goes to, to enjoy plays.

The history of African-Americans in theatre in performing arts and how they evolved is absolutely outstanding. African-Americans been entertaining audiences since the 1800s until this very day. It has made a colossal impact on the black theater community in today. The history of this topic is a combination of legendary years leading up to this very day. It’s mostly about how blacks, in the 1820s, finally got to take their theatre and performance name from the whites. Then took it upon themselves to stride for greatness.

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?

Theatre can help people understand different cultures and how they function, which is important in communicating and becoming more accepting of people not like themselves. Audiences can experience multicultural ¬¬theatre¬¬—African American, Hispanic, Native American, Asian American—that reflects the viewpoint of a collection of minorities. This aspect of theatre does not exclude special groups like feminists and the LGBT community. There has been an uprising in multicultural theatre companies in the United States: INSTAR, Ma-Yi Theater Co., National Black Theatre, etc. The playwright Ntozake Shange wrote For Colored Girls at the peak of the black feminist movement, in 1975. The play is a collection of poems that confess the stories of seven women of color and how their lives interconnect. The play contains topics of domestic abuse, rape, abortion, and faith, which sheds light on their struggles. The play ends with the women coming together who are now empowered by womanhood. Theatre plays a vital role in our society and it reflects the cultural norms and hardships at the

Starting off my group tried to use the list of movement vocabulary. That didn’t work out so instead we decided to focus on what our theme or story would be. Eventually we settled on two topics, unrequited love and love at first sight.

Musical Theatre is an art that I always envisioned myself pursing at the collegiate level and what I want to make a career out of as well. My perfect musical theatre program that I would want, would be a program that would help me to achieve a better understanding of who I am as a musical theatre artist first and then hopefully I can expand my artistic goals and further develop myself through whichever institution that I am attending. The musical theatre training that I have received in high school through my creative arts high school New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA) whether its been in dance, vocal, acting, or the productions that I have been cast

“In roughly built playhouses and cobblestone inn yards, an extraordinary development took place in England in the 1500s.” (Yancey, 8). At that time, an opportunity combined to produce literature achievement never before witnessed in the history of drama and theater. The renaissance, helped spark this movement by inspiring scientific and artistic creativity throughout the land. Models began writing dramas that portrayed life in both realistic and imaginative ways. This created work later captured the attention of the world that changed the English drama. The many aspects of Elizabethan theater helped to shape the acting and theater world forever.

On Saturday, October 28, I viewed Hear them Roar: The Fight for Women’s Rights, a production by NYU Steinhardt’s Educational Theatre program. Directed by Nan Smithner, clinical associate professor of educational theatre at New York University, the play not only focuses on the struggle of white American women to achieve equal rights, but also on immigrant women and women of color. We are also shown the point of view from the anti-suffragists, and it was quite unnerving to learn that many anti-suffragists were women themselves. The production also highlighted the men who were instrumental in helping woman achieve the right to vote. I enjoyed every aspect of this production as it opened my eyes to a new way of using theatre as an art form. While the diverse ensemble of actors and other artists, like the costumer and set designer, deserve credit for this wonderful show, I especially enjoyed the director’s work in making Hear them Roar: The Fight for Women’s Rights an eye opening, revolutionary play.