African American Theatre: An Historical and Critical Analysis (Cambridge Studies in American Theatre and Drama, Series Number 1)

A landmark work in the study of Black theater and drama, African American Theatre offers the first comprehensive history of a major cultural phenomenon until now too often neglected. In this fast-paced investigation, Hay seeks out the origins of Black theater in social protest, as envisioned by W.E.B. Dubois, and as a formal branch of arts theater. Divided between these opposing forces—the activist and the artistic—Black theater, Hay argues, faced conflicts of identity whose traces still haunt the medium today. African American Theatre thus offers a means of locating Black theater in the larger context of American theater and in the continuum of African American history from the nineteenth century to the present—and in doing so offers a profile of dramatic expression shaped and scarred by the forces of repression, of self-affirmation, and of subversion. Sweeping in scope, original in approach and provocatively written, this important book mines the origins and influences directing Black theater, while charting a course for its future survival. The book traces the history of African American theatre from its beginnings to the present. It analyses the types of plays written for this theatre, identifies the perennial problems faced by theatre artists and producing companies, and makes bold, innovative proposals for the theatre's healthy survival. The book draws on a considerable body of information that is carefully assembled in a lively accessible language. Professor Hay suggests that this theatre has been not only the cultural repository for African American life and history but also the forum where important ideas and aspirations of a people have been advanced and argued. The book presents a coherent and detailed scrutiny of the major stages of the development of African American theatre Frontmatter Acknowledgments (page ix) African American Drama and Theatre: Outline of Schools, Periods, Classes, Subclasses, and Types (page xi) Introduction (page 1) 1. The Black Experience School of Drama (page 15) 2. The Black Arts School of Drama (page 78) 3. Theatre People: Some Splendid Examples (page 135) 4. The Governance of Theatre Organizations (page 171) 5. Development (page 191) Conclusion (page 221) Appendixes A Goals for a Theatre Criticism Workshop (page 225) B New Theatre Organizational Structure (page 226) C The National Endowment for African American Theatre, Inc. (page 230) Notes (page 237) Select Bibliography (page 269) Index (page 275) Samuel A. Hay. Includes Biblliographical References (p. 269-274) And Index.