2008-2009 Season Study Guide by Syracuse Stage

2008/09

SEASON STUDY GUIDE

E M O C M A E R D S U H T I W

TALES FROM THE

SALT CITY

Crowns

2008 - 2009 EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH SPONSORS STUDENT MATINEE PROGRAM Playwrights Circle ($5,000 - $7,499) National Grid Directors Circle ($1,500 - $2,799) Grandma Brown Foundation Price Chopper’s Golub Foundation

CARRIER BACKSTORY PROGRAM Regents Circle ($7,500 - $13,999) Carrier Corporation Syracuse Campus-Community Entrepreneurship Initiative, funded by the Kauffman Foundation Syracuse University GEAR-UP Playwrights Circle ($5,000 - $7,499) KARE Foundation Directors Circle ($1,500 - $2,799) Time Warner Cable Lockheed Martin Employees Federated Fund

LOCKHEED MARTIN PROJECT BLUEPRINT Regents Circle ($7,500 - $13,999) Lockheed Martin MS2

BANK OF AMERICA CHILDREN’S TOUR Founders Circle ($14,000 - $24,999) Bank of America Producers Circle ($2,800 - $4,999) Lockheed Martin Employees Federated Fund Directors Circle ($1,500 - $2,799) Wegmans Benefactors ($1,000 - $1,499) Excellus BlueCross BlueShield

CHASE YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL Founders Circle ($14,000 - $24,999) Chase

ARTS EMERGING Founders Circle ($14,000 - $24,999) Partnership for Better Education Regents Circle ($7,500 - $13,999) NYS Assembly through the office of William Magnarelli Directors Circle ($1,500 - $2,799) Bristol-Myers Squibb Company

2008 - 2009 Educational Outreach Corporate Sponsors Since 1849 National Grid and its predecessor companies have been part of the Syracuse community, helping to meet the energy needs of over two million Upstate New York customers. We are proud to contribute to the quality of life through the energy we deliver and through the many ways we give back to the communities we serve.

2008 - 2009 Syracuse Stage Season Sponsors

2008 / 2009 SEASON STUDY GUIDE CONTENTS Timothy Bond Producing Artistic Director Jeffrey Woodward Managing Director

__ 820 E. Genesee Street Syracuse, NY 13210 Artistic Office (315) 443 - 4008 Educational Outreach (315) 443 - 1150 (315) 442 - 7755 Box Office (315) 443 - 3275 Group Sales and Matinees (315) 443 - 9844 ___ www.syracusestage.org ___ Syracuse Stage is Central New York’s premiere professional theatre. Founded as a not-for-profit theatre in 1974, Stage has produced more than 220 plays in 34 seasons including numerous world and American premieres. Each season, upwards of 90,000 patrons enjoy an exciting mix of comedies, dramas and musicals featuring the finest professional theatre artists. Stage attracts leading designers, directors, and performers from New York and across the country. These visiting artists are supported by a full-time and seasonal staff of artisans, technicians, and administrators. Syracuse Stage is a member of The League of Resident Theatres (LORT,) Theatre Communications Group (TCG,) the Syracuse Chamber of Commerce, the Arts & Cultural Leadership Alliance (ACLA,) the East Genesee Regent Association, and the Partnership for Better Education.

4. Planning Your Visit 5. Theatre & Education 6. Elements of Theatre 7. General Questions 8. Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom 15. Tales From the Salt City 22. Godspell 30. Up 37. The Diary of Anne Frank 43. Crowns 50. Notes 51. About Educational Outreach © 2008 Syracuse Stage Educational Outreach Chief Editor Lauren Unbekant Edited by Nichole Gantshar and Adam Zurbruegg Design & Layout by Adam Zurbruegg Cover photo by Scherzi Studios; Cover design by Campdesign

EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH AT SYRACUSE STAGE Syracuse Stage is committed to providing students with rich theatre experiences that connect to and reveal what it is to be human. Research shows that students who participate in or are exposed to the arts show higher academic achievement, stronger self-esteem, and an improved ability to plan and work toward a future goal. Last season more than 35,000 students from 24 counties attended or participated in in-depth integrated arts partnerships with Syracuse Stage. For more information, call (315) 443-1150 or (315) 442-7755. The Bank of America CHILDREN’S TOUR brings high-energy, interactive, and culturally diverse performances to elementary school audiences. The Carrier BACKSTORY! Program brings history to life, as professional actors portray historical figures in classrooms and other venues. Lockheed Martin PROJECT BLUEPRINT merges scientific discovery and the arts, as an actor portraying a scientist/mathematician introduces students to the connections between scientific discovery and the arts. artsEMERGING takes high school students on an in-depth exploration of a mainstage play using a multi-cultural, multi-arts lens. The Chase YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL challenges high school students to submit original plays for a chance to see their work performed at Syracuse Stage.

Planning Your Visit Teachers! Please speak with your students about the role of the audience in watching a live performance. The following are some helpful suggestions and guidelines to make the day more enjoyable.

GIVE your students plenty of time to arrive, find their seats, and get situated. We ask that you arrive 30 minutes prior to the performance. Our student matinees begin promptly at 10:30AM. Latecomers are seated at the discretion of House Management. BUSSES not staying should load and unload on East Genesee Street, where bagged meters will indicate bus-only parking. Please do not park in the Centro Bus Stop. When you exit the bus, have your group stay together inside the main lobby. USHERS will escort you to your seats - we do not use tickets for our student matinees. Students will be asked to fill in the rows and not move around once seated. We request that teachers and chaperones distribute themselves throughout the students and not sit together. Remember, we need to seat 500 people as quickly as possible, so your help is greatly appreciated. BACKPACKS, cameras, food, and drinks are not allowed into the theatre. We do not have storage facilities for these items, so please leave them at school or on the bus. PHOTOGRAPHS or video taken with a camera or cell phone are illegal, disruptive, and sometimes dangerous to the performers. All cameras or other recording devices are prohibited and will be confiscated. SNACKS and soda will be sold whenever possible during intermission, at a cost of $1. Food and drinks are to be consumed in the lobby, as they are not allowed into the theatre. RESTROOMS are located in the main lobby. We ask that students use the facilities only before the show and during intermission, and not leave during the show.

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The Audience’s Role A performance needs an audience. It is as much a part of the theatre event as actors, designers, technicians, and crew. Each playwright invites you into the world he/she has created - but this world is different than television or movies. The actors need your responses (laughter and applause) but conversations, cell phones, and other distractions will disrupt that world. If any student becomes disruptive to the point of interference with the performers or audience, a chaperone will be asked to remove that student. If you play your part well, the actors can do the same, and all will enjoy the show!

Theatre & Education

“Theatre brings life to life.”

-Zelda Fichandler

hen the first cave-dweller got up to tell a story, theatre began. Almost every culture has some sort of live performance tradition to tell stories. Television and film may have diminished the desire for access to theatre, but they have not diminished the importance. Live theatre gives each audience member an opportunity to connect with the peformers in a way he or she never could with Tom Cruise or Lindsay Lohan. The emotions can be more intense because the events are happening right in front of the audience.

n the classroom, theatre can be used in a variety of ways. In many respects the teacher is much like an actor on stage - with an audience, a script (lesson plan,) props (visual aids,) and scenery (the classroom setting.) Both theatre and teaching rely on the interplay between performer and audience.

From this perspective, all of what can be taught can be taught theatrically. Young children can create a pretend bank to learn about money and mathematics. Older students may be asked to act out scenes from a play or novel. Theatre provides both an opportunity to teach , and the means to do so.

ringing your students to productions at Syracuse Stage, and utilizing this study guide to integrate the play into your lesson plans, fulfills elements of the New York State core requirements. We know that as educators, you are more qualified to determine how our plays and study guides blend with your goals and requirements. We hope that we can help you to discover possibilities spanning many disciplines. As you bring your students to the shows, you may want them to examine not merely the thematic elements of the play, but also how production elements explore these themes. Everything you see on the stage has been created specifically for this production. There are no standard sets for Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, no rules for costuming Crowns. Our designers meet with our directors months before rehearsals start, and shows are built to their specifications, which are in line with their vision of the work. Exploring design elements with your students is a way of opening the door to the production they will be seeing. We’ll begin with activites and questioning that can be applied to any play, and then move into details regarding specific plays. So, without further ado, welcome to Syracuse Stage... and enjoy the show!

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Elements of Theatre

Elements of Visual Art: Any piece of visual art (including scenery, costumes, etc.) contain the following ‘elements of art.’

Theatre usually engages many forms of art including: -Writing -Visual/Design • Scenery & Props • Costumes • Sound • Lighting • Casting -Music -Dance/Movement

Line Shape Form

Principles of Design: Art (or any of the elements listed above) can be examined further through the ‘principles of design.’ Balance Proportion Rhythm Emphasis Unity

How have the designers utilized these elements and principles?

ELEMENTS OF DRAMA:

Why have they done so?

- Character WHO are the characters and what is their relationship to each other? - Plot/Story WHAT is the story line? What happened before the play started? What do the characters want? What will they do to get it? What do they stand to gain or lose? - Setting WHERE does the story take place? How does this affect the characters’ behavior? How does it affect the plot? How does it affect the design? - Time WHEN does the story take place? What year is it? What season? What time of day? How does this affect the characters, plot and design of the play?

Other Elements to Explore: Conflict/Resolution, Action, Improvisation, Non-verbal communication, Staging, Humor, Realism and other styles, Metaphor, Language, Tone, Pattern and repetition, Emotion, Point of view.

What are the trying to convey visually? What would be other options? CREATING QUESTIONS FOR EXPLORATION Creating an open-ended question using an element for exploration (otherwise known as a “line of inquiry”) can help students make discoveries about a piece of theatre and its relevance to their lives. A line of inquiry is also useful for kinesthetic activities (on-your-feet exercises.) Examples of Lines of Inquiry: 1. How does an actor create a character using his/her body? How would you imply setting using your body? 2. How might a director create a sense of realism on stage? Why might you not want to use realism? 3. How does an actor use the language of gesture to convey emotion/feeling? 4. How does the use of music convey the mood of a scene?

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Space Color Texture

General Questions These questions were designed to promote classroom discussion of any play. Use these questions as a model to help you design your own analysis techniques.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

How does the play start? What does the playwright do to set the scene? How are the characters introduced? What other techniques does the play use to help you jump into the story? Who is the main character? What does he/she want? (“Objective”) How will he/she get it? (“Actions/Tactics”) What is stopping him/her? (“Obstacles”) How does the character change throughout the play? Why is the play set in the time period that it is? How would the play be different if the time period were different? Is there a character who helps the main character come to decisions and changes? How? Opposition? Reflection? Is there a villain/antagonist in the play? Does there need to be good character and a bad one? What makes a play relevant? What makes it important? What are the elements that make this piece suited for the stage, as opposed to film, television, or a novel?

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PRESENTS

’S

ILSON W T S U UG

DIRECTED BY

Timothy Bond MUSICAL DIRECTOR/ COMPOSER

SCENIC DESIGN

COSTUME DESIGN

Michael G. Keck

William Bloodgood

Helen Q. Huang

LIGHTING DESIGN

SOUND DESIGN

PRODUCTION STAGE MANAGER

Darren W. McCroom

Jonathan Herter

Stuart Plymesser

CASTING BY

Alan Filderman Timothy Bond

Producing Artistic Director

Jeffrey Woodward Managing Director

Presented by special arrangement with Samuel French, Inc. EXCLUSIVE SPONSOR

SEASON SPONSORS

Plot & Characters

THE PLOT

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom begins in Chicago, 1927, as Mel Sturdyvant’s record company prepares to make an album with the talented singer Ma Rainey. As Sturdyvant and Ma Rainey’s manager, Irvin, prepare for the sessions, Sturdyvant worries about Ma Rainey’s prima donna behavior.

The first act highlights the members of Ma Rainey’s band, who joke, banter, and argue about topics ranging from music to American society. The 1920’s were a time when the dynamics between races in America were changing. Tension and claims of exploitation underscored the entertainment industry, law enforcement, and society as a whole, and the members of Ma Rainey’s band each give voice to a different perspective on the issues of the time. Tensions continue to rise in the second act, culminating in a catastrophic final note.

THE CHARACTERS Ma Rainey The title character is based on the real ‘Mother of the Blues’ Gertrude Rainey. In the play, she demands the final say in all recording decisions. This insistence is born out of her view of the white-dominated music industry: “They don’t care nothing about me,” she says. “All they want is my voice.” Cutler [Guitar/Trombone/Band Leader] Cutler “has all the qualities of a loner except the introspection.” He believes that black people must do whatever is necessary to survive, as revealed during his story about Reverend Gates’ humiliation. Slow Drag [Bass] A consumate musician who regards his music with respect and professionalism. Critics have written that his playing “reflects the fundamental rhythmic, harmonic, and melodic nuances found in African music [...] an Americanized version of the African.” Levee [Trumpet/Arrangements] The youngest member of the band, Levee prides himself on his appearance. He aspires to lead his own band and record his own songs. His attitude about race is more bitter than that of the others, as explained by the terrifyingly tragic story of his mother’s rape. Toledo [Piano] The most philosophical of the band, Toledo’s temperament and ideals contrast with Levee’s. Levee is literal; Toledo speaks in abstract terms. Levee is fiery; Toledo is detached. He discusses concepts such as ‘racial memory,’ but often misapplies his knowledge.

Sylvester Brown Ma Rainey’s nephew — or so we are led to believe. He is young, built like an “Arkansas fullback,” and he stutters.

Dussie Mae Wearing a fur jacket and a tight yellow dress, Dussie Mae is described as having a “sensual energy which seems to flow from her.” Essentially a ‘groupie,’ her loyalty is to Ma Rainey until she learns that Levee intends to form his own band. Irvin Ma Rainey’s white agent who “prides himself on his knowledge of blacks and his ability to deal with them.” He is skilled at manipulating people, and is primarily motivated by money. Mel Sturdyvant The white owner of the recording studio. Like Irvin, Sturdyvant is motivated by money, and both represent the exploitation of black performers by white executives in the entertainment industry of the time. Policeman The third white character in the play, the Policeman brings Ma Rainey to the studio after a controversial automobile accident, but is content to leave after Irvin bribes him with cash.

Main Source: www.answers.com

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Meet the Playwright August Wilson (1945 - 2005) by Sarah Powers Courtesy of The McCarter Theatre Center

ugust Wilson was born Frederick August Kittel in 1945 in Pittsburgh’s Hill District, where he lived for 33 years. Wilson was the fourth of six children of a white German father and African-American mother. He began his writing career as a poet in the 1960’s and 70’s, while also involved in the civil rights movement and working odd jobs. In 1965 he bought his first typewriter with $20 his sister paid him to write a college term paper. Hoping to use theatre to raise African-American cultural consciousness, he co-founded Black Horizons, a community theatre in Pittsburgh, with Rob Penny in 1968. After producing and directing African-American plays at Black Horizons, Wilson began writing his own plays in the early 70’s. In 1976, the Kuntu Theater staged his play, The Homecoming, and in 1981 his first professionally produced play, a satirical Western called Black Bart and the Sacred Hills, was staged at the Penumbra Theater. Wilson’s breakthrough came in 1982, when the National Playwrights Conference at the O’Neill Theatre Center accepted Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom for a workshop. The play opened on Broadway in 1984, and in 1985 it earned Wilson his first New York Drama Critics Circle Award. Even as Ma Rainey was enjoying its success, Wilson was planning further installments in what would become a ten-play cycle exploring the AfricanAmerican experience in the 20th century, with a play for each decade. Fences, Wilson’s second play to move to Broadway, won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and also set a new Broadway record for the highest-grossing non-musical, bringing in $11 million in its first year, 1987. Seven more plays have since followed, joining Ma Rainey, Fences, and Jitney, which was written in 1979 but later revised. Radio Golf, which completes the

cycle as the 1990’s play, premiered at Yale Repertory Theatre in April, 2005, and finished a run at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles on September 18 [Radio Golf also enjoyed a run on Broadway in 2007.] With the completion of his extraordinarily ambitious ten-play cycle, Wilson has secured his place as one of the most important American playwrights of his generation. Broadway’s Virginia Theatre [was] renamed for him in 2005, marking the first time a Broadway theatre has been named for an AfricanAmerican. In August of 2005, he announced that he had been diagnosed with terminal liver cancer. “It’s not like poker, you can’t throw your hand in,” Wilson told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “I’ve lived a blessed life. I’m ready.” August Wilson died October 2, 2005. Wilson’s Cycle Plays 1900’s Gem of the Ocean 1910’s

Joe Turner’s Come and Gone

1920’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom 1930’s The Piano Lesson 1940’s Seven Guitars 1950’s Fences 1960’s Two Trains Running 1970’s Jitney

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1980’s King Hedley II 1990’s Radio Golf

From Page to Stage Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom: An Introduction August Wilson’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, his first play in a ten-play cycle, each chronicling a decade in the African-American experience [see p. 10], was first performed at the Yale Repertory Theater in 1984, though Wilson began writing the play in 1976 after listening to the blues for more than a decade. Set in a Chicago recording studio in 1927, the two-act drama tells the story of a recording session with blues legend Ma Rainey, her band members, and the white producer and agent who made themselves wealthy through Rainey’s recordings.

The play explores race relations between blacks and whites in 1920s America and the AfricanAmerican search for identity. The title comes from the song of the same name, which is at the heart of a major conflict in the play. Of particular note is Wilson’s character, Levee, who literally embodies the aspirations and disappointments of black males during this era and, arguably, today. Wilson pits Levee against Rainey, the band members, and the whites, examining various stripes of inter- and intra-racial conflict. Partly inspired by the plays of Amiri Baraka, who warned black writers to keep their characters faithful to the black experience, Wilson finished the first version of the play in 1981 and had it accepted by the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center’s National Playwrights Conference in the summer of 1982. In 1985, the play opened on Broadway at the Cort Theater, and it subsequently captured a slew of awards including the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award for Best American Play. Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is considered Wilson’s first major play and helped to cement his reputation as an important American playwright.

Gertrude ‘Ma’ Rainey appears in the touring show The Rabbit Foot Minstrels in this undated photo.

“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom: Introduction.” Drama for Students. Ed. Marie Rose Napierkowski. Vol. 15. Detroit: Gale, 1998. eNotes.com. January 2006. 7 July 2008. <http://www.enotes.com/ma-raineys/introduction>.

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Historical Context Race & Renaissance in the 1920’s A Roaring Decade When the dust settled after the first World War, America emerged greatly changed. For the first time in its history, the United States was a leader in the world economy. Assembly line techniques maximized efficiency, and corporate consolidation maximized profits. America abandoned its previous isolationist policies in favor of international trade, and quickly reaped the benefits. The economy was booming, and Americans found themselves with more time and money at their disposal. The result was an explosion of culture: literature, film, music, and visual art. With advances in technology and transportation, media could reach national audiences from a few epicenters like Hollywood, New York (especially its Harlem neighborhood) and Chicago, where Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is set. A Rich Community At the turn of the century, new opportunities for education and employment were available to African-Americans - not in the economically sagging rural south, but in the industrial cities of the north. Hundreds of thousands of black Americans moved north in a phenomenon now called ‘The Great Migration.’ The new black middle class that emerged was educated, socially conscious, and culturally diverse, and many creative and forwardthinking individuals established vibrant communities of artistic expression and political activism. The Politics of Race Though many new opportunities were available to African Americans at the time, racism and segregation still created a climate of racial inequality. Several activists and political leaders emerged during this time, each with different perspectives on the issue of inequality. The three most prominent, and most applicable to Ma Rainey, were Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. DuBois, and Marcus Garvey. In the simplest terms, Booker T. Washington proposed that racism could be overcome with patience if each individual strived for intellectual, cultural, and personal improvement. By slowly elevating African Americans’ status in society, he argued, whites would have no choice but to accept them as equals. W.E.B. DuBois, and many others, felt that Washington was too willing to accept racism and put the whole burden on black shoulders. DuBois advocated that the ‘talented tenth,’ the most educated and gifted members of the black community, demand equal rights immediately — through public protests, boycotts, and rallies. In 1909, DuBois co-founded the NAACP, and was an active leader in the group for the next 24 years. A third activist, Marcus Garvey, founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association. After seeing countless race riots, lynchings, and other injustices, Garvey had doubts that integration could ever fully be achieved. He advocated that African Americans unite by embracing their historical and cultural roots, and encouraged people to return to Africa in hopes of establishing a great autonomous nation.

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Main Sources: http://www.issues-views.com/index.php/sect/1000/article/999 http://encarta.msn.com Photos: Library of Congress Digital Archive

Historical Context The Birth of Jazz “Jazz washes away the dust of every day life.” - Art Blakely Jazz music as we know it was born amid the Roaring Twenties — a volatile time for music, literature, and society as a whole. Almost simultaneously, new sounds began to rise up from Harlem, New Orleans, Kansas City, St. Louis, and Chicago. These new and distinctly American tones underscored the decade and laid a foundation for nearly every musical genre to emerge in its wake. Though the word ‘jazz’ first appeared in print as early as 1913, the earliest jazz ensembles were essentially small, stationary marching bands playing good ol’ homestyle Dixieland music. To gain its trademark grit, jazz needed to fuse with another evolving style: the blues. The blues grew out of the soulful spirituals generally associated with slavery. Abolition had come only fifty-some years prior, and the weight of slavery still weighed heavily on the adolescent nation. As the blues grew in popularity thanks to W.C. Handy, Robert Johnson and others, whiteowned record companies began to see the marketability of these black artists. Major labels created subsidiary ‘race record’ labels, giving black musicians access to a national audience but often unfairly exploiting their talents.

Robert Johnson, who claimed he sold his soul for fame and talent.

This new corporate influence on the blues, along with the changing times, re-shaped the genre. Once, male artists reigned supreme: gravely-voiced guitarists in dusty suits and fedoras. By the 1920’s, it was female artists like Bessie Smith and the real-life Gertrude “Ma” Rainey who dominated the scene. They were backed by larger ensembles featuring horn players who had cut their teeth on the earliest jazz records. Pianists joined the mix and incorporated the ragtime influences of Scott Joplin and others. Jazz was born, and soon became the beat to which the nation tapped its feet. Bessie Smith, shown here in 1936.

“Jazz does not belong to one race or culture, but it is a gift that America has given the world.” -Ahmad Alaadeen

Jazz would continue to evolve throughout the century. It fathered the swing era before reuniting with its old friend the blues to, with the help of country-western and soul music, create rock and roll. Today there are many styles of jazz: cool jazz, soft jazz, vocal jazz, progressive, free-form, be-bop, fusion, latin, and more. Yet, for many musicians, historians, and fans, no era of jazz compares to the ‘golden age’ of the 1920’s. Main Sources: www.jazzinamerica.org www.apassion4jazz.net www.allaboutjazz.com Photos: Library of Congress Digital Archive

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Additional Resources August Wilson & Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom August Wilson.net [www.augustwilson.net] Biographical Timeline [http://www.post-gazette.com/magazine/19991216awtimeline9.asp] NYTimes Obituary [http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/03/theater/newsandfeatures/03wilson.html] Original Broadway Playbill [http://www.playbill.com/features/article/85765.html] Real People Mentioned in the Play Gertrude ‘Ma’ Rainey http://www.biography.com/search/article.do?id=9542413 http://www.redhotjazz.com/rainey.html

‘Bessie’ is singer Bessie Smith, who toured with Ma Rainey before achieving remarkable success. www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQ7S2w6v2No www.pbs.org/jazz/biography/artist_id_smith_bessie.htm

Buddy Bolden was a cornetist, blues player and founding father of jazz in New Orleans. www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPvwjSU02zY www.pbs.org/jazz/biography/artist_id_bolden_buddy.htm www.nps.gov/jazz/historyculture/bolden.htm

King Oliver was a horn player originally from New Orleans who later played in Chicago. www.pbs.org/jazz/biography/artist_id_oliver_joe_king.htm www.vh1.com/artists/az/king_oliver/bio.jhtml

Reverend JM Gates was a pastor from Atlanta, GA who also had a gospel/blues singing career www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3luGrVKy1Q (Audio of a Gates sermon against Adolf Hitler, augmented with video as a piece of Holocaust memorial media)

Jazz & Blues Jazz in America [www.jazzinamerica.org] Jazzitude [www.jazzitude.com] All About Jazz [www.allaboutjazz.com] Links to More Jazz Resources [http://www.visarkiv.se/links/Jazz_History.htm A Short History of the Blues [http://www.history-of-rock.com/blues.htm] The History of Blues Music [http://afroamhistory.about.com/od/bluesmusic/a/bluesmusic.htm] History & Politics of the 1920s The Harlem Renaissance [http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761566483/harlem_renaissance.html] PBS - The Harlem Renaissance [http://www.pbs.org/newshour/forum/february98/harlem_2-20.html] American Cultural History - The 1920s [http://kclibrary.nhmccd.edu/decade20.html] DuBois vs. Washington [http://www.issues-views.com/index.php/sect/1000/article/999] Marcus Garvey [http://www.marcusgarvey.com/]

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IN ASSOCIATION WITH

PING CHONG & COMPANY PRESENTS

TALES from the

ity C Salt CONCEIVED & DIRECTED BY

Ping Chong WRITTEN BY

Ping Chong and Sara Michelle Zatz IN CONJUNCTION WITH PROJECT MANAGER

LIGHTING DESIGN

PROJECTION DESIGN

Sara Michelle Zatz

Darren W. McCroom

Maya Ciarrocchi

DRAMATURG

STAGE MANAGER

Kyle Bass

Amber Dickerson PERFORMERS

Lino Ariloka, Gordana Dudevski, Rebecca Fuentes, José Miquel Hernandez, Albert Marshall, Emad Rahim, and Jeanne Shenandoah

Timothy Bond

Jeffrey Woodward

Producing Artistic Director

Managing Director

Ping Chong’s ‘Undesirable Elements’ series is supported by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Nathan Cummings Foundation. MetLife Foundation is the National Sponsor of the Undesirable Elements series. SPONSORS

SEASON SPONSORS

TALES FROM THE

SALT CITY

Meet the Creators

Ping Chong & Company Ping Chong was born in 1946 and raised in the Chinatown section of New York City. He studied film-making and graphic design at the School of Visual Arts and the Pratt Institute. Ping Chong began his theatrical career as a member of Meredith Monk's The House Foundation. He collaborated with her on several major works including The Travelogue Series and The Games, for which they shared the Outstanding Achievement in Music Theatre Award in 1986. In 1972, Ping Chong gathered a group of artists at Meredith Monk's loft in New York City to create Lazarus, his first independent theatre work. Since then, he has created over fifty major works for the stage including Humboldt's Current (Obie Award, 1977), A.M./A.M. - The Articulated Man (Villager Award, 1982), Nosferatu (Maharam Design Award, 1985), Angels of Swedenborg (1985), Kind Ness (USA Playwrights' Award, 1988), Brightness, which garnered two 1990 Bessie Awards, Deshima, Chinoiserie and After Sorrow. In 1998 he created Kwaidan, his first full-length puppetry work, in collaboration with Jon Ludwig and Mitsuru Ishii. His work has been performed at such major New York venues as The Brooklyn Academy of Music's Next Wave Festival, The Joyce Theatre, La MaMa E.T.C., St. Clement's Theatre and The Central Park Summerstage, as well as at major museums, theatres and festivals in North America, Europe and Asia. His explorations reach beyond live performance to include video and visual arts installations. Today, Ping Chong is recognized as one of our country's most significant theatre artists, and a seminal figure in the Asian-American arts arena. Ping Chong & Company, originally The Fiji Theatre Company, was founded in 1975 to explore the meaning of contemporary theatre and art on a national and international level. The company's mission is to explore the intersections of race, culture, history, art, media and technology in the modern world. Today, the company creates unfailingly innovative works of theatre and art for modern, multi-cultural audiences in New York and throughout the world. Ping Chong & Company is a modestly sized, not-for-profit experimental arts organization. The company is artist-run and maintains a small full-time staff, offices and storage facilities in New York City. In addition, the company provides an artistic home and professional base for a multi-racial core group of performers, designers and theatre artists who collaborate with Ping Chong on a project basis.

Portrait by Stephen Garrett

“To create is its own reward. I think if more people would think of their daily lives in creative terms, whether they are plumbers or dentists or city planners or whatever - I think people would be less frustrated in their lives.”

-Ping Chong

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Biography courtesy of www.pingchong.org

Meet the Creator

TALES FROM THE

SALT CITY

From the Outside Looking In

People outside the mainstream will create a portrait of Syracuse onstage by Laura T. Ryan Courtesy of the Syracuse Post-Standard Print date: Thursday, May 08, 2008

For most Syracuse Stage productions, the director has a completed script in hand during the casting process. But in the case of Tales From the Salt City, director and playwright Ping Chong is holding auditions now, months before he’s written a word. That’s because the cast members’ personal stories will determine the play’s message. It’s all part of a series of oral history productions, collectively called Undesirable Elements, that shine a light on those stories unfolding outside the view of mainstream culture. Since 1992, the Ping Chong Company has mounted at least 36 productions of Undesirable Elements in cities around the world, including Seattle in 1995 with Stage’s Producing Artistic Director Timothy Bond [...] “I had no plans for it other than doing that first one,” Chong said. “I had never done anything like this before, this kind of documentary, real-life, real-people whatchamacallit. Whatsit. It’s not a play; it’s a whatsit.” Chong and collaborator Sara Zatz, project manager for Undesirable Elements, just wrapped up a two-week visit to Syracuse, to interview prospective cast members for the next incarnation of the series, called Tales From the Salt City. The pair will write the script together this summer. Then the play will have its world premiere at Syracuse Stage in October. Zatz and Chong met with 17 Syracusans, ages 16 to 89, including residents from Macedonia, Ghana, Vietnam, Cambodia, Sudan, and Ukraine, as well as AfricanAmericans, a Mexican-American, Jewish Americans of various ancestries and a person whose parents hail from Belgium and Burundi. “It’s important that people understand it’s not just a project about immigration,” Zatz added. “Some people have said, ‘Oh, well, I was born in Syracuse, so they wouldn’t be interested in talking to me.’ And that’s not the case. It’s people who, for whatever reason, have lived outside the mainstream culture, in whatever way that is.”

Kyle Bass, literary associate at Syracuse Stage, found the subjects and participated in the sometimes emotionally wrenching interviews. “What Ping and Sara are so good at is really not being afraid to interrupt as (the subjects) speak, to really draw out detail, which is really important,” Bass said. “I’m ruthless,” Chong said, laughing. “I’m gentle,” Zatz countered. Zatz and Chong, whose six-year collaboration has fostered a finish-each-other’s-sentence rhythm, plan to return for a second round of interviews in July, to narrow the field of prospects. In the end, they’ll pick a cast of six or seven from the pool of 17. “I think the thing that really distinguishes this project from a genre of interview-based or documentary-based theatre is that the people who are participating in the interviews are the performers in the show,” Zatz said. “We’re not having actors play them, and that’s the power of the project,” Chong continued. Zatz: “It’s very human.” Chong: “The person up there is the person these experiences happened to.” Zatz: “So there’s no filter through an actor. It’s very direct.” [...] Chong said the production gives cast members and local audiences an opportunity for “widening their world, widening their consciousness, widening the richness of the world right here in their midst.”

Laura T. Ryan is a staff writer for the Syracuse Post-Standard Visit www.syracuse.com

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TALES FROM THE

SALT CITY

The Creative Process

A Mirror for the World Ping Chong’s Theatrical Process

by Christopher Sieving Courtesy of the Arts Institute of the Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison 2001

For nearly three decades, Ping Chong has held a mirror up to his adopted culture. During that time, few American artists have captured so truthfully and accurately the rich contradictions and paradoxes of American society. Chong's mirror reveals what lies beneath the surface, beneath the images of tranquil homogeneity America presents to its citizens and to the world. The unbroken, unmarked simulation of American life with which our society comforts itself is splintered and refracted by Chong's theater, exposed as a mosaic of lives, a patchwork of rewoven histories. Whether as a theater or performance maker, choreographer, videographer, or installation artist, Chong has consistently produced art that challenges audiences' preconceptions and rewards their serious engagement. His stage works, video pieces, and environmental installations have been enthusiastically received all over the globe by both spectators and critics, and his achievements have been acknowledged through multiple awards (including two Obie Awards), a Guggenheim fellowship, and six NEA fellowships. When Chong left home in the middle 1960s to study film and graphic design in midtown Manhattan, his culture shock was enormous. A Chinese-American adolescent uprooted from his isolated world, he struggled to find a niche both within white America and within the tumultuous New York art world. Nurtured by the scene's prevailing spirit of unabashed self-expression, Chong came to see himself as part of a heterogeneous world culture. Yet society at large seldom shared his views. Consequently, Chong was often relegated to the role of the "other," the alien outsider, in many of the communities in which he dwelled. Accordingly, the status of the "other" in America has been the signature theme of his career. His investigation of this theme has yielded some of the most quintessentially American art of the last thirty years. His rejection of the

Children of War , performed in Fairfax, VA in 2002. Photo by Chris Hartlove.

compartmentalization of human experience spilled over into his artistic practice. Considering himself "not aggressive enough" to succeed in the white-dominated world of filmmaking, Chong resolved to instead devote his energies to a synthesis of the many art forms that piqued his interest. Indeed, many of his renowned performance pieces are famed for incorporating "cinematic" techniques of lighting and framing. After graduating from the School of Visual Arts in 1969, Chong joined Meredith Monk's vanguard interdisciplinary performance company, The House, as a dancer and became a key collaborator. Blossoming as an artist under this climate of experimentation, Chong went on to form Ping Chong & Co. in 1975. "Meredith made me realize," Chong later recalled, "that performing arts could be anything - art was anything I could make it to be." The principles guiding the dozens of performances staged by Ping Chong since Lazarus (1972), his first independent theater work, have been eloquently summarized by Asianweek's Lia Chang, who wrote of Chong in 1997 as "known for the spare elegance of his multimedia productions and the almost anthropological way in which he pieces together often incongruous bits of cultural information." His signature style and themes evolved over the course of several award-winning shows. The works explored American and European social mores and myths with anthropological precision. And with the production

"As an artist, I'm an outsider in American society. As an experimental artist, I'm an outsider within the art world. As a person of color, I'm an outsider; as an immigrant, I'm an outsider; as a gay man, I'm an outsider. It's the position that fate has allotted me, but it's a valuable position to be in, because I think every society should have a mirror held to it by the outsider." -Ping Chong, 1999

The Creative Process (Cont’d) of Kind Ness (1988), an absurdist tour-de-force featuring a gorilla in the role of a Rwandan foreign exchange student, Chong directly confronted the nature of American racism and its consequences. In the 1990s, sensing the time was right for a major work addressing specifically Asian themes, Chong produced a quartet of pieces which scrutinized relations between Western nations and Japan, China, Vietnam and Korea. Formally, the East/West quartet synthesized many of Chong's characteristic techniques. Relatively unconcerned with telling a story in linear fashion, Chong instead fragmented bits of historical narrative in order to foreground the parallels between Western attitudes in the past and in the present. Historical anecdotes are conveyed through a multi-layered style of presentation, which makes use of split-stage action, recorded commentary, direct address, ritualized dance, and stunning projections. The East/West quartet signaled an important change in the content of Chong's work: a shift "from allegory to history," a movement from implicit or metaphorical critique to a more direct engagement with the effects of Western colonizing. In a period defined by conservative backlash against the "excesses" of the 1960s and 1970s, such a shift was natural for Chong. "I believe that one of the possible functions of an artist is to correct distorted history, and to serve as the conscience of a society," Chong has said.

"I wanted to address history not from the point of view of the status quo, but of what actually happened that was not recorded by the official history books." Chong's other major `90s exploration of ethnic difference, Undesirable Elements (also known as Secret History), is similarly rooted in the experiences of historical subjects marginalized by the West. What sets Undesirable Elements apart from the East/West quartet--and from just about any theatrical performance one can think of--is the active participation of those very subjects in its creation and execution. First produced in conjunction with a New York gallery installation in 1992, each version of Undesirable Elements draws its "actors" from the community at large. Few of these performers--or, in Justin Hayford's words, "eyewitnesses to the `human diaspora' of the 20th century"--have any sort of background in acting; rather, all share the experience of living in a culture different from the one into which they were born.

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The original concept developed from Chong's desire to interrogate the meaning of democracy in America: "It's a way of educating all of us, because we are all equally insular." The participants, six to eight in number, sit in a semi-circle before projected images, including outlines of countries, and tell the stories of their lives--stories of their experiences as undesirable elements. "The stories are so rich, so fascinating," collaborator Michael Rohd has remarked, "they beat what playwrights try to write." The performers are selected from a pool of applicants on the basis of interviews with Chong, who then weaves the participants' interviews, histories, and personal anecdotes into "a tapestry of the American story." Arranged in chronological order and narrated by the people who lived them, these stories reflect realities of modern life too frequently hidden from view. Combined, they constitute a true "people's history" of the last 100 years, a fascinating report on both the real-life experiences of those swept up in the current carved out by the century's watershed events--World War II, the fall of Communism, the Vietnam Conflict, American and South African apartheid, to name only a few--and their current-day efforts at staying true to themselves while negotiating multiple world views. Supplemented by poems and folk songs delivered in the performers' native languages, each of the stories is singular and unique. Yet, the presentation ultimately works to flatten out the differences between the speakers and emphasize the commonality of human experience. The critics' enthusiasm for Undesirable Elements is aptly summarized by Mari Herreras-Zinman:

“... I can't remember a play that has so closely reflected the benefits of diversity. History and society have been quick at labeling those who are different as "undesirable," but [Chong's] new production shows that the label must include everyone--at one time or another we have all been undesirable.”

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Around the Globe

TALES FROM THE

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Syracusans in the Spotlight Each cast member in Tales from the Salt City lives in the Syracuse area - but many come from very different locations. Listed below are the cast members’ names and nations of origin. Can you match these places to their locations on the map? What do you know about each nation?

2. Gordana Dudevski Macedonia

5. Albert “Al” Marshall USA (Syracuse) and Jeanne Shenandoah Onondaga Nation

3. Rebecca Fuentes Mexico

* These places share a spot on this map, but have very different histories. The Onondaga Nation is a sovereign, independant nation. Learn more at onondaganation.com

4. José Miquel Hernandez Cuba

6. Emad Rahim Cambodia

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Answers: 1 = E; 2 = D; 3 = A; 4 = C; 5 = B; 6 = F

1. Lino Ariloka Sudan

Additional Resources

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Ping Chong & Company www.pingchong.org www.undesirableelements.org Chong, Ping with an introduction by Jessica Hagedorn. The East-West Quartet. New York: Theatre Communications Group, 2004. Academic/Journal Articles

Kurahashi, Yuko. “Search for Home and Identity: Ping Chong and Michael Rohd’s Undesirable Elements-Berlin.” The Journal of the Midwest Modern Language Association 38.1 (2005): 85-100. Kurahashi, Yuko. “Theatre as the Healing Space: Ping Chong’s Children of War.” Studies in Theatre and Performance 24.1 (2004): 23-36. Wehle, Philippa. “Citizens of the World.” PAJ: A Journal of Performance & Art 76.1 (2004): 22-32. Magazine Articles Cheng, Scarlet. "Revealing the Universal." The World and I Aug. 2002: 76. Gener, Randy. “A Nation of Outcasts.” American Theatre Dec. 2002: 29. Hughes, Dana. "Black Stage, Voices in Color." Ford Foundation Report Spring 2003: 4-5. McGray, Douglas. "Out of the Mouths of Babes." Washington Post Magazine, Feb. 2003: 10-30. Reviews/Features Adcock, Joe. “Meditating on Seattle’s ‘Elements.’” Rev. of Undesirable Elements/Seattle, Group Theater, Seattle. Seattle Post-Intelligencer 13 Feb. 1995: C1 Brock, Wendell. " 'Outsiders' in America: an Oral-History Drama, Featuring Young People From Around the World, Tries to Capture the Changing Face of Atlanta.” Atlanta Journal-Constitution 27 Sept. 2001. Brown, DeNeen L. “Foreign No More.” Washington Post 2 June 2000: C1+ Clemetson, Lynette. “How Children Experience War and Its Consequences.” New York Times 7 Dec. 2002, B13. Eng, Monica. “’Elements’ a Simple, 6-sided Success.” Rev. of Undesirable Elements/ Chicago, Chernin Center for the Arts, Chicago. Chicago Tribune 10 May 1999: TEMPO 2. Eng, Monica. “Personal Profiles: Director Ping Chong’s ‘Undesirables’ Promote Tolerance.” Chicago Tribune 6 Jan. 1999: TEMPO 2. Evett, Marianne. “Cultural Diversity Dissected.” Rev. of Undesirable Elements/Cleveland, Cleveland Playhouse. Plain Dealer [Cleveland] 5 March Solomon, Alisa. “The Making of Americans.” Rev. of Secret History, Ohio Theater, New York. Village Voice 12 Dec. 2002:152 Educational Outreach

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PRESENTS The Excellus BlueCross BlueShield Family Holiday Production of

CONCEIVED AND ORIGINALLY DIRECTED BY

John-Michael Tebelak MUSIC AND NEW LYRICS BY

Stephen Schwartz DIRECTED BY

Rajendra Ramoon Maharaj CHOREOGRAPHER

MUSICAL DIRECTOR

SCENIC DESIGN

Anthony Salatino

Charles Creath

Adam Koch

COSTUME DESIGN

LIGHTING DESIGN

SOUND DESIGN

Leslie Bernstein

Josh Bradford

Jonathan Herter

PRODUCTION STAGE MANAGER

CASTING BY

Stuart Plymesser

Alan Filderman

Timothy Bond

Producing Artistic Director

Jeffrey Woodward Managing Director

Presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI) A collaboration with the Syracuse University Department of Drama EXCLUSIVE SPONSOR

About The Production The holiday of Easter celebrates peace and reconciliation amid its religious significance, and JohnMichael Tebelak created Godspell as a template to share that story of peace in a way that would resonate with young people of any time. Unsatisfied with the Easter service’s lack of community and celebration, Tebelak set out to create his own version of the service, but quickly realized he had a larger ambition outside of religion. The show uses a series of parables to give the characters a voice and create a creative community of friendship, community, faith and love. Director Rajendra Ramoon Maharaj keeps Tebelak’s dream of a fresh story for young audiences alive by beginning the story at the United Nations headquarters, and transporting it to places such as China, Haiti, Sudan, and more. Suffused with world dance, music and images of cultures and communities from around the world, the Syracuse Stage/SU Drama production creates pathways for students that detail how we are all members of one human family. Godspell will provide a view of cultures and communities. Maharaj takes Tebelak’s template to create this world. Tebelak combines party, classroom and poetry slam to create his script. The character Jesus and his followers take on different roles: Martin Luther, DaVinci, John the Baptist and Judas as they tell parables (the Prodigal Son and others) from the Bible and sing songs of celebration that many know. The heart of the piece is that the dreams and hopes that people share in various parts of the world are the same dreams and hopes we share in Syracuse. The great American Poet and activist Dr. Maya Angelou wrote in her groundbreaking poem, The Human Family, “we are more alike than different”. Her words became one of Maharaj’s inspirations for Godspell. He believes that in today’s world, the need to find peace, respect and unity among all human beings is more evident than ever. Godspell reminds us all that we are more alike than different. Examine these two posters: the Broadway premiere (left) and the Syracuse Stage/SU Drama production (right.) What differences do you see in the designs? Based on these visual differences, how do you think the productions will differ? Why? Refer to page 6 of this study guide to use the elements of art and principles of design. Educational Outreach

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Production History Godspell is a rock musical based on the Gospel of Saint Matthew with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and

book by John-Michael Tebelak. Following closely on the heels of the similarly-themed Jesus Christ Superstar, it opened offBroadway on May 17, 1971. One of its songs, “Day By Day” from the original cast album, reached No. 13 on the Billboard pop singles chart in the summer of 1972.

John-Michael Tebelak, a student director who had once thought of becoming an Episcopal minister, created the show. Tebelak had attended an Easter service and was struck by the lack of joy and celebration in the service as well as by the personal hostility he felt from some of his fellow churchgoers because of his youth and long hair. Also struck by the number of similarities between a religious service and theatre, he created the show for his masters thesis in theater at Carnegie Mellon University. After graduation, the show moved to New York City to the famed Cafe La Mama. Interested producers brought in Stephen Schwartz to write additional music and new lyrics. The show opened May 17, 1971 and became one of the longest-running off-Broadway musicals before moving to Broadway in June 1976. It won the 1977 Tony Award for Best Original Score and several Drama Desk Awards.

Faces in the Toronto Cast

A film version of the musical was released in 1973, set in modern New York and starring a young Victor Garber, the father on Alias, as Jesus (the role had been Garber’s big break in his native Canada.) Godspell has remained an important part of the modern musical theatre vocabulary because of its versatility. The original production made the company a troupe of clowns who follow Jesus in an abandoned playground; subsequent productions have been set in museums, classrooms, on top of buildings, or in an abandoned theatre. This show can occur anywhere. Although Godspell has been produced in many cities around the world, the Toronto production in 1972 had a large effect on the entertainment world. The Toronto cast, drawn entirely from local performers ran for what was then a record of 488 performances and provided the first acting job for several performers in addition to Garber. Eugene Levy (of American Pie), Andrea Martin (Kim Possible and a voice in Jimmy Neutron,) Gilda Radner (Saturday Night Live) and Martin Short rounded out the cast. Radner came to the attention of producer Lorne Michaels during the production and three years later, became the first cast member hired for the groundbreaking television comedy show Saturday Night Live. Levy, Martin and Short went on to join the Toronto improvisational comedy group Second City. Another person to establish his reputation in the show was its musical director Paul Shaffer, who would join and Radner on Saturday Night Live and later become the musical director for her one-woman Broadway show and of The Late Show, starring David Letterman.

The Rise of the Rock Musical (Arguably Born: 1960 - Bye Bye Birdie) Jesus Christ Superstar

Hair

Grease and Pippin

1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1975 The Who’s

Tommy (album)

Godspell

The Who’s

Tommy

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The Wiz and

(film)

Information courtesy of www.musicalschwartz.com Photos (from top:) Victor Garber (tv.yahoo.com); Eugene Levy (movies.about.com); Gilda Radner (jwa.org); Martin Short (weta.org.)

Movement & Dance The Influence of Indian Dance on our Production of Godspell Indian dance grew out of a theatre tradition that helped tell the people’s stories of their culture and religion. The dance’s highly stylized movement language evolved into dozens of different forms, some with elaborate costumes, singing and a complicated language of hand movements. In India, dance and drama are combined into their own integrated genre. In the West, such a genre only exits on the fringes. There is either a play or a dance piece. Only in musicals does the line begin to blur. Even in a musical, however, the storytelling usually stops when others begin to sing and dance. In Indian dance-drama, the storytelling doesn’t stop when the dancing begins. The two weave together seamlessly toward one dramatic journey of a hero who vanquishes the enemy and goes on to save his people.

The biggest difference between Eastern and Western dance is the energy. Ballet, and its use of pointe shoes, reaches for the heavens. The movements start close to the body and move outward, sharing the dancer’s energy out into the universe. The legs and feet are pointed straight outward and the arms complete that accent. In Indian dance, the arms bring the energy into the body. The dancers move as if the choreography is encompassed by a circle of energy around their body. The angle of their legs and the curves of their arms illustrate the circumference of that circle as opposed to the straight lines of classical ballet. The feet are flexed instead of pointed as not to break the circle’s dimensions. Also, the dancers keep the movement closer to their body. In ballet, jazz and modern it often looks as if the dancer is reaching outward for something. In Indian dance, the dancer is keeping a special energy close to the body and drawing attention to the spectacle.

Syracuse Stage’s Associate Artistic Director Rajendra Ramoon Maharaj will bring this movement vocabulary to Syracuse audiences for the production of Godspell that he’ll shepherd to the stage.

Along with the different posture of the energy around the body, the enPhoto from www.city-india.com This style fits for Godspell, bringing ergy inside the body appears more a new twist to a very familiar musical. It also fits because percussive in Indian dance. The weight is also kept lowof the interesting parallel that much of Indian classical er, with the knees almost always bent. It shares a lower dance tells stories from the life of Krishna. The Hindus of center of gravity, as in African dance, than any Western India revere Krishna the way Christians revere Jesus. style. But Indian dance is more than an integrated, theatrical liturgical dance set apart by Asian costumes, veils and exotic makeup. The movement vocabulary and energy are very different than jazz, modern or ballet. Your students may have seen a version of Indian dance on “So You Think You Can Dance.” That was a Bollywood-style dance with broad, sweeping movements that added elements from hip-hop and African dance. But it was not what your students will see in Godspell.

The other aspect of Indian dance that makes it stand out is its connection to the people. It is a popular style of dance known throughout the country. Unlike ballet, Indian dance is not reserved for an elite audience. It’s a dance of the people that influences everything from high to popular culture. It’s a fitting choice for a musical about a story so basic to the history of our culture.

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Keeping the Peace The director of Godspell, Rajendra Ramoon Maharaj, has approached the play by exploring the theme of peacekeepers. Here’s a quick look at that concept in our world. THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE Each year, an international committee honors gifted individuals with the Nobel Prize. Medals are given in Physics, Chemistry, Medicine, Literature, and Economics, but perhaps the most revered prize is for Peace. Listed below are just a few of the 95 individuals and 20 organizations that have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. For a full listing, visit www.nobelprize.org.

The face of the medal (left) shows Alfred Nobel with the inscription, “And they who bettered life on earth by their newly found mastery.” The rear (right) shows three men embracing and reads, “For the peace and brotherhood of men.”

1901

1950

1964

2007

Henry Dunant Frederic Passy (1828 - 1910) (1822 - 1912)

Ralph Bunche (1904 - 1971)

Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929 - 1968)

Al Gore Jr. (1948 - present)

The first African-American to be awarded the Prize was Ralph Bunce, a Harvard University professor who served as advisor to the US Dept. of State and the United Nations.

At thirty-five, Dr. King was the youngest man ever awarded the Prize, and donated the cash portion of his prize to furthering the civil rights movement.

The most recent Peace Prize was split between Gore and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Dunant and Passy shared the first Nobel Peace Prize in 1901. Dunant, after witnessing the atrocities of war, helped to create both the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Geneva Convention, an international treaty that agreed to the protection of medics, humane treatment of prisoners, and other basic rules of war. Passy was a French lawyer who served as the Founder and President of the first French peace society.

In the late 1940’s, Bunche served as chief mediator in the conflict between Palestine and Israel. He worked with the UN for the remainder of his career.

Between 1957 and 1968, King traveled over 6 million miles, spoke over 2,500 times, was awarded 5 honorary degrees, and was named Time’s Man of the Year in 1963.

The Committee recognized that man-made climate change is a real threat to our planet which could lead to mass migration andviolent competition for scarce resources, as some believe it already has in Sudan (see next page.) Photos and bios courtesy of www.nobelprize.org

Keeping the Peace (Cont’d) “Peace cannot be kept by force. It can only be achieved by understanding.” - Albert Einstein THE UNITED NATIONS

In Syracuse Stage’s production of Godspell, the character of Jesus will be portrayed in modern terms, inspired by United Nations peacekeepers. The United Nations was formed in 1945 after the end of World War II. The UN is a collective of 192 countries whose delegates meet regularly to ensure open dialogue and cooperation among the nations of the world. Its main goals are the prevention of war and the protection of human rights.

To do so, member nations volunteer many of their soldiers to serve as UN Peacekeeping troops. UN troops are stationed around the world in nations torn by civil war, threatened by ethnic conflict, or overrun with crime and terrorism. Here are just a few current UN Peacekeeping Missions.

Sudan - The Darfur Region

Began: 2005 Task: Keep order and maintain the peace agreement signed in 2005 that ended Africa’s longest- running civil war; assist in rebuilding efforts Issues: Refugees/displaced persons, poverty, human rights violations, land mines and other weapons, rebel groups often acting violently, etc.

Haiti

Began: 2004 [Although previous UN missions in Haiti date back to 1993] Task: Ensure safety, law & order during a government transition to more democratic processes. Issues: Human rights violations, restructuring police & military forces, widespread poverty, etc.

Kosovo

Began: 1999 Task: Create and protect a transitional government for the establishment of democratic institutions, peace, and security. Issues: Human rights violations, crime and terrorism, corruption, refugees/displaced persons, unemployment & economic troubles, etc.

FURTHER EXPLORATION What can you and your students find about the following Nobel Prize winners and UN Missions?

People: Wangari Maathai (2004,) Shirin Ebadi (2003,) Nelson Mandela (1993,) Desmond Tutu (1984,) Mother Teresa (1979,) Albert Lutuli (1960,) Woodrow Wilson (1919,) Theodore Roosevelt (1906.)

Places: Chad, Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast,) Liberia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Western Sahara, Timor-Leste, India/Pakistan, Cyprus, Georgia, Golan Heights, Lebanon, Iraq, Afghanistan.

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Meet the Creators John-Michael Tebelak was 22 years old when Godspell hit New York. It was his first brush with the New York theatre, but by no means his first venture into theatrics. His theatrical career started when he “walked into a theatre at the age of nine and stayed there.” Mr. Tebelak originally conceived of Godspell as his Masters Thesis project at Carnegie-Mellon University in 1970. All of the original cast members contributed to the playful script that evolved under John-Michael’s direction. Subsequently, he directed productions of Godspell at La MaMa Theatre in February of 1971, the Cherry Lane Theatre (opening May 17, 1971), the Promenade Theatre, and on Broadway. Tebelak co-authored the screenplay for Godspell (1973) for Columbia Pictures with David Greene. Mr. Tebelak was dramaturge for the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in New York City, and wrote and staged liturgical drama there. He died of a heart attack at the age of 36 in April 1985.

Stephen Schwartz was born in New York City on March 6, 1948. He studied piano and composition at the Juilliard School of Music while in high school and graduated from Carnegie Mellon University in 1968 with a B.F.A. in Drama. Upon coming back to live in New York City, he went to work as a producer for RCA Records, but shortly thereafter began to work in the Broadway theatre. His first major credit was the title song for the play Butterflies Are Free; the song was eventually used in the movie version as well. In 1971, he wrote the music and new lyrics for Godspell, for which he won several awards including two Grammys. This was followed by the English texts, in collaboration with Leonard Bernstein, for Bernstein’s Mass, which opened the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. The following year, he wrote the music and lyrics for Pippin and two years later, The Magic Show. At one point, Godspell, Pippin, and The Magic Show were all running on Broadway simultaneously. He next wrote the music and lyrics for The Baker’s Wife, followed by a musical version of Studs Terkel’s Working, to which he contributed four songs, and which he also adapted and directed, winning the Drama Desk Award as best director. He also co-directed the television production, which was presented as part of the PBS American Playhouse series. Next came songs for a one-act musical for children, Captain Louie, and a children’s book, The Perfect Peach. He then wrote music for three of the songs in the Off-Broadway revue, Personals, lyrics to Charles Strouse’s music for Rags, and music and lyrics for Children of Eden. He then began working in film, collaborating with composer Alan Menken on the scores for the Disney animated features Pocahontas, for which he received two Academy Awards and another Grammy, and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. He also provided songs for DreamWorks’ first animated feature, The Prince of Egypt, for which he won another Academy Award for the song “When You Believe”. Mr. Schwartz provided music and lyrics for the original television musical, Geppetto, seen on The Wonderful World of Disney. Recently, he released two CDs on which he sings new songs, entitled “Reluctant Pilgrim” and “Unchartered Territory.” Mr. Schwartz’s most recent musical, Wicked, opened in the fall of 2003 and is currently running on Broadway. Under the auspices of the ASCAP Foundation, he runs musical theatre workshops in New York and Los Angeles, and serves on the ASCAP board; he is also a member of the Council of the Dramatists’ Guild. Educational Outreach

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Tebelak biography courtesy of www.musicalschwartz.com Schwartz bio & photo courtesy of www.stephenschwartz.com

Additional Resources On Godspell, Stephen Schwartz, and John-Michael Tebelak John-Michael Tebelak [http://www.musicalschwartz.com/godspell-tebelak.htm] Stephen Schwartz [www.musicalschwartz.com] [www.stephenschwartz.com] Official Godspell site [www.musicalschwartz.com/godspell.html] Godspell: The Film [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070121] Stage Musicals of the 1970’s [http://www.musicals101.com/1970bway1.htm] On Indian Dance & Movement Encyclopedia Britannica [http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/556016/South-Asian-arts] ThinkQuest [http://library.thinkquest.org/11372/data/dnceform.htm] Dance Directory [http://www.sapphireswan.com/dance/indian.htm] On World Issues & Peacekeeping The Nobel Foundation & Prize [www.nobelprize.org] The United Nations [www.un.org] United Nations Peacekeeping Missions [www.un.org/peace] Amnesty International [www.amnestyusa.org] Amnesty International ‘Eyes on Darfur’ Project [www.eyesondarfur.org] BBC’s Darfur Q&A [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/3496731.stm] Refugees International [http://www.refugeesinternational.org] World Peace Foundation [www.worldpeacefoundation.org] World Peace Project for Children [www.sadako.org] The Teaching Peace Conference [http://www.teachingpeaceconference.org/] Resources for Teaching Peace [http://www.crcs.k12.ny.us/es/Stranger’sShoes/PTresource.htm] On Religion www.religioustolerance.org www.religionfacts.com Minnesota State University - World Religions [http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/cultural/religion] World Relgions [www.sacred-texts.com/world.htm]

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PRESENTS

Bridget Carpenter DIRECTED BY

Penny Metropulos

SCENIC DESIGN

COSTUME DESIGN

LIGHTING DESIGN

[Not available at time of print]

Maggie Dick

[Not available at time of print]

SOUND DESIGN

PRODUCTION STAGE MANAGER

CASTING BY

Jonathan Herter

Stuart Plymesser

Alan Filderman

Timothy Bond

Jeffrey Woodward

Producing Artistic Director

Managing Director

SPONSORS

SEASON SPONSORS

Crowns

THE PLOT

Plot & Characters Unlike plays that follow a sequential story or “plot line,” Crowns weaves together a variety of stories from different characters, time periods, and perspectives that, when integrated with music and dance, create a tapestry of voices that transcend time and place.

The essential story of Crowns is that of a young African-American girl trying to figure out her identity, her place in the world, and her place in her own culture. Yolanda is a tough girl from Brooklyn who is proud of her status as a true New Yorker, but when her brother Teddy is shot, Yolanda’s mother sends her to South Carolina to live with her grandmother. Yolanda begins a journey that will link her own experiences to the stories of her relatives, her history and her people. Mother Shaw, Yolanda’s grandmother, welcomes her granddaughter into a circle of female spirits who come to life as Wanda, Mabel, Jeanette, and Velma. As they prepare for church on a Sunday morning, they tell stories of their own connections to hats as a part of the rich African-American heritage, but Yolanda defends her affinity for hats and headwear as “her own thing.” After a dramatically inspiring church service, Yolanda is figuratively baptized into the legacy of these women and all the ancestors who have gone before her.

THE CHARACTERS

WANDA is the most ladylike woman of the group. Her stories are full of propriety and decorum as well as fond recollections. The choice of the appropriate hat is very important to Wanda. “I realize, right here and now, that even if I had no hair, I’d glue a wig to my scalp and put a hat on.”

JEANETTE is flirtatious, brassy, fun-loving, and full of the joy of spirituality. Her stories include a memorable gift from a white acquaintance and the memory of her father’s favorite hat. At church, she admires Mother Shaw. “I’d lend my children before I’d lend my hats. I know my children know their way home, but my hats might not.”

VELMA coins the phrase “hattitude” for the way a woman ought to carry herself in a hat. She is tougher than she looks - hard times have offered her many life lessons. Velma, a funeral director, observes how “hattitude” figures into the death ritual. “Sometimes under those hats there’s a lot of pain and a lot of sorrow.”

YOLANDA is the youngest of the group, the outsider who resists the other women in their attempts to welcome her into their family. Yolanda asserts herself as a rebellious spirit and bucks the traditions that the others hold sacred. “Don’t want to be / Boxes in / By some dead or dying traditions / And I don’t know how to be one of them.”

MOTHER SHAW is Yolanda’s grandmother and the matriarch of the play. She remembers the days before the civil rights movement and signs proclaiming “Whites Only.” She is a leader in her community and recognized for her fiesty nature and her power to “usher in the Spirit.” “If you get to shoutin’ hard and that hat comes off, it’s mine.”

MABEL is a minister’s wife who confesses to owning about 200 hats. Mabel believes in setting an example of dress and behavior for younger girls and exercises her influence with a sharp and sassy tell-it-like-it-is attitude. “Listen - never touch my hat. Admire it from a distance, honey.”

The MAN, the spirit of the crossroads, is a vital part of the women’s histories and appears in different roles throughout the play. He serves the stories that the women tell, often bringing momentary life to the fathers, brothers, husbands, and preachers who have touched the lives of the other characters. “You don’t need another hat. You don’t have but one head.” Educational Outreach

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Courtesy of the McCarter Theatre Education Dept. and Laurie Sales

Meet the Authors

Crowns

THE PLAYWRIGHT Regina Taylor

played the pivotal role of Lilly Harper in the critically acclaimed series I’ll Fly Away, which earned her a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Drama Series and an NAACP Image Award. She recently received the Women in Film Gracie Allen Award for her portrayal of Anita Hill in the television film Strange Justice. While attending Southern Methodist University, Taylor made her professional acting debut in the CBS television film Crisis at Central High. Her additional television credits include the series Law & Order, the films Cora Unashamed and Making the Case for Murder: The Howard Beach Story and, on CBS, the mini-series Children of Dust. Her feature film credits include The Negotiator, Courage Under Fire, A Family Thing, Lean on Me, Losing Isaiah, and Clockers. Taylor was the first black woman to play Juliet in Romeo & Juliet on Broadway. Her other Broadway credits include As You Like It and Macbeth. She has appeared off-Broadway and regionally in numerous productions including Machinal and A Map of the World at the Joseph Papp Public Theater, The Illusion at the New York Theatre Workshop, and The Tempest, for which she received a Dramalogue Award. Taylor also starred in the off-Broadway production Jar the Floor at the Second Stage Theatre in New York. A Distinguished Artistic Associate of Chicago’s Goodman Theatre, Taylor collaborated on and appeared in the play Millenium Mambo, which premiered at New York’s Signature Theatre in early 2001. As a playwright, Taylor was honored by the American Critics’ Association for Oo-Bla-Dee. Drowning Crow, Taylor’s adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull, was produced at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival and the George Street Playhouse in New Brunswick, NJ.

THE AUTHORS

CRAIG MARBERRY is a native of Chicago who now lives in Greensboro, North Carolina. For nine years, he has owned Info Video, an award-winning video production company with clients including American Express and USDA. Prior to starting his business, Marberry was a television reporter for six years. In addition, he has written articles for publications including the Washington Post and Essence Magazine. A graduate of Morehouse College, Marberry studied abroad in Scotland and Jamaica before attending Columbia University, where he received a Master’s Degree in Journalism. Marberry is also the grandson of the late Louis Henry Ford, former Presiding Bishop of the Church of God in Christ. MICHAEL CUNNINGHAM was born in Landover, Maryland, and fell in love with photography at the age of 12. A commercial photographer for over 10 years, his clients include advertising agencies, banks, public relations firms, magazines, and book publishers throughout the southeast. His personal projects are all done in black and white; this allows him to express what is in his soul. “Black and white photography is very personal,” he says, “and reaches deep inside of the viewer, making them study the photograph for what it is outside of pretty colors.” Two of his photographs are currently on loan to the Smithsonian’s Anacostia Museum, and his works have been featured in the New York Times and Ebony. He lives in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Educational Outreach

Courtesy of the McCarter Theatre Education Dept. and Laurie Sales

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Crowns

From Page to Stage

Talking Hats by Janice Paran In her forward to the book Crowns: Portraits of Black Women in Church Hats, Maya Angelou describes the ritual that an African American woman is likely to follow in getting ready for church on Sunday morning, a routine that more often than not culminates in selecting THE HAT. The phenomenon of The Hat, or more precisely, of black women in church hats, is what prompted photographer Michael Cunningham and journalist Craig Marberry to become collaborators on Crowns (Doubleday, 2000), their loving homage to the cherished African American custom that fuses faith and fashion. The book’s stunning black-and-white portraiture and riveting oral histories, spiked with a generous dose of “hattitude,” inspired the playwright Regina Taylor, in turn, to adapt the material to the stage. Crowns, directed by Taylor and co-produced by the McCarter Theatre and New York’s Second Stage Theatre, [received] its world premiere [in] October, 2002. For nearly everyone involved in Crowns’ journey from page to stage, the process has been a particularly joyous, not to mention personal, undertaking. Both Cunningham and Marberry are based in North Carolina, where church hats are taken seriously, and where Cunningham had no trouble finding willing subjects to photograph. Two months into his project, he showed some of the portraits to his journalist friend Craig Marberry, who suspected that beneath the hats lay a gold mine of oral histories, and signed on to the undertaking. “I saw that my challenge,” Marberry later said, “was to elicit from these hat queens stories as individual and compelling as the hats they wear.” Before the pair had even found a publisher, Marberry slipped some of the material to McCarter’s Artistic Director Emily Mann [...] on the hunch that it might translate well to the stage. Mann agreed, and in short order approached the versatile Regina Taylor [...] to do the adaptation. Taylor didn’t hesitate for a moment. “When I first looked at the photographs and read the stories,” she recalled, “I felt a deep sense of recognition - a sense of where I came from, a sense of the women who helped raise me, a sense of the community that was provided by aunts and neighbors and by the women who worshipped in the church I grew up in. There was very much a feeling of knowing all of these women at different points in my life. That was very exciting to me.” [...] Crowns is full of hilarious “hat queen” testimonials from women who own 30 or 50 or 100 hats and don’t care who knows it, but for every bravura hat queen turn, there’s an intimate story of a childhood memory, a personal turning point, a private grief. In giving voice to such experiences, in recounting the truths the hats trumpet or translate or hide, Crowns never loses sight of two essentials. The first is that for African American women, hats are more than a fashion statement (though they are also defiantly that): they are outward expressions of faith, symbols of cultural continuity, badges of honor. “Our crowns have already been bought and paid for,” James Baldwin wrote. “All we have to do is wear them.” The second core value in Taylor’s approach to the material is that Crowns, for all its culture-specific detail, is not a private party. “What I hope audiences will take away from Crowns,” Taylor noted early in her work on it, “is the experience of people from different backgrounds coming into the theatre as a community and being touched by their own recollections. I hope the piece will open up other doors of experience, doors people don’t expect to walk through.” Hats need not be removed before entering. Educational Outreach

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Janice Paran is the Resident Dramaturg and Director of Play Development for the McCarter Theatre. Article courtesy of the McCarter Theatre Education Dept.

In the Press

Crowns

Big Hats and Black-Church Tradition by Terry Mattingly WASHINGTON - Viewed from their balconies, the pews in traditional black churches looked like waves of polished wood curving down to the pulpit and, through decades of Sundays, the crests were topped by graceful rows of women’s hats. Before the sea change of the 1960’s, it was much more common for women to cover their heads in congregations of all kinds. Nevertheless, visitors would have to have been blind not to see that there was more to the hats in black churches than mere fashion. “This is part of a distinction between the work-day world and that whole Sunday-go-to-meeting tradition,” said Gail S. Lowe, curator and principal researcher for a new Smithsonian Institution exhibit on African-American faith. “If your whole week was ruled by uniforms and aprons and work clothes and boots, then you kept one good suit and you kept one really nice dress. “And if the culture says that ladies are supposed to cover their heads, and the culture certainly said that the Bible said you were supposed to do that, then that meant you needed a hat. And if you needed a hat and it was Sunday, then you needed a SUNDAY hat. So the hats became more and more elaborate, to say the least.” On one level, this symbolized reverence for God, said Lowe. It also displayed respect for the church and for the authority of elders. But there was one more level to this tradition: a hunger for beauty and self-respect in the generations leading up to the Civil Rights Movement [...] While black church-life has certainly changed in recent decades, it’s impossible to predict which changes are permanent and which traditions will simply evolve into new forms, said Lowe. The key is that black Americans are, like to many others in this culture, picking and choosing which spiritual rites and symbols speak to them on a highly personal level. “My generation doesn’t wear hats. Why? Because we hated all of that,” said Lowe, who attends a progressive Christian Methodist Episcopal congregation. “We understood that women wore hats because of modesty and because of the traditional values of the community. So we all said, ‘That has to go. We’re not going to do it.’” But most of the pastors’ wives, or “first ladies” of the congregations, kept the tradition alive, along with the revered older women often known as the “mothers of the church.” And then the cultural search for African traditions led some women to try wearing forms of headdresses. Many Muslim women continued to wear simple head coverings. A few younger women simply decided gloves and hats were fashionable. “Today, you may see hats or you may not see hats,” said Lowe. “The key is that this is all a matter of personal choice. The theology is no longer there to back up the tradition. The links to the past are almost gone. Whether that’s good or bad depends on your point of view.” Terry Mattingly writes the nationally syndicated “On Religion” column for the Scripps Howard News Service in Washington, DC. The exhibit at the Smithsonian Institute was entitled “Speak to My Heart: Communities of Faith and Contemporary African American Life.” It was presented through the Anacostia Community Museum (http://anacostia.si.edu)

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Crowns

Activity in Observation Activity adapted from TheatreWorks of Palo Alto, CA

BACKGROUND INFO - THE YORUBA CULTURE Yoruba people are one of the largest cultural groups on the [African] continent, numbering over 20 million. Many Yoruba peoples were brought to the Americas forcibly through the trans-Atlantic slave trade. In the Americas, Yoruba culture has contributed to many traditions in the United States, Cuba, Haiti, and Brazil. As is typical of many divine kingship traditions, kings and queens [in Yoruba culture] are not only political leaders but also play important religious roles as well. [Today] as in the past, each royal court commssions artists to create beautiful art works that are symbols of power and prestige for each royal lineage. Especially important to any king or queen are his/her regalia, which are all the accessories and costumes that a king or queen wears on official occasions.

“The more I study Africa, the more I see that African Americans do very African things without even knowing it. Adorning the heads is one of those things... whether it’s the intricate briads or the distinct hairstyles or the beautiful hats we wear on Sundays. We just know inside that we’re queens. And these are the crowns we wear.” -Yolanda

THE ACTIVITY This activity focuses on Yoruba royal regalia. Students will investigate how art forms can actively project priviledge and power. Students will identify the symbolic meaning of visual signs and consider how these images can be ‘read’ as messages that connect kingship to the divine. Connect this activity to Crowns by comparing the traditions of royal regalia with hats in church. It may be helpful to refer to the ‘Elements of Visual Art’ on page 7 of this guide. Look at Photo #1 (Yoruba culture) Look at Photo #2 (Modern culture) How is the man in the center presenting himself? How is this woman presenting herself? What is he wearing? How is he sitting? What is she wearing? How is her head positioned? What attitude does he project? What attitude is this woman projecting? Can you guess what kind of occasion this is? What occasions could this hat be worn on? What symbols of power and importance do you see? Describe her hat: its texture, material, shape, etc. Describe his regalia: its texture, material, shape, etc. What do these elements communicate about her? What do these elements communicate about the man? What comparisons/differences can you find between these two photos?

Deji of Akure with young attendants holding ceremonial swords. 1959. Photo by Eliot Elisofson, Museum of African Art, Eliot Elisofson Photographic Archives, Smithsonian Institution.

Cover of Crowns by Michael Cunningham and Craig Marberry. Doubleday Publishing Group, 2000. Photo by Michael Cunningham.

Additional Resources

Crowns

CROWNS “A Teacher Resource Guide” by Laurie Sales, McCarter Theatre. http://www.mccarter.org/Education/crowns/crownsstudyguide.html#introduction “Performance Guide” from Theatreworks. http://www.theatreworks.org/images/Crowns%20Study%20Guide.pdf “Crowns: Portraits of Black Women in Church Hats” by Michael Cunningham and Craig Marberry. http://www.amazon.com/Crowns-Portraits-Black-Women-Church/dp/0385500866/ref=sr_1_1/105- 9387301-2916467?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1216664358&sr=1-1 “Crowns: A Curtain Up Review” http://www.curtainup.com/crowns.html HATS & RELIGION “Church Hats: Sisters Step Out in Style” by Angela Bronner, Blackvoices.com http://www.blackvoices.com/blogs/2008/03/21/church-hats-sisters-step-out-in-style/ “The History of Hats” The Hat Site http://www.thehatsite.com/historyofhats.html “Harlem’s Heaven Hat Boutique” http://www.harlemsheaven.com/church-hats A Collection of New York Times Articles http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/b/black_culture_and_history/index. html?query=HATS%20AND%20CAPS&field=des&match=exact Anacostia Museum of the Smithsonian Institution Exhibit on ‘Crowns’ http://anacostia.si.edu/docs/press_room/crowns_exhibition_press_release.pdf AFRICAN-AMERICAN CULTURE & TRADITION “Archives of African-American Music & Culture” Indiana University http://www.indiana.edu/~aaamc/index.html “America’s Jazz Heritage” Smithsonian Institute Internet Exhibit http://www.si.edu/ajazzh/ “African Genesis Presents: African-American Music” http://afgen.com/music.html

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NOTES ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ Educational Outreach

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EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH at Syracuse Stage

yracuse Stage is committed to providing students with rich theatre experiences that connect to and reveal what it is to be human. Research shows that children who participate in or are exposed to the arts show higher academic achievement, stronger self-esteem, and improved ability to plan and work towards a future goal.

Many students in our community have their first taste of live theatre through Syracuse Stage’s outreach programs. Last season more than 35,000 students from across New York State attended or participated in the Bank of America Children’s Tour, Carrier Backstory, Lockheed Martin Project Blueprint, artsEMERGING, the Chase Young Playwrights Festival, and our Student Matinee Program. We gratefully acknowledge the many corporations, foundations, and government agencies whose donations support our commitment to in-depth arts education for our community. The listing below respresents support towards last season’s 2007-2008 programming. Bank of America - Bank of America Children’s Tour Bristol-Myers Squibb Company - artsEMERGING Carrier Corporation - Carrier Backstory Chase - Chase Young Playwrights Festival Excellus BlueCross BlueShield - Bank of America Children’s Tour Grandma Brown Foundation - Student Matinee Program KARE Foundation - Carrier Backstory Lockheed Martin Employees Federated Fund - Carrier Backstory, Bank of America Children’s Tour Lockheed Martin MS2 - Lockheed Martin Project Blueprint National Grid - Student Matinee Program NYS Assembly through the office of William Magnarelli - artsEMERGING Onondaga County District Attorney’s Office - artsEMERGING Price Chopper’s Golub Foundation - Student Matinee Program Syracuse Police Department - artsEMERGING Syracuse University Division of Student Affairs - Student Matinee Program Syracuse University GEAR-UP - Carrier Backstory Target - Student Matinee Program Time Warner Cable - Carrier Backstory US Department of Justice - artsEMERGING Wegmans - Bank of America Children’s Tour

Actor Rob North signing autographs after a performance of The Mischief Makers.

Teachers from the Syracuse City School District receiving professional development from teaching artist Reenah Golden.

1,500 students from the Syracuse City School District attended matinee performances of The Bomb-itty of Errors.

08/09

come dream with uS

August Wilson’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom Directed by Timothy Bond September 9 – October 4

The award-winning music-filled play that captured the attention of the theatre world and launched August Wilson’s remarkable career.

Up By Bridget Carpenter Directed by Penny Metropulos February 25 – March 15 East Coast Premiere

A soaring new play about family and following your dreams . . . even if it takes 42 balloons tied to a lawn chair.

Music and Mischief for the Holidays

Godspell The Excellus BlueCross BlueShield Family Holiday Series; A collaboration between Syracuse Stage and SU Drama

Conceived and Directed by Ping Chong October 14 - November 2 World Premiere

By Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett Newly adapted by Wendy Kesselman Directed by Timothy Bond March 31 – May 3

Conceived and Originally Directed by John-Michael Tebelak Music and New Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz Directed by Rajendra Ramoon Maharaj Choreographed by Anthony Salatino November 25 – December 28

Life stories of real Syracuse residents carry us around the globe and bring us home with a more complete understanding of how we’re all connected.

A 13-year-old girl finds hope in the in face evil and teaches us all an unforgettable lesson in courage. A new adaptation of an American classic.

Filled with popular hit songs and based on the Gospel of St. Matthew, this energetic musical is a celebration of worldwide community.

Putting it Together

Crowns

The Santaland Diaries

Tales from the Salt City

A Musical Review Music & Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim Directed & Choreographed by Rajendra Ramoon Maharaj January 27 - February 15

At a Manhattan cocktail party, a cast of five uses Sondheim’s exquisite songs to examine the ups and downs of two relationships. Includes Sondheim’s greatest songs – and some never heard before!

The Diary of Anne Frank

By Regina Taylor Adapted from the book by Michael Cunningham and Craig Marberry Directed and choreographed by Patdro Harris May 13 – June 7

A troubled young woman journeys to her ancestral home and finds healing in the warm embrace of family, church, gospel music and tradition

By David Sedaris Adapted for the stage by Joe Mantello Directed by James Edmondson December 2 – January 4

Meet Crumpet, a 33-year-old starving artist turn cranky (but cute) Macy’s elf, in humorist David Sedaris’ witty gem of a lump of coal. For mature elves only. All plays and players subject to change.

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