JITNEY curriculum guide by Huntington Theatre Company

No portion of this Teacher Curriculum Guide may be reproduced without written permission from the Huntington Theatre Company's Department of Education.

Inquiries should be directed to: Donna Glick Director of Education Huntington Theatre Company 264 Huntington Avenue Boston, MA 02115

This Teacher Curriculum Guide for Jitney by August Wilson was prepared for the Huntington Theatre Company by Linda Murphy Assistant Director of Education with contributions by

Peter Altman Producing Director

Donna Glick Scott Edmiston Director of Education Literary Associate Valerie Ching Education & Oureach Associate

Bill Collins Elizabeth Hope Boston College High School Education Intern

Mary Mc Collough Weston Middle School

The John Hancock Student Matinee Series is funded in part by a grant from the John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company.

ABOUT THE CURRICULUM To the Teacher This curriculum package has been developed for use in conjunction with the Study Guide for the Huntington Theatre Company's production of Jitney by August Wilson. The guide is appropriate for English, social studies, music and drama classes for middle school through high school, and can be integrated into discussions and activities of an historical, social, literary or interpersonal nature. Students may explore themes, characters, and issues while using their curiosity, creativity, writing skills, and analytical and critical judgment skills. The curriculum includes classroom activities, discussion questions (both group and individual), research topics which can be worked on by groups or individuals with information presented orally or in writing, and suggestions for writing assignments. Teachers are encouraged to pick and choose, and to change and adapt each entry to meet the preferences and needs of individual classes and students. We recommend that the teacher read the study guide before approaching the curriculum guide, and then read the curriculum guide in its entirety. This curriculum includes the following sections: Audience Etiquette introduces students to the concept of drama and to audience etiquette. Objectives provides the teacher with measurable goals. Preparation introduces background information and the issues of the play without requiring special knowledge. Critical Viewing and Reading helps students to develop specific reading and viewing skills by encouraging them to focus on particular elements of the play. Discussion Questions help students assess the main points of the play. For Further Discussion encourages students to develop independent judgments about the issues and a clearer understanding of some complexities of the play, and to relate such issues to their everyday lives. For Further Exploration allows students to explore independently and creatively some of the issues and background of the play. Writing Assignments affords the students opportunities for self-expression and analytical thought and for developing their writing skills. Activities gives teachers and students occasions for hands-on and interactive consideration of the play. Questions for After Attending a Performance of the Play encourages students to consider the aesthetic and practical elements of a live performance. Suggested Readings and Films encourages students to read other literature and view films with similar themes, conflicts and characters. Quotations allows students to approach specific lines of the play in an assortment of ways.

Vocabulary offers a hand-out sheet without definitions for work with words and language. (The definitions are supplied in the accompanying study guide).

AUDIENCE ETIQUETTE Because many students have not had an opportunity to view live theatre, we are including an audience etiquette section with each curriculum. Please spend some time on this subject since it will greatly enhance your students' experience at the theatre. If a Huntington education staff member will be visiting your classroom, we will be covering some of this, but you might want to supplement or continue the discussion begun by the Huntington staff member.

What are the differences between live theatre and the cinema?

2.How does one respond to a live performance of a play, as opposed to when seeing a film at a local cinema? What is the best way to approach viewing a live performance of a play? What things should you look and listen for? 3.What is the audience's role during a live performance? How do you think audience behavior can affect an actor's performance? 4.How does a play script differ from a novel? How are the two forms similar? How does a stage actor approach preparing for his or her role? 5.What do you know about the theatrical rehearsal process? Have you ever participated in one as an actor, singer, director, or technical person? 6.What are some of the elements involved in producing a play -- set, costumes, lighting, actors, director, stage management, tech direction, etc.? Depending on your course, here is an opportunity to discuss the various jobs in theatre: set construction, costuming, properties, sound engineering, marketing, program writing and editing, company management, and so on. 7.Discuss how costumes, set, lights, sound and props enhance a theatre production. 8.

What is a professional stage actor's life like?

OBJECTIVES Students will: ! identify their own generational struggles and triumphs while coming to understand those of the characters in Jitney. ! recognize the contribution African American culture has made and continues to make to the history of this country. ! examine pertinent issues in their own lives as illustrated in Jitney. ! examine the social and economic pressures presented in the play and those students experience each day. ! recognize August Wilson's contributions to and impact on American Theatre.

PREPARATION Background The Work of August Wilson Bring in a selection of scenes from the following plays of August Wilson: Two Trains Running, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, The Piano Lesson; also, read the scene from Jitney found in the accompanying study guide. Compare characters, themes, the times in which the scenes are set. There is a great deal of periodical information, interviews, etc. featuring August Wilson. Divide the class into four groups and research facets of Mr. Wilson's life and work. Perhaps students could begin with this quote from Mr. Wilson. "In terms of influence on my work, I have what I call my four B's: Romare Bearden; Imanu Amiri Baraka, the writer; Jorges Luis Borges, the Argentine short-story writer; and the biggest B of all: the blues" (August Wilson, from "How to Write a Play"). What other influences can you cite that have contributed to Mr. Wilson's development as a playwright? How is he influenced by his past, the "Hill" section of Pittsburgh, family, religion, culture, music, art, etc.? Where are these influences reflected in his plays? Vietnam War - 70s Have a 70s day. Research economic and social conditions, music, politics, entertainment, and fashion of that decade. Pay special attention to how America viewed itself as a world power following the Fall of Saigan in 1974.

August Wilson has always utilized simple conversations that inspire him. Much can be assumed and ascertained by listening to conversations; you can collect personal opinion, conflict, attitude, tone, disagreement, humor, facts and fiction! While class members could make reports on these research topics of the 70s traditionally to the class, consider creating scene settings where conversations often take place. In 1971, what subjects were being discussed in Congress, in places of worship, around kitchen tables, around "water coolers" at work, at the beauty parlors, at sporting events, at schools, during intermissions of plays or concerts. Interview parents/grandparents and create an oral history of this time period. Listen to the music of the 70s. Learn a dance from the 70s and teach it to the rest of the class. Music To expand on this historical referencing over the years, students may enjoy using the following classification of African American music to connect older music with modern styles. Students may want to consider what changes may occur in the future of music. - Spirituals - Rhythm-blues - Blues - Gospel - Jazz - Rock - Ragtime - Funk - Bop - Rap - Hip-hop - Hip-hop Introducing the Issues

Justice in America - The African American Struggle for Equality Ask students to share any experience they have had of being discriminated against. Ask them how they felt and if they were able to do anything about the injustice. Ask students to identify groups they feel are not granted equal rights today. In what ways are these groups discriminated against? What recourse do they have for justice, if any? Ask students what they would tell the group about obtaining equal rights. Explain that the play Jitney takes place in 1971. Divide students into groups and have them research that time period and historical precedents as they pertain to the black struggle for equality in America. Encourage the students to consider such topics as family life, education, civil rights, discrimination, gender issues, economic opportunities and survival skills. Suggested headings include:

The Rodney King beating and the recent release of the Mark Fuhrman tapes (during the O.J. Simpson Trial) reveal uncomfortably that racism and hatred continue to exist toward African Americans from people who are in positions of authority. Ask students to debate whether they believe that it is possible for a minority person to receive justice in America. Prepare two sides to the statement that the U.S. legal system protects every American, regardless of race, sex, creed or religion. Violence in America Every day we are bombarded by violence in the United States. Through the print and television media, in movies and music, the subject of violence effects all of us, old and young, men and women, white and minority. The play Jitney also presents this issue. Like a time bomb set to go off in the unforeseen future, or a simple thread sewn through the fabric of the lives of Mr. Wilson's characters, the possibility and the fear of impending violence haunts the play. Throughout the drama there is talk of guns and knives. Weapons are carried and owned by the characters, male and female. Many of the characters' stories echo hints of violence, jail time, murder, and abuse of alcohol. In the classroom, create your own "think tank" to examine the issue of violence. Consider following up with a oneor two-day symposium focusing on the subject. "Think tanks" function in the following way: They (a) define the problem, (b) brainstorm solutions, (c) develop strategies for implementation, (d) plan for implementation, and (e) write up findings for publication and/or dissemination. Ask students to share their personal knowledge of violence and/or comment on topical stories they can find in the news media. Some suggestions include the O.J. Simpson trial, the Rodney King beating and the Los Angeles riots that followed, assaults on post offices or abortion clinics, and the Susan Smith and Charles Stuart cases, which involved false accusations of violence committed by black men.

Topics/questions to consider: What is the origin of such violence?

What components make up a violent act? How linked are violence and survival? What is the connection between violence and territorial feelings? What part do drugs, alcohol, and money play in the creation or sustaining of violence? What stereotypes are connected to the subject of violence? Is violence ever justified? What are some successful strategies to combat violence? How does violence impact a home, a neighborhood, a city, a state, and ultimately a country? If the class conducts a symposium and records its findings, please send us a copy.

After defining and sharing their knowledge and opinions of superstition, myth, and ritual, ask students to consider what purpose and power these have in our daily lives? How do they become a part of our lives? Return to these terms after the class has attended the play. How might these elements influence critics and academics who are reviewing or chronicling the plays of August Wilson?

CRITICAL READING, VIEWING AND LISTENING Note to teachers: You might assign various groups one of the questions in this section to focus on while attending a performance of the play. They can then lead discussion on their topic when they return to class. 1. Have students bring in tapes they may have of blues and jazz. Musicians mentioned in Seven Guitars include Muddy Waters and Buddy Bolden. Contemporaries of these musicians include: Ma Rainey, Louis Armstrong, B.B. King, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Theleonous Monk, Count Basie and Dizzie Gillespie, to name a few. The teacher may need to supplement student materials with personal tapes or tapes from the library. Have the students listen to the various types of music and encourage them to let their minds wander while listening. After they have listened to a musical segment, ask students to share what they thought of the selection and what feelings the music aroused in them. Ask students what elements of the music struck them, e.g., rhythms, style, feelings, and so forth. (For this teacher guided discussion, the goal is to solicit awareness of structural elements, as well as personal reactions.) List student responses on the board. Have a student copy the responses on a sheet of paper. Later distribute copies of the list. Encourage students to look for these elements of style and emotion in Seven Guitars. 2. Have students define and discuss the concept of genre. Divide the students into groups to work on headings such as film, plays, novels and poetry. Concentrate on artists and writers currently producing and publishing for each genre who are presenting characters and issues related to African Americans in this country. Suggested artists and writers include film maker Spike Lee, playwrights August Wilson and Cheryl West, novelists, Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, Terry McMillan, Leon Forrest (Chicago-based novelist whose book Divine Days is an epic fictional account of black life in that city), Ernest Gaines, (A Lesson Before Dying) and poets Maya Angelou and Rita Dove, as well as oral historians, Sarah and Elizabeth Delany and Amy Heath (co-authors of Having Our Say: The Delaney Sisters' First 100 Years). Have students read selections from the novels and poetry, view some of Mr. Lee's films and following viewing Seven Guitars, ask the groups to share their views on the comparison of each genre. How effective is each genre in communicating ideas, emotion, point of view, and sentiment regarding life for blacks in America? Which genre do they feel most connected with, and why? This activity could be expanded to include painters, musicians, and dancers.

QUESTIONS FOR AFTER VIEWING JITNEY 1. The first scene of this play has been called a prologue. It sets up the rest of the play which is in flashback. We learn some important information about Floyd that's vital to our understanding of the plot of the play. What do we learn about Floyd in this opening scene? 2. Why do you think it is so important for Floyd to get to Chicago? He tells anyone who will listen about the "opportunities" in Chicago. Do you think Chicago had more opportunities for Floyd than Pittsburgh? 3. How does Floyd feel about Muddy Waters? His mother? Vera? How are his feelings for these three individuals the same? How are they different? 4. Canewell brings Vera a Golden Seal plant. What does this gift mean to Canewell? What does it mean to Vera? Do you think there is any significance to the type of plant it is? 5. Who is the protagonist in Jitney? Explain your answer. 6. Who or what is the antagonist in Jitney? Support your answer. 7. Describe how Vera, Louise and Ruby view the men in their lives. How are their experiences with their men different? How are their experiences the same? Do you think Vera, Louise and Ruby value men the same way? 8. Describe how Floyd, Canewell, and Red Carter view their relationships with women. How do these perceptions differ from the ways Vera, Louise and Ruby view their relationships with men? Think about your answer in relation to the following exchange between Canewell and Vera: Canewell says, "The next woman I get gonna be a gambling woman. I'm tired of giving my money to a woman. That's why I ain't got nothing now. The women take it all." Vera replies, "That's cause you don't be putting it in one place. If you put it in one place you can see it add up. You be there long enough to see it add up."

9. Which character in Jitney is most concerned with the black man's condition in the world? Or, considering the same issue in a different way, which character in the play is the most political? Give some reasons why you choose the character you do. 10. In the time that you see Vera, do you learn what she wants in life? If so, describe it. 11. What purpose do you think Joe Louis, the champion boxer, plays in this play? Does Louis' role have any relation to Hedley's remarks about Marcus Garvey or Toussaint L'Ouverture? What are the commonalities that Louis, Garvey and L'Ouverture share? 12. How well do Floyd, Red Carter and Canewell know each other? How well do they like each other?

13. Floyd is very excited about returning to Chicago and making his second record. Every time he describes Chicago to Vera he paints an exciting picture, and Canewell usually makes a disparaging remark. Why? 14. Why do you think Hedley kills the rooster at the end of Act One? 15. How many events, behaviors or objects can you identify that clearly mark the time of this play as 1948? How do the events impact the lives of these characters? 16. What does the title Jitney mean to you? What does it suggest about the play's concerns?

FOR FURTHER EXPLORATION 1. Have students research the life of August Wilson. Have them choose one aspect of his life they find particularly relevant or inspiring and write essays describing why and how this is so for them. Topics to consider might include: Family history Education (August Wilson dropped out of school. What was it about him that enabled him to become the great writer he is today? How was he able to beat the odds and become such an acclaimed success?) Development as a playwright Influence on American theatre Attitudes and reflections on playwrighting 13 year collaboration with director Lloyd Richards Awards and Honors 2. Broadway has been called the Great White Way. Black theatre for many years remained in the shadows of the Great White Way. Despite the shadow, Black theatre eventually grew and flourished, and today, no longer in the shadows, such luminaries as August Wilson, George C. Wolfe, Douglas Turner Ward, Ntzoke Shange, and Cheryl West, to name a few, are prominent among U.S. theatre artists. Individually or by groups, have students trace the struggles and triumphs of black theater in America. You might divide this project according to eras. Some eras to consider might include colonial America, before, and after the Civil War, the Harlem Renaissance, before and after World War II, and black theater of the 50s, 60s, and 70s to the present day. Reports should include the well known playwrights, directors and actors of each era, as well as a time line. A more comprehensive project would be to trace the evolution of black theatre in America during the 20th century. Students might examine this evolution from a thematic or chronological perspective. Or, they might include both perspectives by presenting their findings in chronological order pointing out emerging themes. 3. Jitney had its first presentation at Theatre on , after being developed at the Eugene O'Neill Center's National Playwrights Conference. Contact the Pittsburgh Public Theatre and request educational and marketing materials for their production. Their information will provide background on the director and actors and on Mr. Wilson's re-working of the script. Also, compare and contrast what the reviews report about the Chicago production. After seeing the Huntington's production, include it in your analysis. 4. Research a biographical profile on one of the prominent persons mentioned in Seven Guitars: Muddy Waters John D. Rockefeller Joe Lewis Marcus Garvey Share findings in the class. 5. Compare the status of African-Americans in society today vs. the 1960s. What things have changed? What things still need, according to many, to be changed? 6. Research contributions and achievements of black Americans to the scientific, cultural, and political life of

America. 7. Research the history of blacks in the theatre, music, art, dance, literature, and poetry. 8. Write a biographical profile of a black leader of the 1960's-1990's. Some possible subjects include: Martin Luther King Jesse Jackson Eldredge Cleaver Colin Powell Malcom X Andrew Young Coretta King Barbara Jordon Thomas Bradley David Dinkins Spike Lee Oprah Winfrey Oprah Winfrey Alice Walker Henry Hampton Louis Gates Share findings in the class. 9. Research black playwrights other than August Wilson. Write a comparative paper. 10. Trace the history of black TV shows. Who were the first prominent black characters on TV? (e.g., Rochester on The Jack Benny show.) What phases have people of color gone through in TV depiction and how have they been labeled? For example, Negroes, coloreds, blacks, Afro Americans, African Americans. You may want to execute this assignment in terms of decades, eg., 1960s --Julia with Diahann Carroll; 1970s -- All in the Family, Good Times, The Jeffersons, Webster; 1980s and 90s -- The Cosby Show, Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Amen, Oprah Winfrey Show, Arsenio Hall, In Living Color, etc. Note: This activity could be divided into group work. Contemporary Issues 1. What is the Southern Poverty League? Read some of its literature. It is a good source for materials about contemporary issues. 2. Research racial tensions and well-known cases of conflicts of the 1970's. 3. Boston, considered the birthplace of American democracy, has at times been labeled a racist city. Research this accusation and argue in support of or against it. 4. Find out the Clinton Administration's stand/record on civil rights and minority opportunities. Find out the same for your senator, congressman, governor and state representatives. 5. Research the psychological damage racism causes in young children. Include children of color and white children. 6. Find out about black cultural institutions and/or events in your community and surrounding area.

WRITING ASSIGNMENTS 1. Write a letter to a friend about a character from Jitney. Pretend that you have just met him or her. Describe your first impressions of that person. 2. Pretend that you are one of the characters in Jitney. Write a journal entry about Floyd's funeral, the night of the Joe Lewis fight, or the arrival of Ruby. 3. Choose a character from this play and create a biographical time line of the ten most important occurrences in his or her life. Choose only ten events which are most focal for that character, understanding that you must prioritize. One event might be very traumatic, such as the death of a loved one; another may be something as simple as a child's surprise party. Each list should cover its character's childhood and finish with the end of the play. Events should be ordered in sequence beginning with the earliest recollection. You may draw from information from the play, research, or events that you might envision happening. This exercise can also be fun to do for yourself. 4. Write a monologue for any of the characters of this play, revealing her or his innermost thoughts. Either rehearse and perform your monologue or direct a classmate to perform your monologue. 5. In groups of three, select a scene from the play and as a group rewrite the scene, placing it in 1995. Perform the scene for the class. 6. Jitney is not simply a "black play." It encompasses such universal themes as gender relationships, the spectre of violence in our lives, and the pursuit of the American Dream. Choose one of these themes and write an essay tracing the theme's journey throughout the play. Relate your chosen theme to its significance in your own life. 7. Divide students into small groups to write sequels to Jitney, showing what they imagine the lives of these characters could become. Encourage students to share, discuss, revise, and perform their plays. 8. Write an essay analyzing a central theme of Jitney. 9. Write a critical examination of the performance by one of the actors in the Huntington production of the play. Consider how well the character you choose was portrayed through the actor's use of voice, body language, mannerisms (especially a "signature" gesture), and movement. Consider also how well the actor "played off" the other performers. Was this a solo performance or was this actor a team player? Give examples for each of your criticisms. Remember that being critical does not mean only being negative; be sure to include both the things you believe were done well and those you think were done not so well.

10. Write a review of the Huntington production of Jitney and submit it for publication in your school newspaper. Be sure to send us a copy.

11. In this play, you will notice characters who are talked about but never seen by the audience. Write a scene with two characters, where a person who is the main topic of the dialogue is talked about but never seen by the audience. Discuss the type of images you must create in order to stimulate an audience's imagination. 12. Write an obituary for Becker. 13. Write and deliver an eulogy for Becker. 14. Compare any two protagonists from other August Wilson plays. 15. Write an essay that imagines what August Wilson's life would have been like had he stayed in school. You will need to be aware of education available to blacks in 1959. 16. Read 2 or 3 other Wilson plays. Trace a common theme or element they all share. Compare and contrast how Wilson treats this continuing theme or recurrent element in the various plays. 17. Write a paper giving your view of racism. 18. Write a paper comparing civil rights as they relate to black/white issues in various decades. You might want to use August Wilson plays for some of the information since each of his plays deals with a different decade. 19. To understand how a writer sometimes gathers ideas for a play, have students observe conversations between children playing, people walking by or waiting for a bus, etc. Write a brief scene based on the dialogue that you have imagined being heard. 20. Read Aristotle's Poetics or sections from it. Wilson says," People . . . use Aristotle everyday. I listen to people's telephone conversations everyday. I listen to people's telephone conversations and how they relate what happened in their day. And what they're doing is using some of Aristotle's principles. It's all just a way of telling a story. It's basically intuitive." Listen to one end of a telephone conversation. Imagine the circumstances surrounding what you hear. Create a brief scene which brings the conversation to life.

QUESTIONS FOR AFTER ATTENDING A PERFORMANCE OF THE PLAY Note to teachers: Before attending a performance of Jitney, pass out these questions to students and go over question 1 with them. 1. Above the stage of the Huntington Theatre Company there is an inscription that states: "To hold as 'twere the mirror up to nature." There is also an inscription in the theatre's entryway that says "All the world's a stage and all the men and women merely players; they have their exits and their entrances and one man in his time plays many parts." From what plays are these lines? What do you think they mean? Why do you think the original owners of the theatre had these quotations inscribed? With these quotes in mind, consider the following questions while watching a performance of Jitney. 2. What did the set design for Jitney tell you about the people living in its apartment house? Cite specific details about the set that made you feel as you do. 3. What clues did the costumes of Jitney give you about this play's characters before they said or did anything? 4. How did the actors' physicalization of their characters enhance their interpretations of the individuals in Wilson's plot? Give specific examples such as the way the actors walked, chewed food, sat, gestured, handled props, and so forth. 5. Discuss the actors' uses of their voices. Did each character have a distinct voice? What role did accent have in this production? Support your answers. 6. Who was your favorite character? What was it that the actor playing this role did to make you feel positively? 7. Point out some interesting details of staging in this production. How did those particular staging touches add to the impact of the story? 8. Jitney in set in 1971. Do you think that the Huntington's production truthfully captured the essence of that time period? Why or why not? 9. Did the physical elements of the Huntington's production (i.e., the sets, props costuming and lighting) suggest different things to you about the characters? Discuss the many ways that the set, props, costumes, and light and sound designs of this production serve its director and actors. Consider each element individually. Note: The teacher may want to assign groups of students one production element (set, props, costumes, sound, music, etc.) each to concentrate on during the performance. 10. Jitney is filled with much conflict between individual characters that results in heated arguments. How did director Marion Issac McClinton (who played the part of Becker in 1985) stage and balance the arguments so that the play contains a variety of levels and pacing? Give specific examples.

ACTIVITIES Warm Up Activities The following introductory exercises are excerpted from the International Schools Theatre Association publication, "Drama and the Active Study of Literature" by Tim Williams. Five Minute Performances Arrange the class in small groups. Tell each group it is going to have to present the story of the play in exactly five minutes. They can use whatever methods seem appropriate -- action, prose narration, mime, movement, song, background music, pictures or whatever. Point out that each group must select the most important features, events, and purposes of the play. Send the groups away for a class to discuss and practice. At the next lesson have them perform their five minute versions to the rest of the class, and then compare versions in terms of what was missing, interesting, important, surprising, in common, and emphasized. Discuss why the versions may have differed. Still Life This is especially useful if you are trying to talk about relationships between characters. Ask a willing student to stand before the class in a pose which she or he thinks is in some way characteristic of one of the characters -- it could b kneeling and supplicant, or head bowed and despairing, or poling a nose into someone else's affairs, or looking behind or ahead, or... The student will look no doubt hopelessly bemused and embarrassed to begin but get the rest of the class to make suggestions, either by saying something or by simple coming and moving the student to what seems a better position without speaking. Add another student character to the tableau. The way that the second student stands in relationship to the first person is significant. He or she may represent a spurning or supporting character, an enemy or a friend, or may be ambivalent or unrelated. Ask students if this tableau seems to visually support a moment from the play. Next ask small groups of students to each present a version of the same moment in the play. Try to get the students to justify what they do. Ask the other members of the class if they understand each tableau, and if they can identify particular moments, crises, characters, and groupings. Interviewing Have students research all they can find out about a character and then have another student interview them. The questioning could focus on biographical details; motives for action; understanding of events; life before, after or outside the action in the text; or justification for what has been done or said. The questioners could be police officers, psychiatrists, friends, interviewing other characters in the text, or lawyers (with a judge, jury, prosecutors and defenders, and a decision at the end of the class.) Different groups could interview the same character and compare results. A variation of this exercise is to get two students to prepare the same character for one particular point in the text and then have them interviewed one after the other.

Creating Characterization 1. Have students each choose a character in Jitney each would like to portray. As though they were preparing

for the role in rehearsal, have them ask the following questions about their characters: a. What do I want in the play? What is my overall objective? b. What is in the way of what I want in the play? What are my obstacles? Who is/are my obstacles? Does what gets in the way of what I want change throughout the course of the play? How? c. Does my character change during the course of the play? What is my character's journey, or plot of transformations? d. What are the contradictions inherent in my character? e. If my character were a type of animal, what would it be? f. If my character were a type of music, what would it be? 2. Have students imagine that they have been chosen to play one of the characters in this play. Have them make notes individually on how they would approach their role. Ask students to consider what research would be needed, what physical and psychological qualities might be best to work on, what character movement and speech patterns. Improvisation and Role Play 1. Have students look for parallel situations between the characters' story and their own lives. Have them recall when they have been hurt, jealous, bitter, horrified, struggling, unaware, delighted, cruel, deceitful. Can they act or portray their own emotions? Do they disguise or hide what really happened? What is difficult to portray, and why? Do you have to have had a similar experience in order to understand what is being said in a play? This is obviously a difficult and sensitive area for most adolescents to deal with, especially in the company of their peers, and it's not productive to push too hard. It's not meant to lead to a psychotherapy session, but if we believe literature to be of value, then we should be stressing the fact that it is about our own personal experiences as much as the writer's; just getting students on their feet to start playing some experience of their own involves much more commitment than almost any seated, abstract discussion. 2. Have students improvise some moment from Jitney and then test the effects of changing something -- tone of voice, some important trait in a character, or a vital remark. How does such a change affect the selected moment? What repercussions would such a change have on other aspects of the play? The students could improvise what happens before or after some point, or what happens after the play's end. Both these exercises help the class understand how a work of art involves an interrupted process, or a decision to stop what could be endlessly revised. See if the students can identify some of the writer's main points of choice or decision in their story. 3. Have each student select a line from the play that best captures the essence of a particular character. Organizing the class by four main characters, have students present their lines and explain the reasons for their selections. After each character is completed and all the chosen lines have been read aloud and explained, discuss the rationale for choices. Acting 1. Have students act out the scene provided in the Jitney Study Guide. Before beginning, have the students consider which experiences of the characters might be like experiences of their own, and how the characters' feelings resemble feelings of their own. Try to have students relate their own personal truth to specific lines of Wilson's dialogue. Have students videotape their performances as a project.

2. Find and read aloud key speeches from the study guide extract of Wilson's script. During this exercise, in order to explore possible divergent interpretations of the script, ask several different students to prepare and present the same portion of a scene. 3. Have two or three of your more ambitious students stage four pages from a sequence of their choice, casting their classmates in the various roles. Elements to consider: who stands where, who moves when and where, gestures, voice tone, music, props, emotional impact. Visual Art 1. Some students might design a set for a production of Jitney and build a model of their design. Have the class compare their set designs to the Huntington Theatre Company's set design. 2. Other students might design costumes for the play. Again, have the class compare designs with those used in the HTC production. 3. Using paper plates, paper-mache and other materials, have students create masks that represents characters in the play. Have them act out a scene from the play without using the masks and then act the same scene wearing masks. How is the scene different? How different is it for the actors? What must one consider when wearing a character mask that one does not need to consider when not wearing one? 4. Pass out art paper, paints, brushes. Have students create abstract paintings of a character from Jitney. Be sure they do not tell their classmates who their pictures represent. Then randomly hang the paintings around the room. Ask students to pick out qualities, moods, and feelings of each painting. Next have each artist identify the character his or her painting represents and explain how the various details of the painting depict the particular character she or he has chosen. The students might then write a paper analyzing their paintings. Note: The concept of abstract imagery may need to be explained to some students. Emphasize that they are trying to capture moods, feelings, and conflicts. They need not try to make their paintings look like the character or, for that matter, anything specific.

Movement 1. Divide students into groups of four. Give each group an issue or emotion written on a card, such as discrimination, violence, poverty, gender relationships, generation gap, anger, fear and so on. Allow the groups fifteen minutes to decide on a tableau that would represent that issue or emotion. Have each group present its tableau to the class. Now comes the tricky part. Do not allow the rest of the class to just start guessing what the tableau represents. Instead, insist that they describe what they see first. Coach them with such questions as: Describe exactly what you see. Who is placed where, whose hands are joined, what is Linda doing with her fist, etc. Do not let them say such things as "the group looks angry or sad". They will build up to this. Once they have described what they see, then ask them what emotions or intentions seem to emerge from the details. Finally, allow them to state their opinions on the issue or motion being presented. Be sure they explain what it is in the tableau that brought them to that conclusion. It is not important that they guess the exact word or words

written on the card. What is important is to allow the students ample opportunity to analyze what they see and draw conclusions from the data they gather through observation. Students will usually want to guess right away. It is important that the teacher keep them on track. This can be done by repeating the question. For example, if a student yells out "prejudice," respond by saying "but what do you see?" Students become very good at the steps towards analysis once they have gone through this exercise a couple of times. You might invite students to come up with their own issues and emotions they could write on a card and give to a group.

QUOTATIONS Teachers can use the following quotations to discuss specific scenes in the play in context, or discuss the universal ideas of the quotations projected out of context, or they may use the quotations as springboards to role playing, essay writing, creative writing, or research.

SUGGESTED READINGS AND FILMS To further explore the issues of Jitney with your students, or for students who want to read other works with similar themes and issues, teachers might suggest the following: The Poetry of: Langston Hughes Maya Angelou Countee Cullen Rita Dove Nikki Giovanni Alice Walker August Wilson Books: Go Tell it on the Mountain Sister Carrie The Souls of Black Folks Invisible Man Black Like Me Roots (video available) Their Eyes Were Watching God The Bluest Eyes Sula Song of Solomon Beloved Jazz The Color Purple (video available)

James Baldwin Theodore Dreiser W. E. B. Du Bois Ralph Ellison John Griffith Alex Haley Zora Neale Hurston Toni Morrison Toni Morrison Toni Morrison Toni Morrison Toni Morrison Alice Walker

The Third Life of Grange Copeland The Temple of My Familiar Possessing the Secret of Joy Native Son (video available) Black Boy Divine Days Having Our Say A Lesson Before Dying Plays: Blues for Master Charlie Dutchman Wedding Band A Soldier's Play (video available) The Blacks To Be Young, Gifted and Black Les Blancs American Buffalo Death of a Salesman Awake and Sing For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf Jar the Floor Ma Rainey's Black Bottom Fences Joe Turner's Come and Gone The Piano Lesson

Alice Walker Alice Walker Alice Walker Richard Wright Richard Wright Leon Forrest Sarah and Elizabeth Delany Ernest Gaines

James Baldwin Amiri Baraka (Leroi Jones) Alice Childress Charles Fuller Jean Genet Lorraine Hansberry Lorraine Hansberry David Mamet Arthur Miller (the elusive American Dream) Clifford Odets

Ntzoke Shange Cheryl West August Wilson August Wilson August Wilson August Wilson (also seen on American Playhouse) Two Trains Running August Wilson The Colored Museum George C. Wolfe Spunk (from stories by Zora Neale Hurston) George C. Wolfe Movies: He Got Game Sounder The Color Purple Do The Right Thing Boys in the Hood Crooklyn Malcolm X Videos: Eyes on the Prize Henry Hampton's chronicle of the Civil Rights Movement (PBS) Roots (TV mini-series)

TV Shows featuring black families: "Family Matters" "Fresh Prince of Bel Air" "Bill Cosby Show" "Roc"

VOCABULARY

SOURCE BIBLIOGRAPHY Bennett, Robin. Goodman Theatre Student Study Guide. Chicago, Copyright 1995. Fuller, Hoyt W. "Toward A Black Aesthetic." The Black Aesthetic. ed. by Addison Gayle, Jr. Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company, 1972, pp. 3-11. DiGaetani, John L. A Search for a Postmodern Theatre. Greenwood Press, 1991, pp. 276-284. Goodman Theatre Series, Seven Guitars by August Wilson, Volume 9, Number 2. 1994-1995. Harrison, Paul Carter, ed. Totem Voices: Plays from the Black World Repertory. New York: Grove Press, 1989. King, Woodie and Ron Milner, ed. Black Drama Anthology. New York: The New American Library, 1972. Mitchell, Henry H. Black Belief. Harper & Row Publishers, New York: 1975, pp. 125-153. Oliver, Paul, ed. The Blackwell Guide to Blues Records. Basil Blackwell Ltd., Cambridge: 1989, pp. 195-212. Sanders, Leslie Catherine. The Development of Black Theatre from Shadows to Selves. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press: 1988. Savran, David. In Their Own Words: Contemporary American Playwrights. New York: Theatre Communication Group, Inc.: 1988, pp. 288-305.