Š Huntington Theatre Company Boston, MA 02115 September 2006 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
Limelight
teacher literary & curriculum guide
HUNTINGTON THEATRE COMPANY IN RESIDENCE AT BOSTON UNIVERSITY
HUNTINGTON THEATRE COMPANY
Nicholas Martin
IN RESIDENCE AT BOSTON UNIVERSITY
Norma Jean Calderwood Artistic Director
Michael Maso Managing Director
Table of Contents STAFF This Teacher Literary and Curriculum Guide was prepared for the Huntington Theatre Company by Megan Sullivan, Education Intern With contributions by Donna Glick, Director of Education
Table of Contents 3
Synopsis
4
August Wilson: Climbing the Mountain
6
One Man’s Century
7
August Wilson at the Huntington
8
History and Mythology in the Wilson Cycle
10 Audience Etiquette Ilana Brownstein, Literary Manager Kyle W. Brenton, Artistic Intern Amanda Rota, Education Department Manager
10 Background & Objectives 11 Preparation for August Wilson’s Radio Golf 13 Mastery Assessment 14 Open Response & Writing Assignments 15 For Further Exploration
Melissa Wagner-O’Malley, Layout
16 Did You Know? 17 Media Assessment 18 Questions for After the Performance 19 Lesson Plans 21 Handout 1: Vocabulary Charades 22 Handout 2: Creating a Dramatic Monologue Production Sponsor
SYNOPSIS
Radio Golf I
t is 1997, the cusp of a new millennium, and Harmond Wilks is the embodiment of Pittsburgh’s new beginning. A successful third-generation African-American entrepreneur and real estate developer, his star is poised to skyrocket. With his partner Roosevelt Hicks, Harmond will soon begin transforming Pittsburgh’s Hill District from a blighted near-wasteland of abandoned homes and businesses into Bedford Hills — a new, twentyfirst century housing development, complete with Whole Foods, Barnes & Noble, and Starbucks. This is Harmond’s moment, and he’s seizing it; with the help of his media-consultant wife Mame, he will shortly announce his candidacy to become the first black mayor of Pittsburgh. But the past is not so easily left behind. Into Harmond’s new Hill District campaign headquarters slouches an enigmatic stranger: Elder Joseph Barlow. Old Joe claims to own one of the houses that Harmond’s company is about to demolish. But 1839 Wylie Avenue is not just any house; for more than a century it was the home of Aunt Ester, the spiritual healer and custodian of Pittsburgh’s African-American heritage. It has sat vacant since Ester’s death in 1985 at the age of 366, and Old Joe — unaware that it has been repossessed by the city for delinquent property taxes —has returned to the Hill to claim it. As the deadline for demolition draws ever nearer, a surprising revelation makes matters even more complex for Harmond — his own father and grandfather had been paying the property taxes on 1839 Wylie for most of the last century. Why? And what is Old Joe’s mysterious connection to Harmond and his family? In the final decade of 20th century, Harmond Wilks is about to learn that the past might be something worth preserving after all. But will the lesson come in time to stop the bulldozers, in this, the last installment of August Wilson’s ten-play cycle about the AfricanAmerican experience? – KWB
Limelight Literary & Curriculum Guide 2006-2007
3
August Wilson; photo: David Cooper
AUGUST WILSON:
Climbing the Mountain W
hen August Wilson succumbed to liver cancer at the age of sixty, he died a proud, successful man — a self-made man who left a legacy that will not soon be forgotten. He set himself a challenge equivalent to climbing a great mountain: he would, he declared, write ten plays, each one set in a different decade of the 20th century, chronicling the history of the African-American experience in this country. When he died, he had reached the summit of that mountain. 4
Huntington Theatre Company
Born Frederick August Kittel on April 27, 1945, he was the son of Daisy Wilson, whose mother had walked to Pittsburgh from North Carolina after Emancipation. His father was Frederick Kittel, a German baker who wasn’t present in the family’s cold-water flat on Bedford Avenue in Pittsburgh’s Hill District. Wilson grew up in an African-American cultural environment; he had very little contact with his father over the course of his life, and shed his father’s name at twenty.
Wilson’s mother taught him to read at age four, and he quickly became a voracious reader. He was a regular at the Hill District branch of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, and said in a speech at the 100th anniversary of that library, “Labor historians do not speak well of Andrew Carnegie, but he will forever be for me that man who made it possible for me to be standing here today. I wore out my library card and cried when I lost it.” The Carnegie Library did more than supplement his education — it provided it. When he was a fifteen-year-old student at Gladstone High School, his teacher threw out a twenty-page report he had written on Napoleon, believing falsely that he had not done the work himself. Disgusted, he left school and never returned. Rather than admit to his mother what had happened, Wilson began spending his days at the main branch of the Carnegie Library in Oakland, where he created his own educational curriculum and grappled with the great writers at his own pace. He remains the only person ever to be awarded a high school diploma by the Carnegie Library. To come of age in the Hill District in the 1960s was to grow up in a neighborhood on the decline, but still clinging to life. Wilson’s substitute fathers were the men hanging out in grocery stores and diners and chatting on street corners, telling stories and singing songs. Wilson basked in this verbal culture, and it became a part of him. On April 1, 1965, using twenty dollars his sister had given him to write a term paper for her, August Wilson bought his first typewriter and declared himself a poet. He connected with other young black writers, and in 1968 he co-founded the Black Horizon Theater in Pittsburgh with Rob Penney. He began writing plays around this time, but did not seriously devote himself to drama until 1978 when, at the suggestion of director Claude Purdy, he moved to St. Paul, Minnesota and wrote the original, one-act version of Jitney. The play was a huge success, both
...substitute fathers were the men hanging out in grocery stores and diners and chatting on street corners, telling stories and singing songs. Wilson basked in this verbal culture, and it became a part of him.
Young People, Jefferson Avenue at Conners; photo: Enrico Natali
in the Twin Cities and in Pittsburgh at the fledgling Allegheny Repertory Theatre. Wilson’s career as a playwright had begun in earnest. In 1983, Wilson submitted his first fulllength play, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, to the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center’s National Playwrights Conference, and was accepted. At the O’Neill, the play was championed by Lloyd Richards, the artistic director of the Yale Repertory Theatre and of the O’Neill Playwrights Conference. Richards immediately snapped up the rights, directing it himself at Yale Rep the next year, in a smash production featuring Theresa Merritt as Ma Rainey and a young Charles S. Dutton in his breakout role as Levee. The play transferred to Broadway in 1984, and Wilson began to attract national attention. Wilson and Richards followed up with Fences, starring James Earl Jones and Mary Alice in 1987, winning Wilson his first Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Play. Flush with these successes, Wilson moved to Seattle in 1990 and continued to write the plays of his cycle. Along with his longtime producer Ben Mordecai (who had been the managing director of Yale
Rep) and his directors — Richards, then Marion McClinton, and finally Kenny Leon — Wilson created a method of production and rewriting that used American regional theatres as a testing ground for his plays. At theatres like the Huntington Theatre Company, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Centerstage in Baltimore, Chicago’s Goodman Theatre, Pittsburgh Public Theater, and many others, Wilson would produce the premieres of his plays, but those premieres served only as first drafts. He and his team would move from theatre to theatre, from city to city, almost as if they were re-creating their own version of the 19th century vaudeville circuit. The plays would be honed and refined all over the country before finally arriving on Broadway. With his prodigious talent August Wilson created something of a cottage industry, and many AfricanAmerican actors, directors, and designers across the country give him credit for keeping them working, and working on material close to their own experiences. Success followed success and, one by one, Wilson told the stories of each decade of the 20th century. He won his second Pulitzer Prize for The Piano Lesson in 1990, and wrote the screenplay for a TV movie of the play, which starred Alfre Woodard. For many years he worked to transform Fences into a feature film, but Hollywood could not fulfill his one demand: that the film be directed by an African-American director. He was frustrated by this failure and, in 1996, took out his frustration
during the keynote address at the Theatre Communications Group Conference in a speech entitled “The Ground On Which I Stand.” This speech excoriated the American theatre community for segregating the work of African-American artists and “ghettoizing” their plays — creating the “black play” slot. He called on African-American theatre artists to create their own parallel institutions for the production of their work. The speech was condemned by critic Robert Brustein in The New Republic, who accused Wilson of cultural separatism and championed the idea of color-blind and race-neutral casting in theatre. In 1997 Wilson and Brustein met at a public debate on the issue at New York’s Town Hall. While both scored points, neither walked away a decisive victor, but the debate itself reignited the idea that the theatre could be a place where the great questions of society could be addressed passionately and productively. Meanwhile, Wilson’s work continued, and the cycle neared completion. When Radio Golf opened at the Yale Rep in May 2005, it marked the completion of a great life’s work, but Wilson already knew he was not long for this world. After the Yale production and a subsequent production in Los Angeles, Wilson secluded himself in Seattle to complete his revisions on the play. After a short hospitalization, he died on October 2, 2005, standing atop a theatrical mountain that he had both conceived and scaled. – KWB Limelight Literary & Curriculum Guide 2006-2007
5
Civil rights demonstrator in Harlem, New York City, 1964
One Man’s Century A ugust Wilson’s 20th century begins with a knock at the door. Citizen Barlow has come north from Alabama to Pittsburgh in search of a better life, but has found nothing but discrimination, inequality, and racism. He is a good man, but the world in which he lives has
cleansed of guilt. But that journey could be put in jeopardy if Caesar Wilks, the black lawman who uses his authority like a cudgel, continues his rampage of evictions in the neighborhood. It may ultimately be beyond even Aunt Ester’s power to calm Caesar’s rage.
...this final play of the cycle and of August Wilson’s life once more examines the question of how African-Americans are to regard their past... nurtured within him a rage, and his rage led him to theft — he stole a bucket of nails from the mill. An innocent man has died for that crime, and in Gem of the Ocean (set in 1904; completed in 2004) Citizen Barlow comes to 1839 Wylie Avenue, the home of Aunt Ester, for redemption. Aunt Ester, whose memory stretches back nearly 300 years to the arrival of African slaves on this continent, is a spiritual healer. It is within her power to take Citizen to the City of Bones, a ghostly metropolis beneath the Atlantic Ocean, where his soul can be 6
Huntington Theatre Company
Seven years later, the migration of African-Americans northward continues apace. In Joe Turner’s Come and Gone (set in 1911; completed in 1988), Seth and Bertha Holly operate a boarding house that serves as a temporary home to those who are trying to find a new beginning. Their oddest tenant is Bynum, a shaman whose song has the power to bind people to new destinies, and to each other. Into the boarding house wanders Herald Loomis, a man with a dark and violent past who is in search of his wife, torn from him before he left the
South. When the residents of the house engage in their Sunday night “juba” ritual — an ecstatic dance with African roots, led by Bynum — Loomis is overtaken by the Holy Ghost and experiences a terrifying vision of the Atlantic transforming into a sea of bones that surge inexorably toward America. Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (set in 1927; completed in 1984) presents a very different vision of African-American life. In a Chicago recording studio, a group of musicians await the arrival of the great blues songstress Ma Rainey. Ma is a notoriously difficult performer, who uses her unique talent as leverage to create a comfortable life for herself. The newest member of her band, Levee, is a trumpet player who nurtures a fire, both for a new kind of music and a new kind of life. Levee rejects Ma’s accommodations to the racist music industry, and demands what he sees as his due. The situation, tense from the beginning, finally erupts into violence as, through Levee, a new kind of world is born. Nine years later, back in Pittsburgh, The Piano Lesson (set in 1936; completed in 1990; winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama) asks the vital question: what is to be done with the past? When the Charles family migrated north, they brought with them their most prized possession: a piano with the history of their family intricately carved by one of their ancestors. Berniece keeps the piano in her home, but will not play it. Her brother, Boy Willie, has a different plan. He has a chance to buy back the land their family worked as slaves, but the only way he can get the money is to sell the piano, which Berniece will never allow. The weight of the past sits heavily on the entire Charles family, and as the conflict between the siblings escalates, a ghostly visitation forces Berniece to play the piano once more, in an act of exorcism. “Who killed Floyd Barton?” is the question that animates Seven Guitars (set in 1948; completed in 1996). Floyd “Schoolboy” Barton is going to be the next big thing. His hot new song is being played on every
radio in the Hill District, and once he’s gotten his guitar out of the pawn shop, he’s headed to Chicago to record a follow-up. But sometimes life gets in the way of plans — the money he is owed evaporates and his guitar seems farther away than ever. When he is forced to turn to theft, he meets an untimely end at the hands of the unlikeliest of characters: Hedley, an old man who, in a tuberculosis-induced delirium, mistakes Floyd for a man he believes owed his father money. Hedley brutally slashes Floyd across the throat, tragically cutting short a promising life. Fences (set in 1957; completed in 1987; winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama) contains perhaps Wilson’s most tragic figure: Troy Maxson. Troy was a titan of the Negro Baseball Leagues, who, after spending time in jail, couldn’t put the pieces of his life back together. Turned away from the major leagues and with his most productive years behind him, Troy is forced to become a garbage man to support his family — his loving wife Rose, high-school-aged son Cory, braindamaged brother Gabriel, and Lyons, a grown son from a previous relationship. Crushed under the weight of his responsibilities, Troy turns to another woman for comfort, and when she dies in childbirth, he brings home a daughter who is now left to Rose to raise. At the same time, Cory is recruited for college football, but Troy cannot bring himself to allow Cory to play — a mixture of stubbornness, envy, and fear leads Troy to sabotage his own son’s future. Urban renewal and the demolishing of the Lower Hill loom over Two Trains Running (set in 1969; completed in 1992). The building that houses Memphis Lee’s lunch counter is about to be bought out by the city, but Memphis refuses to settle for a modest buyout — he wants $25,000 from the city. Hambone, a mentally damaged man who haunts the restaurant, obsessively demands a ham he feels he earned for painting a shop owner’s fence, refusing to settle for a chicken. Is Hambone a symbol
August Wilson at the Huntington Set in Pittsburgh’s Hill District in 1997, Radio Golf caps Wilson’s epic cycle of decade plays, exploring what he called the “dazed and dazzling” African-American experience of the past century. Eight of the ten plays have graced the Huntington stage over the years. - IMB Play Gem of the Ocean Joe Turner’s Come and Gone Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom The Piano Lesson Seven Guitars Fences Two Trains Running Jitney King Hedley II Radio Golf
of Memphis Lee’s future? Meanwhile Sterling Johnson has been released from prison, and is torn between two courses: should he go to the Black Power rally that’s about to begin, or should he seek spiritual peace by visiting Aunt Ester and getting his soul washed? There are two trains running every day, but the question Wilson’s play asks is: which one will get you where you’re going? Regular cabs won’t travel to the Hill District of the 1970s, and so the residents turn to each other. Jitney (set in 1977; first written in 1979, rewritten and expanded in 2000) dramatizes the lives of men hustling to make a living as jitneys — unofficial, unlicensed taxi cab drivers. When the boss Becker’s son returns from prison, violence threatens to erupt. What makes this play remarkable is not the plot; Jitney is Wilson at his most real — the words these men use and the stories they tell form a true slice of life. Perhaps the bleakest of all of Wilson’s plays is King Hedley II (set in 1985; completed in 2001). The title character of King — son of Ruby and Hedley from Seven Guitars — has been released from prison, and now struggles to make a new life for himself. With his friend Mister (himself
Decade 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s
Season 2004-2005 1986-1987 n/a 1987-1988 1995-1996 n/a 1990-1991 1998-1999 1999-2000 2006-2007
the son of another Seven Guitars character, Red Carter) King is selling stolen refrigerators, but that is no foundation for a life. And when Elmore — the one-time lover of Ruby and perhaps King’s true father — arrives, King begins to learn that success may never have been a possibility for him at all. And when the news hits that Aunt Ester has died, all hope seems lost. Irony abounds in the final play of the cycle, Radio Golf (set in 1997; completed in 2005). Harmond Wilks seems to have surpassed all of the hurdles that stood in the way of his forbears. A successful businessman and developer, he will soon be a candidate for mayor of Pittsburgh. But even as he tries to turn his back on the past and demolish 1839 Wylie Avenue, the one-time home of Aunt Ester, the past comes walking into his office in the person of Old Joe, who has a mysterious connection both to Aunt Ester and to Harmond. Intricately tied to the characters of Gem of the Ocean, this final play of the cycle, and of August Wilson’s life, once more examines the question of how African-Americans are to regard their past — is it something to be used, something to be cherished, or something best forgotten? – KWB Limelight Literary & Curriculum Guide 2006-2007
7
History and Mythology in the Wilson Cycle A
s scholars approach the work of August Wilson, they face an inevitable question: in what order should the plays be considered? Ten plays, each set in one decade of the 20th century, were written out of order. The first play to be professionally produced, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, occurs third, chronologically. Gem of the Ocean, the first chronologically, was written next-to-last. Jitney — the eighth in chronological order — was written in 1979 but rewritten and expanded nearly twenty years later. There can be only one answer — they must be considered in the order in which the events of the plays occur. With the cycle complete and Radio Golf (the final play in every sense) set for its Broadway debut, the order in which the plays were written must necessarily fade into the background. Wilson chose to tie his plays to the procession of decades of the 20th century, but the Wilson cycle is more than just a series of plays. This singular achievement is both a history and a mythology of an entire people. Asked about the foundations of AfricanAmerican culture in a 1991 interview, Wilson replied, “The one thing which we did not have as black Americans — we didn’t have a mythology. We had no origin myths.” The Wilson cycle is permeated by the tropes of mythology, and indeed, drama and myth have been intertwined since their twin births in ancient Greece. In the Athens of 5th century B.C.E., playwrights drew upon the shared body of Greek myths for their stories. At the same time, the writers were able to both reinforce and take advantage of the Athenian self-image in the way they crafted their plays. It is no coincidence that at 8
Huntington Theatre Company
the end of Aeschylus’ Oresteia (his version of the Orestes myth) the goddess Athena summons Orestes to Athens, where he is put on trial for his crimes; Athenians prided themselves on their rational system of justice, and Aeschylus could cleverly play into this nationalism for the climax.
August Wilson had no analogous body of mythology upon which to draw in writing his cycle, and so he created one himself. August Wilson had no analogous body of mythology upon which to draw in writing his cycle, and so he created one himself. There are literal myths told and re-told over the course of the plays: Aunt Ester takes Citizen Barlow on a mystical journey to the fabled City of Bones in Gem of the Ocean, and Herald Loomis of Joe Turner’s Come and Gone sees the City in a vision. Characters are mentioned again and again — in Two Trains Running we learn about the opulent funeral of “Patchneck Red,” a famous gambler, and in The Piano Lesson we learn that Patchneck Red’s beginnings weren’t so impressive. The figure of Aunt Ester — who we meet in the flesh only once, in
Gem of the Ocean — takes on the status of a myth in the later plays. In Two Trains Running, Sterling Johnson is transformed through a visit to her house at 1839 Wylie Avenue. She has died at the beginning of King Hedley II, where Stool Pigeon declares that God has called her back to Heaven to clear the field of battle before Armageddon. Finally, the sale of her house at 1839 Wylie Avenue is a central issue in Radio Golf. Gem, as the first play of the century, is appropriately filled with mythological characters. Solly Two Kings — the Underground Railroad conductor named for Kings David and Solomon, who makes a living selling the literal waste of society — is every bit the mythical trickster, and would not be out of place in Homer’s Odyssey. At the same time that Wilson is creating a mythology in the cycle, he is retelling the history of African-Americans in the 20th century. Historical drama has a proud tradition, with no more significant a figure than William Shakespeare at the forefront. Through his history plays, Shakespeare was able to examine the very notion of what it meant to be English. In a way, all British monarchs are judged against the example of King Henry V. At the same time, Shakespeare is able to show us that the great figures of history were also human beings — is there a more complex, flawed figure than Prince Hal (Henry IV Part I), whom we meet again in Henry V as the eponymous King? In writing his histories, however, Wilson chose not to focus on the great and the powerful. The blues singer Ma Rainey was a real person, but more often the characters that fill Wilson’s plays are original, and exist just to the side of what might be
John Earl Jelks, Phylicia Rashad, and LisaGay Hamilton in the Huntington Theatre Company’s production of August Wilson’s Gem of the Ocean, 2004; photo: T. Charles Erickson
written into a history book. Troy Maxson, the protagonist of Fences, played baseball in the Negro Leagues, but failed to make a career of it and spent fifteen years in jail. King Hedley II, despite his oversized name, is an embittered ex-con, trying to rebuild his life but failing miserably. Wilson deliberately chose to dramatize stories on the periphery of “official” history — in Two Trains Running the shadow of a Malcolm X rally hangs over the play, but none of the men at the lunch counter make it there, and Sterling ends up at Aunt Ester’s instead. Yet at the same time, Wilson’s characters exhibit as much nobility of spirit as any Shakespearean king. If Shakespeare demonstrates the humanity
within great men, Wilson dramatizes the greatness within seemingly ordinary men. Men like Troy Maxson, Citizen Barlow, and King Hedley II are faced with nearly insurmountable obstacles, and if they sometimes fail, the mere fact that they continue to struggle is a triumph. Radio Golf occupies a unique position within this framework. In many ways, it dramatizes the central conflict between history and mythology. Harmond Wilks is a man of history, a man of destiny. The path before him is clear, and he knows what he must do in order to walk it. But into his life comes Elder Joseph Barlow, a mythological archetype in the vein of Solly Two Kings or Aunt Ester. He rep-
resents the tradition of mythology and folklore for which Harmond has never previously had time. As the successive revelations of the plot unfold, Harmond learns that he is not just a product of history; Wilson’s mythology of Aunt Ester, of Bynum the binder and Herald Loomis of Joe Turner, of Stool Pigeon of Hedley and Hambone of Two Trains, runs in Harmond’s blood, and he cannot turn his back on it. August Wilson gave the African-American community, and all Americans, a great gift in his cycle. He created the cycle for all of us, and he showed us in Radio Golf that we need both history and mythology to move forward into the future. – KWB Limelight Literary & Curriculum Guide 2006-2007
9
BACKGROUND
& Objectives Note to Teachers: Use the following synopsis and lesson objectives to inform your teaching of August Wilson’s Radio Golf curriculum. BU Theatre by T. Charles Erickson
Audience Etiquette Because many students have not had the opportunity to view live theatre, we are including an audience etiquette section with each literary/curriculum guide. Teachers, please spend time on this subject since it will greatly enhance your students’ experience at the theatre. 1. 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? 2. What is the audience’s role during a live performance? How do you think audience behavior can affect an actor’s performance? 3. What do you know about the theatrical rehearsal process? Have you ever participated in one as an actor, singer, director, or technical person? 4. How do costumes, set, lights, sound and props enhance a theatre production?
A
ugust Wilson’s Radio Golf completes his Pittsburgh Cycle, a decade-by-decade chronicle of the African-American experience in the city in which he grew up. Set in 1997 in the Hill District of Pittsburgh, the action of the play takes place in the Bedford Hills Redevelopment office, where a young politician with dreams of community empowerment through capitalist development struggles with the resilient and ever-present past. Radio Golf exposes the tensions that arise when political and entrepreneurial successes threaten family history and community heritage.
CHARACTER BREAKDOWN Harmond Wilks: Mayoral candidate and real estate developer. Mame Wilks: Professional public relations representative. Harmond’s wife of over twenty years. Roosevelt Hicks: Bank vice president and avid golfer. Harmond’s business partner and college roommate. Sterling Johnson: Neighborhood handyman and self-employed contractor. Elder Joseph “Old Joe” Barlow: Recently returned to the Hill District, where he was born in 1918. American Theatre November 2005
OBJECTIVES Students will: 1. Identify and analyze the play’s central themes, including: • the individual’s struggle to define what is “right” • the struggle for dignity and personal honor • the tensions between past and future • community resilience 2. Learn about the history of the Hill District community in Pittsburgh. 3. Research, write, debate, and perform responses to the central issues presented in the play. 4. Relate themes and issues of Radio Golf to their own lives and communities. 5. Identify and discuss important past and present African-American community leaders. 6. Engage their creativity. 7. Evaluate the Huntington Theatre Company’s production of Radio Golf.
10
Huntington Theatre Company
PREPARATION
August Wilson’s Legacy Note to Teachers: Use the following ideas to engage your class in thinking about August Wilson, introducing them to Radio Golf and its major themes.
AUGUST WILSON’S LEGACY Research the life, work, and legacy of August Wilson. Have students choose one aspect of Wilson’s life they find particularly relevant or inspiring and write essays describing why or how this is so for them. Topics to consider might include: • Family History • Youth in Pittsburgh’s Hill District • Education • Development as a Playwright • Influence on American Theatre • Attitudes and Reflections on Playwriting • Thirteen-year Collaboration with Lloyd Richards • Collaboration with Marion McClinton and Kenny Leon • Awards and Honors
FAMILY HISTORY AND HERITAGE Wilson’s work asserts that the only way for African-Americans to gain control of their existence is to dig deeper into the past; to remember and connect the stories of Africa, slavery, the U.S. civil war, emancipation, the Harlem Renaissance, and the civil rights movement, to the present. In August Wilson’s Radio Golf, Harmond uncovers a secret family connection when he meets Elder “Old Joe” that changes his life. Ask students to investigate their own heritage by interviewing an older family or community member. How were things different for them when they were growing up? How does their past affect the way this person lives their life or views the world today? What events or memories
Left, Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge over the Charles River under construction, looking north; the old elevated Central Artery crossing is to the right. Right, the finished Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge heading south.
from their past are most powerful for them today? Encourage students to think about pivotal events from their own lifetime and how these events have affected them. How do the experiences of the older generation relate to their own?
PITTSBURGH’S HISTORY OF “URBAN RENEWAL” Radio Golf takes place in the neighborhood where August Wilson grew up — the Hill District in Pittsburgh — and deals with issues of community redevelopment. Created in the 1840s as the first residential neighborhood, the Hill District covers nearly 650 acres in downtown Pittsburgh. By the 1930s, the community found itself on the national jazz circuit and was considered by many to be the cultural center of African-American life in the city. Harlem Renaissance poet Claude McKay once called the district “the crossroads of the world,” referring to the neighborhood’s heyday in the 1930s-1950s. It is known to many Pittsburghers as simply “The Hill.” The decline of the district
began in the 1950s, when “urban renewal” projects demolished homes and businesses, and displaced thousands of residents. Divide students into research groups to investigate the history of “urban renewal” and redevelopment projects in Pittsburgh (and specifically the Hill District) by looking at past newspaper and magazine articles. Boston has its own unique history of urban development projects. Ask students to compare or contrast Pittsburgh’s “urban renewal” projects with those in Boston, again by researching newspaper and magazine articles. What similarities or differences can they find? Boston’s “urban renewal” history and possible periods of focus:
1940s-50s: Construction of I-95, the Central Artery, through the towns of Roxbury, Jamaica Plain, and Roslindale. 1960s: Boston Banks Urban Renewal Group’s (B-BURG) unethical real estate Limelight Literary & Curriculum Guide 2006-2007
11
Scene from Triple-A Plowed Under, a Living Newspaper Performance produced by the WPA Federal Theatre Project; photo: National Archives and Records Administration
practices result in increased vacancy and home-abandonment in AfricanAmerican neighborhoods.
1970s: Construction of the Southeast Expressway. Struggle over the Southwest Corridor. Redevelopment of Quincy Market. 1980s: Redevelopment of public housing projects. 1990s: Construction of the Big Dig. LIVING NEWSPAPER PERFORMANCE Ask students to identify important themes and social issues found in the above research. Create a list of these themes/issues. Have the class look specifically at issues of urban development, race, and class. Divide the class into smaller groups (410) around a particular period, issue or theme. Ask each group to then identify and cut out the most crucial and pertinent quotations and sections from their research, then compile a script using only these clippings as text. This script will be used to create a Living Newspaper Perform12
Huntington Theatre Company
ance, similar to the ones produced by the Federal Theatre Project in the 1930s. For more information on the Federal Theatre Project and Living Newspapers, see: http://www2.let.uu.nl/solis/ams/xroads/1 theatre.htm. To make the script, students need to put quotations/clippings in a particular order to create a narrative or storyline. Tell the students to be creative about the order of the clippings. During this process, they will determine characters in their story and assign spoken lines. They can identify one or two narrators or divide the lines equally amongst the members of the group. Characters can speak as a chorus, individually, or in pairs. They can echo words or vary in rhythm, pitch, and tone. They can add percussion (clapping or with instruments) or other sounds. Encourage students to be creative and assure them that there is no “wrong” way to put this performance together. Next, have students identify important thematic imagery in the quotations/ clippings that can be created physically through movement and/or visually
through drawing or painting. A theme such as “urban renewal” can be made physical by asking questions like: “what does urban renewal look like?” Ask students to answer that question with their bodies, by making a stage picture by silently creating a physical picture or frozen tableaux as if a snapshot will be taken. Standing in a circle, have one person start the picture by entering the circle and freezing in a position. The next person enters and adds to the picture with their body and freezes. This continues until each member of the group has entered the circle. Ask students to then add a repeatable gesture or movement to their picture. The picture then becomes a moving, living picture that can become activated as a part of the performance, with students speaking their lines as they move. For visual enhancement, students can create/design the sets/props for this Living Newspaper performance. Using photographs or descriptions from their research, students can determine the environments and architectural styles that would best create a sense of place for this performance. Have students draw renderings of set designs, using realistic or non-realistic scenery. For performance, if possible, students could design a PowerPoint slide presentation of photographs found in their research. Finally, hold in class performances of these short Living Newspaper pieces, followed by a talk-back/post-performance response session. Ask students about the experience of creating a play: what was most difficult? What came most easily? What would you do differently? What did you learn by embodying the characters and objects, rather than just reading about them? How did your performance choices reveal new meanings or ideas? How did it affect your feelings about the issues?
do this? Why does Old Joe refuse the money?
MASTERY
Assessment Act 1 1. Why do Harmond and Roosevelt want the Hill District to be designated as “blighted” by the government? 2. Mame and Harmond have an argument about renaming the Model Cities Health Center. He wants to name it after Sarah Degree, the first African-American registered nurse in the city. Why does Mame want to keep the name the same? Why does Harmond argue that it should be changed? 3. Why does Sterling Johnson first come to the Bedford Hills Redevelopment office? 4. Sterling does not bring Harmond a resume of his past employment. What does Sterling tell Harmond to look at instead? 5. Why was Old Joe charged with fraud? 6. Old Joe asks Harmond if he will put lights up at Kennard Field when he is elected Mayor. What is Harmond’s response? Why is this important?
18. After Harmond visits the house on Wylie St., what does he say the air in the house smells like? Where does he find an “old language” in the house? he’s been offered by his boss at the bank. What is it? And why is Harmond skeptical?
12. Sterling and Old Joe reminisce about Miss Harriet’s Fried Chicken. What does this discussion add to the play? What does Miss Harriet’s place represent? 13. Who was Raymond Wilks and how did he die? 14. Old Joe has never paid taxes on the Wylie St. house. Who does Harmond discover was paying Old Joe’s taxes over the years?
19. Harmond makes adjustments to the development plans to save the Wylie street house. What does the new plan look like? Why does Roosevelt disapprove of the new plans? 20. Who is Black Mary, and why is she important? How are Harmond and Old Joe related to each other? 21. Harmond decides to go to the courthouse and try to stop the demolition of 1839 Wylie. How does this action potentially risk his reputation and his career, and why does he do it anyway? 22. Who does Sterling call a “Negro”? How does he define “Negro”?
Act 2 15. How does Harmond get his stolen golf clubs back? 16. What is Harmond’s response when Sterling asks if he’s “gonna be the mayor of the black folks or the white folks?”
23. After Roosevelt buys Harmond out of the redevelopment project, Harmond takes what poster off of the wall to give to Roosevelt? What might this action represent?
17. Harmond tries to give Old Joe $10,000 for the Wylie St. house. Why does he
24. Where is Harmond headed at the end of the play? How do you know?
7. Why was Old Joe painting the house at 1839 Wylie St.? Who was he painting it for? 8. Mame believes that something in Harmond’s speech might anger the Police Commissioner and threaten the election. What is it? 9. Harmond tells Old Joe the story of how he and Mame first met. In the story, why did Harmond think Mame “was gonna melt”? 10. Why did the city sell Old Joe’s house to Harmond? 11. Roosevelt comes to Harmond with an exciting business opportunity that
Rocky Carroll in the CenterStage production of August Wilson’s Radio Golf.
Limelight Literary & Curriculum Guide 2006-2007
13
OPEN RESPONSE & WRITING
Assignments Instructions for students: Please answer the following as thoroughly as possible. Remember to use topic sentences and examples from the text.
OPEN RESPONSE ASSESSMENT 1. Most plays have a protagonistic and antagonistic force. Define these two terms. Who or what is the protagonist in this play? Who or what is the antagonist? Justify your choices. 2. Both Harmond and Roosevelt are avid golfers in August Wilson’s Radio Golf. In fact, Harmond says, “you teach the kids how to play golf and they have all the rules they need to win at life.” Roosevelt turns the local radio station into a talk station devoted to golf. Why did August Wilson choose golf as the important sport in this play? What does golf represent to you? 3. How does Radio Golf comment on racism and classism? How do class and economics intersect with race in this play? How do the characters in the play represent different racial and class identities? 4. How does Radio Golf deal with the sometimes-conflicting commitments to personal success, the law, family/ heritage, and community? 5. In Radio Golf, Harmond and Roosevelt plan to bring in a Starbucks, Whole Foods Market, and Barnes & Noble Bookstore. What do these particular companies signify or mean to you? Why do you think August Wilson chose these companies over other corporations? 6. After Harmond’s hopes of becoming mayor are dashed, Mame explains her disappointment. She suggests that he could have made important social 14
Huntington Theatre Company
changes after winning the election, rather than telling the truth about the house when he did. Do you agree or disagree? 7. Why do you think Wilson named this play Radio Golf? 8. How do the Huntington Theatre Company production’s set and scenic design add to your understanding of the play? What choices did the set designer make to create a sense of place? How does the set represent the Bedford Hills Redevelopment office and the rest of the Hill District neighborhood?
WRITING ASSIGNMENTS 1. Designating a building as an historic landmark legally protects it from demolition or alteration. Choose a building in your community that you believe should be designated as an historic landmark and write a persuasive letter to your local landmark commission arguing for this designation. 2. Construct the employment resumes of Harmond, Mame or Roosevelt. What other jobs or offices have they held? Where did they complete their studies? To what associations do they belong? 3. Using what you’ve learned of the characters from watching the play, write the life story or memoir of either Old Joe or Sterling. Write about their childhood, family, jobs, dreams, and concerns. Be creative! 4. Imagine that you are running for mayor in your town. Write a speech that you will present to the class as a mayoral candidate. What issues are
of most concern to you and/or your community? What issues will you discuss in the speech? What will you leave out? How will you construct this speech in order to get the votes you need to win? 5. Imagine that a large corporation like Wal-Mart plans to move into your town or community, bringing jobs and inexpensive goods. In order to make room for the store and parking lot, the corporation plans to tear down 15 homes and demolish a park. Imagine that you are a local political leader, and draft a letter to this corporation either in favor of or against this development plan. Be creative about your response and feel free to conduct research about these types of developments in other communities. 6. Choose a female character from one of Wilson’s other Pittsburgh Cycle plays (see Did You Know section for complete list) and compare her to the character of Mame Wilks in Radio Golf. What role does each of them play? How are they similar and/or different? How do their actions comply with or defy the roles women typically played during that decade in American history? 7. Sterling says, “Some things you ain’t got to study up on. You ain’t got to study up on right and wrong.” Do you agree? How do we distinguish right from wrong? What does it mean to “do the right thing?” How do we know or learn this? Who decides what the right thing is? 8. Research an event in history when a person, or a group of people, defied the law (i.e. Harriet Tubman/ Underground Railroad, Rosa Parks/ Civil Rights Movement) for social and/or political reasons. Write a report describing the circumstances of the event. Do you agree with the choice(s) that were made? Why or why not?
FOR FURTHER
EXPLORATION Note to Teachers: The following ideas and questions can be used to further explore the text. They can be used as prompts for class discussion or additional writing assignments. 1. Have students consider the historical and political events of the 1990s and themes of August Wilson’s Radio Golf to create a radio talk show, similar to National Public Radio’s Talk of the Nation or Fresh Air, or Air America’s The Al Franken Show. They would probably begin by brainstorming about the political focus of their show. Who would be the guests they’d want to invite for a program about Pittsburgh’s Hill District or the decade of the 90s? What topics would be discussed? Have students prepare a series of questions. Each presentation should be 3-5 minutes, using music (taped or live). If possible, have students record or videotape their presentations. Suggested projects/groups to be formed:
• Point Counter Point: Identify an important conflict in Radio Golf, which could be fashioned into a live broadcast radio debate, with a “host” character serving as a moderator. Students may use characters from the play or create their own. • Editorial/Opinion: Ask students to choose a “Radio Golf topic” and deliver an editorial on it. Have students script this editorial in words and visual images. • Call/Response: Have students in the “home audience” script questions to call in to the station. The hosts/ guests will have to improvise their responses as if this were a live radio broadcast. 2. Assign class members to research past/present politicians and community leaders in Massachusetts or within the United States who focus on racism and civil rights for African-
Americans. Ask students to write biographical profiles of these leaders. Some possible subjects include: Mohammed Ali Carol Mosely Braun Edward Brooke Gloria Fox Jesse Jackson Martin Luther King Jr. Mel King Robert Kennedy Barack Obama Rosa Parks Deval Patrick Colin Powell Al Sharpton Dianne Wilkerson Malcolm X 3. August Wilson was greatly influenced by what he called the “Four B’s.” Using the descriptions provided in the following Did You Know section as a guide, ask students to choose one of the “Bs” to research further, locating
• Interviews: Students can create as least 5 specific interview questions. What facts do they wish to elicit? How about opinions? Controversy? What kinds of questions can best help the interviewer obtain the desired information? • News Story: Have students brainstorm ideas for stories that could be labeled “news.” In groups, assign them to choose one idea, improvise and outline their story in a scripted form. Have them script interactions between hosts/news anchors and reporters/eyewitnesses/trial personalities “in the field.” Include at least two unrehearsed questions from the anchors/hosts.
Sean Hannity sits down to debate Al Franken on his radio show while at the Democratic National Convention; photo, Mark Davis - WBAP Dallas / Fort Worth
Limelight Literary & Curriculum Guide 2006-2007
15
For Further Exploration continued
DID YOU KNOW? Wilson noted in a recent NPR interview that his greatest influences are the 4 ‘B’s: Writers Amiri Baraka, and Jorge Luis Borges; the artist, Romaire Bearden; and the Blues.
August Wilson; photo, AP
specific places in two of Wilson’s plays where these influences appear. 4. In 1997, the year in which Radio Golf takes place, playwright August Wilson and theatre critic Robert Brustein engaged in a public debate over their views on racial diversity and theatrical standards in the United States. Wilson argued that race mattered — so much that he discouraged “colorblind” or crossrace casting. Wilson said, “We want you to see us. We are black and beautiful. We have an honorable history in the world of men. We do not need colorblind casting.” Instead, he called for Brustein to “imagine a theater broad enough and secure enough in its traditions to absorb and make use of all manners and cultures of American life.” Wilson wrote that it is time “to have a theatre that promotes the values of black Americans, our hard won survival and prosperity, which addresses ways of life that are peculiar to us, that investigated our personalities and social intercourse and philosophical thought, is not to be.” Robert Brustein called Wilson’s remarks “the language of self-segregation.” In his opinion, theatre should be universal, created by artists whose “perceptions go beyond racial and sectarian agendas.” Have students research the Wilson-Brustein debate and discuss the issues these writers raise. What do you think of Wilson’s assertions? Of Brustein’s response? 16
Huntington Theatre Company
Controversial and politically charged, Amiri Baraka (born E. LeRoi Jones) and his works passionately speak out against racism, imperialism, and slavery. His play, Dutchman, won an Obie Award in 1964. The most respected and well-known Black writer of his generation, Baraka spearheaded the Black Arts movement of the 1960s, a movement closely linked with the Black Power movement. Although often criticized as sexist and homophobic, the Black Arts movement cultivated many young artists and writers through the development of Black theatre groups, poetry performances and magazine publications. In an interview in 1974, Baraka stated, “I see art as a weapon, and a weapon of revolution.” August Wilson helped found the Black Horizons Theatre where he mounted several of Baraka’s works. Modern American Poetry, www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/ index.htm
Considered one of the foremost literary thinkers of the 20th Century, Argentine poet, essayist, and short-story writer Jorge Luis Borges’ tales of fantasy and dreamworlds are classics of 20th-century world literature. Borges’s work belittled nationalism and racism and drew on influences of many times and places. Borges wrote, “All things have been given to us for a purpose, and an artist must feel this more intensely. All that happens to us, including our humiliations, our misfortunes, our embarrassments, all is given to us as raw material, as clay, so that we may shape our art.” The Modern Word, www.themodernword.com/borges
Romare Bearden grew up at the height of the Harlem Renaissance. Family friends Langston Hughes, Duke Ellington, and W.E.B. DuBois greatly influenced Bearden’s life and work. A painter and activist, Bearden fused Harlem life and the
American South in vibrant collages, gathering inspiration from African art (sculpture, textiles, masks), Japanese prints, and Chinese landscape paintings. Reardan also designed costumes and sets for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre. Seattle Repertory Theatre Study Guide; Romare Bearden Foundation, www.beardenfoundation.org
The Blues greatly inspired each of the three artists above. A musical style that emerged from African rhythms and African-American slave songs, the Blues gained popularity in the 1920s with singers such as Bessie Smith and Gertrude “Ma” Rainey. Many early songs of this style were not written down or recorded, but passed from one musician to another. The Blues truly defines American music, serving as the foundation for virtually every major American music form born in the 20th century, including jazz, rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and hip hop. PBS—the Blues, http://www.pbs.org/theblues.
August Wilson set each Pittsburgh Cycle play in a particular decade during the 20th Century and related them to each other with the family lineage of characters and the location in which they are set (Hill District). 1900s Gem of The Ocean 1910s Joe Turner’s Come and Gone 1920s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom 1930s The Piano Lesson 1940s Seven Guitars 1950s Fences 1960s Two Trains Running 1970s Jitney 1980s King Hedley II 1990s Radio Golf Wilson has won two Pulitzer Prizes for his Pittsburgh Cycle plays: Fences, 1987; and The Piano Lesson, 1990.
MEDIA
Assessment Note to Teachers: The following exercises are interactive, hands-on challenges in Drama, Music, Visual Arts, and Design. They aim to give students a better understanding of the many kinds of tasks that contribute to a theatrical production.
ROLE PLAY AND IMPROVISATION The Decade of the 90s: Have students research the economic, political, and social conditions, as well as the music, fashion and entertainment trends of the 1990s, focusing on their city/hometown/community. Have students interview their teachers, parents, relatives, or community leaders about how their community has changed in the past decade. Where have development projects occurred within their community? How have businesses changed? How has the community been affected? What are the benefits/consequences of development? Are there families that have had to relocate due to these economic shifts? If possible, have students tape record or videotape their interviews. Ask students to take notes. Students should interview at least two people. Next, ask students to create a character based on these oral history interviews. They can be creative in this process. The character they create can be strongly or loosely based on the interviews. Next, have students come to class dressed as their character. Conduct a community meeting, where each character has 3 minutes to present their feelings about development in their community and discuss their personal/family concerns. (If the student wishes to use any actual statements from an interview, be sure the student asks the interviewee for permission).
Hold a debate as characters in the play Choose two characters in August Wilson’s Radio Golf that have differing opinions about a central issue in the play, like the demolition of 1839 Wylie St. or the larger issue of race and politics. Ask for two volunteers and conduct a debate of this issue. Give the first pair a chance to argue their case for at least two minutes. Next, ask the other members of the class if anyone would like to “tap in” and take over one or both of the characters by entering the scene silently and gently tapping the actor they wish to replace. Give these two a chance to debate, and then allow others to “tap in” again. Continue this process as long as there are students who wish to participate in the debate. This allows students to hear different perspectives. Scene Study Have students act out a scene from Radio Golf . They should use props and elements of costumes, if possible. Have them consider their placement on stage, blocking (who moves where and when), gestures, vocal tone, music, and the intended emotional impact of the scene. If you have time, have the students act out the scene a second time, testing the effects of changing something about the performance, such as the tone of voice, a character trait, or a vital remark. How does such a change affect the selected moment? How does pacing or posturing of an actor affect the dramatic or comic timing of the piece? MOVEMENT/MUSIC Creating Choreography Ask students to create short movement pieces, consisting of a movement phrase comprised of at least 6 gestures, to represent one of the key themes or relationships in the play. Start by asking them to identify
key themes in the play, such as community heritage, family history, racism, economic disparity, or displacement, or a central relationship, like that between Harmond and Roosevelt. What gestures or movement phrases can represent this issue or relationship? Where do certain emotions live in the body? Encourage students to use their whole bodies and play with different levels. Divide students into small groups, and ask them to teach each other their choreography. Next, they can perform each piece for the larger class. Ask the larger class to try to determine the theme or relationship represented by each student’s piece.
SOUNDTRACKS Have students create a soundtrack for a scene from Radio Golf. Students can choose existing songs for each scene, but also should be encouraged to make sounds using found objects, percussion instruments (if available), their bodies and their voices. After allowing everyone to rehearse, invite some students to act out the scene while the rest of the class performs the soundtrack. Discuss how the music and sound helped to create a certain mood for the scene. VISUAL ART Character Collage August Wilson credits the art of Romare Bearden as one of his major influences. Look at some of Romare Bearden’s work and discuss why he chooses collage as his primary medium of expressing AfricanAmerican history. Have students choose one character from Radio Golf and create a character collage. Students can use paper, sketches, paint, fabric pieces, photographs, old puzzle pieces, magazine and newspaper clippings, and quotations from the play to express the character’s conflicts, relationships, and emotions. Encourage students to consider texture and color when making decisions to best represent their chosen character. Have students share their work with the class without naming the character. By picking out the qualities of each collage, have the class guess which character is being expressed. Limelight Literary & Curriculum Guide 2006-2007
17
Wylie Street; photo, Charles Teenie Harris
QUESTIONS FOR AFTER
Attending the Performance Note to teachers: After viewing the play, ask the following questions:
C. Were the motivations of the characters clear?
1. About the Play and Production A. What was your overall reaction? Were you surprised? Intrigued? Amused? Explain your reactions. How was the play structured? Did it build to a single climax? Was it episodic? Did this structure help or hinder your understanding of the play? Was the dialogue interesting? Appropriate? Poetic? Were you aware of the imagery and symbolism during the course of the play? Would you have been aware of these devices without previous preparation?
D. What qualities were revealed by the action and speech of the characters?
B. Was the pace and tempo of the production effective and appropriate?
2. About the Characters A. Did the characters touch you personally in any way? Did you care about them? B. Were the characters three-dimensional and believable? 18
Huntington Theatre Company
E. Did the characters develop or undergo a transformation during the course of the play? F. In what ways did the characters reveal the themes of the play?
3. About the Set A. Was the set usable and workable? B. Was the set compatible with the production as a whole? Were there any features of the set that distracted from the action of the play? C. Did the design reflect the themes, type and style of the play? D. Were the artistic qualities of unity, balance, line, texture, mass and color used effectively? E. Did the set provide appropriate environment and atmosphere?
F. Was the set used to present any symbolic images or did it simply represent the space in which the action of the play occurred? Did it contain elements of both a “realistic” and a “symbolic” approach?
4. About Lighting and Sound A. What mood or atmosphere did the lighting establish? Was the illumination sufficient? Did the lighting harmonize with, and contribute toward, the unity of the production? B. How did the sound used in the play enhance your overall experience?
5. About Costumes/Makeup/ Hairstyles A. Were all of these elements correct in terms of the period fashion? Were they suitable in terms of character and storytelling for the production? B. Did the color/design of the costumes and make-up serve to illuminate the themes, type, and style of the play?
Lesson Plans Teachers’ note: Choose activities that are appropriate for your classroom period. All assignments are suggestions. Only a teacher knows his or her class well enough to determine the level and depth to which any piece of literature may be examined.
ONE-DAY LESSON PLAN introduces students to the context and major themes of the production on the day of attendance. DAY ONE - Introducing August Wilson’s Radio Golf and attending the show 1. Read the synopsis of Radio Golf. Discuss other works students have studied with similar themes and issues. 2. Distribute Mastery Assessment for Radio Golf for students to read before, and to review again after attending the performance. 3. Review audience etiquette before attending the production. 4. Choose one writing assignment from the Open Response and Writing section to give students as homework after attending the production. 5. Attend the production. TWO-DAY LESSON PLAN allows students to do background research before attending the play and introduces students to the context and major themes. DAY ONE - Introducing August Wilson’s Radio Golf and conducting background research Read the synopsis of Radio Golf. Discuss other works students have studied with similar themes and issues. 1. Choose one Preparation activity to complete in class. Schedule library or computer time if necessary. 2. Distribute Mastery Assessment for Radio Golf for students to read as homework, and to review again after attending the performance. 3. Review Audience Etiquette before attending the production. DAY TWO - Attending the show 1. Attend the production at the Huntington Theatre Company. 2. Choose one writing assignment from the Open Response and Writing section to assign as homework. 3. Review audience etiquette before attending the production. Optionial: Students can choose one activity from For Further Exploration or Media Assessment for extra credit. FOUR-DAY LESSON PLAN introduces students to the production and then, after viewing the performance, asks them to think more critically and creatively about what they have seen. Includes time for class discussion and individual assessment. DAY ONE - Introducing August Wilson’s Radio Golf Same as Day One above. DAY TWO - Attending the production. 1. Attend the performance at the Huntington Theatre Company. 2. Assign Mastery Assessment questions as homework. Optionial: Students can choose one activity from For Further Exploration or Media Assessment for extra credit. DAY THREE - Follow-up Discussion 1. Discuss Mastery Assessment answers in class and any of the following elements: • Their reaction to the play and what they saw as its single most important theme. • Their reaction to elements of the play: setting, plot, characterization, dramatic structure, and language. • Their reaction to the production’s scenic, lighting, sound, and costume designs; direction; and acting. 2. Distribute and complete Handout 1: Vocabulary Charades. 3. For homework, students may choose one activity from the Media Assessment or For Further Exploration activities. DAY FOUR - Process Knowledge Individual Assessment: Choose either several questions from the Open Response Assessment or one question from Writing assignments for students to answer in class. Presentation and assessment of students’ homework.
Paperboys; photo, Charles Teenie Harris
SEVEN-DAY LESSON PLAN introduces students to the production and then, after viewing the performance, asks them to think more critically and creatively about what they have seen. Includes time for class discussion and individual assessment. DAY ONE - Preparation 1. Read the synopsis of August Wilson’s Radio Golf. Discuss other works students have studied with similar themes and issues. 2. Distribute Mastery Assessment for Radio Golf for students to read before, and to review again after attending the performance. 3. In groups or individually, students choose one Preparation exercise to complete prior to seeing the performance. This activity can be completed over the next two days. Homework: Read Act One of Radio Golf and answer corresponding Mastery Assessment questions. DAY TWO - Act One 1. Discuss Act One and answers to Mastery Assessment questions. 2. Continue work or start new Preparation activity. Schedule library or computer time if necessary. Homework: Read Act Two and answer corresponding Mastery Assessment questions. DAY THREE - Act Two 1. Discuss Act Two and answers to Mastery Assessment questions. 2. Continue work or start new Preparation activity. Schedule library time if necessary. 3. Review audience etiquette before attending the performance. DAY FOUR - Attend Performance Homework: Have students choose one Media Assessment activity. DAY FIVE - Creative work and Further Exploration 1. Students present Media Assessment homework in class. 2. In groups or individually, students choose one For Further Exploration activity to begin in class. These can be finished as homework. DAY SIX - Presentations and Further Exploration 1. Completion/presentations of For Further Exploration projects. 2. Distribute Handout 2: Creating a Dramatic Monologue. If possible, allow in class time for students to brainstorm ideas and write. DAY SEVEN - Assessment 1. Presentations and assessment of monologues. 2. Choose either several questions from the Open Response or one question from the Writing Assignments for students to answer in one class period. Optional in-class activity, time permitting: Distribute and complete Handout 1: Vocabulary Charades. Optional homework: Students may choose to complete another of the For Further Exploration or Media Assessment tasks for extra credit. 20
Huntington Theatre Company
Name:_______________________________________________________
Date:_____________________
Handout 1
VOCABULARY CHARADES Distribute this vocabulary handout and ask students to match as many words as they can with their appropriate definitions. Next, divide the class into small groups and assign each group 2-3 terms to act out silently for the class, using only their bodies to “describe” the terms. While each group is presenting, the rest of the class should try to guess the term being acted out. Once all of the groups have presented, distribute another copy of the vocabulary test. You’ll be amazed at the number of perfect scores! 1. blight
___: The period of European history at the close of the Middle Ages and the rise of the modern world; A cultural rebirth from the 14th through the middle of the 17th centuries; The revival of learning and culture.
2. redevelopment
___: Taxes, which were not paid when due.
3. deed
___: The saving or rescuing of condemned, discarded, or abandoned property, and of materials contained therein for reuse.
4. back taxes
___: A drawing in perspective of a proposed structure.
5. Renaissance
___: A call by an authority to appear in court.
6. salvage
___: A deception deliberately practiced in order to secure unfair or unlawful gain; Trickery, a trick; One who assumes a false pose; an impostor.
7. fraud
___: To develop again; Renew or restore.
8. campaign
___: The term used for areas with substantial physical deterioration, unsafe conditions, excessive vacancy, abandoned buildings, high incidence of criminal activity, or other conditions that make the area undesirable for businesses or residents.
9. rendering
___: A document sealed as an instrument of bond, contract, or conveyance, especially relating to property.
10. summons
___: A race between candidates for elective office.
Name:_______________________________________________________
Date:_____________________
Handout 2
CREATING A DRAMATIC MONOLOGUE In August Wilson’s Radio Golf each character harbors very unique perspectives and concerns about the redevelopment of the Hill District and the demolition of the house on Wylie Street. For this assignment, choose a character for which you would like to write and perform a monologue.First, locate one line in the play that you believe best represents the essence of the character’s needs, beliefs, or desires. Using that line or moment in the play as a starting point, write a monologue of at least 200 words for your character, which you will then rehearse and perform for the class. You do not need to memorize the monologue, unless there is time. But do commit to your character and be familiar with your lines. Be creative! Consider the following questions before you begin: 1. Do research on your character. How do they speak? What words do they like to use? What is the rhythm of their speech? Do they use long or short sentences? 2. To whom are you speaking? Are you alone on stage or with someone? 3. If you are speaking to someone, what do you want from this person? 4. Where are you? 5. With what props might your character interact during this monologue? 6. At what point in the play can this monologue be inserted? In which scene might this monologue take place? Is this monologue at the opening of the play? At the closing? Why is the character telling this story at this particular moment? 7. What do we learn about your character through this monologue? 8. How will you use your voice and your body to help create your character and get their message across?