A TREATISE on DRAMATIC CONTEMPORARY BLACK John S

iâ,o / + THE BLACK SPIRIT: A TRILOGY OF ORIGINAL PLAYS AND A TREATISE ON DRAMATIC THEORY IN CONTEMPORARY BLACK DRAMA John S. Scott A Dissertation Submitted to the graduate school of 3owling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY March 1972 K /lû 3")v.rm - ■-Ê'IÀo vyû. \Qû> -p, X © 1972 John Sherman Scott ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ii ABSTRACT Through recent Black Drama has drawn considerable critical attention, the dramatic theories of contemporary 31ack playwrights have been neglected and misunderstood. This study creatively and theoretically explored the import of Black aesthetics and the intent of Black playwrights’ dramatic language and structure. The problem was to isolate and define the assumptions, language, and actions operating in Black aesthetics and, further, to identify my dramatic intentions and those of other Black playwrights. This study attempted to define what contemporary Black drama is about, suggested what it ought to be about, and postulated a basis for critical evaluation. A theoretical discussion and description of the Black Spirit provided a background for the specific notions of aesthetics and dramatic intention, which could be related to, compared with, and drawn from. Beauty, Order, Language and Action were discussed in relationship to the theory of the Black Spirit. Following, a trilogy of original plays is presented. These plays reflect the creative efforts of one 31ack playwright operating with a conscious awareness of the theoretical Potions of the Black Spirit. The study concluded that the Black Spirit is a pri mordial aesthetic of mellifluous, polyrhythmic, spontaneous and infinite dimensions. The study also concluded that Black drama can and does clarify and elevate noble dimen sions of the Black Spirit when the drama reinforces and informs Black people that they are needed by one another and further, shows Black people how to reach out to each other across this need. The three plays: Ride a Black Horse, Time Turns Black, and Black Sermon Rock are linked in their structure and in their intent. The first two, full-length plays, reveal the plans, efforts and failures of Black men who resist social and political oppression. The third, one-act play is a ritual-funeral apotheosis of their lives by Black witnesses. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS With deep appreciation for my Professors here who have inspired and permitted my growth as a critical and creative writer. Especially: Dr. Robert Findlay and Dr. Charles Boughton. A special note of appreciation goes to the Brothers and Sisters here who have given faith and credulity to my efforts. Especially: Robert and Katherine Stephens and the members of the Black Caucus. The insistent patience of Dr. Allen Kepke has been invaluable. iv DEDICATION To my Mother and Father Beauta and George Scott who paid the early dues AND To Barbara, Jimmy and Jon-Jomo whose memories make tomorrow possible V TABLE OF CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION .................................... 1 The Problem . ............................. 3 The Procedure............................ 4 Review of the Literature ................... 5 THE BLACK SPIRIT: AESTHETIC THEORY ............ 14 Introduction .............................. 14 Underlying Assumptions .................... 16 Black Beauty and Order.................... 23 Black Language............................ 28 Characterization and Imagery ............ 31 Black Action.............................. 36 Internal Causes and Incidents .......... 39 THE BLACK SPIRIT: AESTHETIC PRACTICE ............ 43 Introduction ............................... 43 Scripts: RIDE A BLACK HORSE.............. 47 . TIME TURNS BLACK................ 99 BLACK SERMON ROCK.................. 145 Production Notes.......................... 160 BIBLIOGRAPHY 162 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION THE PROBLEM, THE PROCEDURE, AND A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE we better find the time before there isn’t any —John Chenault, Blue Blackness Finally, in the American history of Black people, serious questions regarding the art of politics and the politics of art are being raised concurrently. In the emerging Black Theatre, artisans are grappling with varying notions about the art of dramatic cause and the cause of dramatic art. Most often these questions are raised because plays projecting racial conflict require the raising of such questions: for reasons artistic and humane. In Black communities and in literary quarters the question most * frequently asked about these kinds of plays is: What does it do for the cause? Black drama—plays representing Black and white confrontation in physical and psychological abrasive ness—has, indeed, in the words of a popular Black disc- jockey, "caused motion in the ocean." For Blacks and whites, this genre of drama is producing pity and fear, and more. For those connected with or touched by this drama of 2 racial conflict, it is difficult to avoid the taunting and, oftimes, haunting questions being asked. Even if some observers should like to regard this dramatic literature as curiously out of tune or riding the crests of topical sensa tionalism or, for whatever reason, not warranting specific examination, the real-world conflict will unquestionably hit them with its seriousness or burn many with its sense of urgency. Moreover, since racial conflict is spilling over from the real into the representational social milieu with increasing frequency, there is an obvious need to understand the language and intent of those who speak of the conflict. Because we Blacks represent the larger body of writers who have chosen racial conflict as our theme, we present the logical critical focus. Few Black writers have been accorded serious critical attention and, similarly, few Black playwrights have advanced any detailed theoretical notions about their styles or their intent in writing drama. The result is a relative critical- theoretical void for a vital segment of comtemporary drama. Much of the reluctance by critics to seriously confront Black playwrights and their plays, aside from the scarcity of production and publication, seems predicated on the absence of certain critical requisites. Namely, white scholar-critics are not familiar with the language of Black aesthetics and, are not—in most instances—adequately equipped 3 to critically evaluate the dramatic intent of Black drama. Similarly, because Black playwrights have not, in the main, defined their schemes of aesthetics or their intent, the fabric of Black drama remains unclear and misunderstood. One would quickly defend the sanctity of the Black play wright who is no more responsible for explaining his craft than is the non-black writer; however, the reality of sup posedly serious dramatic criticism, at the present, is that most theatre critics are whites who know little and under stand less about Black experience. More important, Black people want and need to understand as well as sense what is happening in the minds and hearts of Black playwrights and their drama. Consequently, the language of Black aesthetics, the structure of Black drama from Black perspectives and the intent of both need to be examined. One would hope that a theoretical and creative exploration of the aesthetics and structure of Black drama would be helpful in its yield of meaningful critical directions. Beyond this, one would hope that the critical directions might be useful to citizens of the real world of racial conflict: persons of all colors and persuasions. I. THE PROBLEM To provide a useful body of theoretical ideas one must isolate certain meanings from existing terms and ideas 4 so that the selective meanings are definitive when the broader or more widely used meanings prove inadequate. The problem here, therefore, was to isolate and define the assumptions, language, and actions of Black aesthetics and, further, to identify the dramatic intentions of Black writers in drama of racial conflict. For both problems, the purpose here was to offer a basis for and a systematic approach to a definition of aesthetics and dramatic in tentions from a Black perspective. Ultimately, the theoretical portion of this study attempted to define what contemporary Black drama is about, suggested what it ought to be about, and postulated a basis for critical evaluation. This study, then, sought to explore theoretically and creatively the Black Spirit as it operates in contemporary Black drama: both ideologically and repre- sentationally. II. THE PROCEDURE First, a theoretical discussion and description of the Black Spirit was given to provide a background from which the more specific notions of aesthetics and dramatic intention could be related to, compared with and drawn from. This theoretical discussion is a philosophical exploration of beginnings of Black humanity and sensibilities. And though the discussion, particularly of the underlying assumptions, advances a theory of Black and human beginnings, 5 they are not regarded as immutable fact nor should they be read in a factual context. Beauty, Order, Language and Action have been discussed in relationship to the theory of the Black Spirit. Following the theoretical discussion, a trilogy of original plays is presented. These plays reflect the creative efforts of one Black playwright operating with a conscious awareness of the theoretical notions of the Black Spirit. Therefore, in the sense of the writer’s awareness of the theory, the plays reflect a practical extension of the Black Spirit. III. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE There exists a substantial

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