ToasT a play by Lemon Andersen directed by Elise Thoron
DESCRIPTION
In 1971, an inmate had to choose between going home after twenty-seven years of imprisonment or joining the uprising in Attica.
ToasT is a new play by Lemon Andersen that celebrates the poetic history of Black narratives called "Toasts". The play takes fictional characters from this oral tradition and puts them in a non-fictional setting (Attica Prison) . The most famous hero from the toast tradition "Willie Green", also known as "Dolomite", has been locked up for the past twenty-seven years in Attica's D-block for multiple counts of murder. He shares the prison with other folklore heroes like Jesse James, Hobo Ben, Stackolee, and Hard Rock. They kill the hard prison time spending their days sharing war stories, playing cards, and drinking hooch.
The brutal conditions these inmates are living in pushes the young hotheaded Hard Rock to lead a revolution. He spends his time trying to convince his fellow inmates to join him in an uprising even if it means sacrificing their lives. Behind Hard Rock's preaching about grievances lies the real story of Dolomite secretly being given an unexpected early release date. Having to tell his fellow inmates about his release is defeating his soul. Every time Dolomite has a chance to tell the inmates, his moment to reveal the truth is interrupted by daily prison culture, Hard Rock's rants, and signifying toasts. As temperature rises and an uprising approaches, Hard Rock is taken by the guards, what will Dolomite do? BACKGROUND
"Toast" is an art form of reciting poetry based on characters and situations derived from the Black experience, mostly told and performed in the prisons, bars, and pool halls of America. The play honors this poetic form and brings its heroes to life on the stage. It places the folklore characters of the Toast world in an actual moment in American history—the Attica uprising in 1971. The play includes pieces that were adapted from poems of the late great Etheridge Knight. Many of the narratives found in Bruce Jackson's book "Get Your Ass in the Water and Swim Like Me" have helped to shape the characters. The concept is to use this rich oral tradition to bring stories that are seldom found in current American theater to the stage.
DEVELOPMENT
ToasT was developed, in part, at the 2011 Sundance Institute Playwrights Retreat at Ucross Foundation, the 2012 Sundance Institute Theatre Lab at the Sundance Resort, and a workshop in partnership with the Baryshnikov Center, with continuing Post-Lab Support through its initiative with the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
ToasT is a commission of The Public Theater and supported by the MAP Fund, a program of Creative Capital supported by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation. In 2013 it was presented as a reading as part of the Under the Radar Festival.
writer
Lemon Andersen is a performance artist, writer, and Tony Award-winning poet. In 2012 the Sundance Institute commissioned the development of ToasT his new play to be staged at the Public Theater in New York City. For a decade, Lemon has performed at iconic venues including Harlem's Apollo Theater, San Francisco's Theatre On The Square, Charleston's Spoleto Festival, the Chicago Theatre, New York State's Spiegeltent, and Hollywood's Kodak and Montalban Theatre. Spike Lee produced Lemon's coming-of-age autobiographical memoir County of Kings at the Public Theater. Since its 2009 debut County of Kings has been performed on stages throughout the United States, as well as in Europe, South Pacific, and South Africa. Lemon published the play's script and was awarded the Grand Prize at the 2010 New York Book Festival. He was one of the poets on Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry Jam on Broadway, winner of a Tony Award in 2003. He also appeared in the HBO show for six seasons. He was a member of Universes, a theater ensemble, with whom he wrote and performed in The Ride at P.S. 122, and Slanguage, directed by Jo Bonney and produced by the New York Theater Workshop. As an actor he has trained at the Public Theater's Shakespeare Lab and his work has received support from the Ford Foundation. On the big screen, Lemon appeared opposite Denzel Washington in Spike Lee's Inside Man and in The Soloist with Robert Downey Jr. and Jamie Foxx. Lemon a documentary film portrait of his life and career path, Executive Producers include Russell Simmons and Stan Lathan. As a guest instructor at the Stella Adler Studio Lemon developed the first spoken-word intensive to be offered at an actors' conservatory. He has performed and led workshops at a number of college campuses such as University of Wisconsin, Syracuse, UC Berkeley, and Harvard. In 2011 the TED organization invited Lemon to perform at their inaugural TEDYouth event, live streamed to 16 countries. A native New Yorker, Lemon proudly represents Brooklyn.
DIRECTOR
Elise Thoron’s plays have been produced in the United States and Europe: Green Violin, music by Frank London of the Klezmatics, (published Nine Contemporary Jewish Plays); Prozak and the Platypus, music by Jill Sobule (also album and graphic novella); Charlotte: Life? or Theater? based on paintings of the young German Jewish artist, Charlotte Salomon, music by Gary Fagin. As writer and director she created Recycling: washi tales using the work of distinguished Japanese paper artist, Kyoko Ibe, with American performer, Karen Kandel, and a company of Japanese traditional performers, commissioned/premiered at The Krannert Center for the Performing Arts; also Los Angeles County Museum (www.washitales.com). For over twenty years, Elise has created cross-cultural exchanges with Russian and American theater artists. She directed the first Sam Shepherd play in Moscow; adapted and directed The Great Gatsby in Russian at a The Pushkin Theater in Moscow, where it played for over nine years. Her translations of Russian plays have been performed and published in the USA/UK/Australia. As Associate Artistic Director at American Place Theatre, Elise developed and directed plays and solo shows, which have gone on to other venues in the United States. At American Place, she also launched Literature to Life, a highly successful theater literacy program, now nationwide, where she adapted/directed Cisneros’ The House on Mango Street, Lowrie’s The Giver, Diaz’s The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, and developed spoken word poet Lemon Andersen’s County of King for students, before performing at The Public, Spoleto, and venues around the world. Elise is now working again with Lemon on a new play ToasT, in development at the Public Theater/Under the Radar 2013; Sundance Theater Lab 2012. She is also writing a new opera, Hatuey, with composer Frank London based on an epic Yiddish poem by Asher Penn.
cast of characters
HARD ROCK Black Male, early 20's. Young blood of the cell block smartest and well read, a member of the Five-percent Nation and A.L.F (Attica Liberation Faction), talks revolutionary and gangster, always writing grievances to the Warden and Sheriff, takes no shit from nobody, it’s not a race thing with Hard Rock it’s a generation thing, his idol is Stanley Tookie.
DOLOMITE Black Male, early 50's. The ultimate Bad Ass and most famous prisoner in Attica, has served twenty seven years of his sentence so far mostly for murder, gambling and pimping. The patriarch of Prison block D.
JESSE JAMES- Mixed race Puerto Rican, late 20's. Jesse understands Spanish but speaks like a straight black ghetto jive talker. They call him Jesse James cause he robbed banks and he is an outlaw from the Savage Skulls Gang in The South Bronx. ANNABELLE JONES Black male, early 40's. A she-male, locked up for murder and prostitution. Plays the mother role of the prison block and Dolomite's prison woman.
SHERIFF JODY White male, late 50's. Corn fed World War II vet and captain at Attica, believes the prison institution is closer to God than religion. Jody is just as institutionalized as the men locked up in his prison. GI JOE Hispanic male, late 40's. floor officer at Attica’s D block, a prideful jibaro. G.I. Joe hates Jesse James cause of his affiliation to the streets. He feels Jesse is a downright disgrace to all Puerto Rican people for acting too black
HOBO BEN Black Male, early to mid-60's. Wrongfully incarcerated for crimes, but chose to stay in prison. Oldest inmate of the cell block. A very wise and witty ol' timer who concocts the greatest home made hooch in Attica. STACKOLEE Black male, early 30's. The most terrorizing prisoner in Attica. A straight-razor of a man who lives up to his reputation as a murderer. Stackolee is also one of the most legendary folklore characters in the Toast tradition.
actors
The actors assembled to play the roles of these folklore heroes knew from day one at the Sundance Playwrights Lab in Utah that TOAST needed the congregation of an ensemble. As we moved from Sundance to a residency at the Baryshnikov Arts Center in New York City we found more actors dedicated to the collaborative process. The following are the confirmed actors moving forward.
BIOS
KEITH DAVID’s (Dolomite) extraordinary range of talent is evidenced by his body of work. Recent films include The Princess and the Frog, Coraline, and Crash. Other credits include Barbershop, Agent Cody Banks, and Requiem for a Dream. Prior to that, Keith was featured in There's Something About Mary, Armageddon, and Dead Presidents. Keith has received Emmy Awards for his narration of two Ken Burns documentaries: The War and Unforgivable Blackness, and was nominated for his narration of Jazz. He received a daytime Emmy nomination for his work in Showtime's The Tiger Wood's Story. Keith David gained wide attention in 1986 for his role as King in the Oscar winning film Platoon. Other of his over 75 film credits includes Men at Work, Clockers, and Pitch Black. Keith has also worked with notable directors including Clint Eastwood (Bird), Steven Spielberg (Always) and John Carpenter (The Thing and They Live). Born in Harlem, New York and raised in East Elmhurst, Queens, Keith sang in the all borough choir as a boy. He knew he wanted to act at the age of nine when he appeared as the cowardly lion in his school's production of The Wizard of Oz. He later attended New York's famed High School of the Performing Arts and then graduated from Juilliard. There he studied under such voice and speech teachers as Robert Williams and Edith Skinner.
In a career spanning more than forty years, ANDRÉ DE SHIELDS (Hobo Ben) has distinguished himself as an unparalleled actor, director, choreographer, and educator. He is the recipient of the 2009 National Black Theatre Festival Living Legend Award, the 2009 AUDELCO Award for Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actor in a Musical/Male (Archbishop Supreme Tartuffe), and the 2007 Village Voice OBIE Award for Sustained Excellence of Performance. In observance of Black Heritage Month 2009, he created his very first solo performance—Mine Eyes Have Seen The Glory: From Douglass To Deliverance, which has evoked powerful emotional response from audiences in New York at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Labor Center, and at The Yard on Martha’s Vineyard. Costarring with Jeremy Irons and Joan Allen, he garnered considerable critical acclaim in the roles of Chiambuane and Mr. Linder in the world premiere of Michael Jacobs’ new American play, Impressionism. He made his New York Shakespeare Festival debut as Teiresias in the Public Theater’s production of Euripides’ The Bacchae, directed by Joanne Akalaitis, with a score by Philip Glass. A second debut was marked at The Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, GA as Robert in David Mamet’s A Life In The Theatre. Mr. De Shields is best known for his show stopping performances in the original Broadway productions of four legendary musicals: The Full Monty, for which he received Tony, Drama Desk and Astaire Award nominations, in addition to both the Outer Critics Circle and Drama League Awards; Play On! (Tony nomination), Ain’t Misbehavin’ (Drama Desk nomination) and The Wiz (title role). He created the role of Graham in the world premiere of Mark Medoff’s Prymate at Florida State University, and revisited that role in the short-lived yet controv ersial Broadway production at the Longacre Theatre (Drama Desk nomination).
TONY PLANA (GI Joe) recently starred in Ugly Betty, the landmark, groundbreaking hit series for which he received the 2006 Golden Satellite Award from the International Press Academy and an Alma Award nomination for best supporting actor in a television comedy. Previously, he also starred in Showtime’s original series, Resurrection Boulevard, and was nominated for two Alma Awards for Best Actor. He has starred in more than 70 feature films, including JFK, Nixon, Salvador, An Officer and a Gentleman, Lone Star, Three Amigos, Born in East L.A., El Norte, 187, Primal Fear, Romero, One Good Cop, Havana, The Rookie, Silver Strand, and Picking Up the Pieces with Woody Allen. He recently appeared in the action thriller Half Past Dead with Steven Segal, Morris Chestnut, and JaRul; The Lost City, with Andy Garcia, Bill Murray, and Dustin Hoffman; and Disney’s highly acclaimed GOAL, The Dream Begins! His feature film projects include El Muerto starring Wilbur Valderama, Justified, Towards Darkness, and American East with Tony Shaloub. On television he recently starred in the Showtime Original Miniseries, Fidel and Showtime’s Noriega: God’s Favorite. He has portrayed leading roles in Veronica Claire, Bakersfield P.D., Steven Bochco’s Total Security and City of Angels. He has also appeared in several Emmy award-winning programs such as Sweet Fifteen, Drug Wars: The Camarena Story, The Burning Season: The Life and Death of Chico Mendes and a special episode of L.A. Law, which also received an Imagen Award. Mr. Plana has portrayed recurring roles on the award-winning drama The West Wing, 24, CSI, Monk, Almost Perfect, and The Closer. On Broadway, his credits include Zoot Suit and The Boys of Winter. He has performed leads at the Mark Taper Forum in Zoot Suit, Richard III, Widows, and The Reader.
RON CEPHAS JONES (Stackolee), NY credits: Richard III (the Public), LAByrinth’s Our Lady of 121st St., and Jesus Hopped the A-Train (Donmar, the ArtsTheatre; Lucille Lortel nominee). Additional credits: Othello (Royal Theatre), The Exonerated, Holiday Heart (MTC), Everybody’s Ruby (the Public), Thunder Knocking on the Door (Yale Rep; Conn, OCC Award), House Arrest: First Edition and Don’t Explain (AUDELCO Best Actor Award). Film: He Got Game and Sweet and Lowdown, TV: Law & Order, NYPD Blue, NY Undercover, and Word of Honor.
STEPHEN TYRONE WILLIAMS (Hard Rock) His credits include Broadway: Lucky Guy (Broadhurst Theatre). Off-Broadway: Harper Regan (Atlantic Theater Company); My Children! My Africa! (Signature Theatre Company); Thomas Bradshaw's Burning (New Group); and Adam Rapp's Hallway Trilogy (Rattlestick.). Regional: Gem of the Ocean (Hartford Stage) and Fences (Seattle Repertory/Syracuse Stage - SALT nom.); Ruined (Intiman/Geffen); The Laramie Project (Gallery Players); Topdog/Underdog (Actors Theatre of Louisville); and Measure for Measure (Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey). Select Film & TV: Children of God (Showtime) design
To help create the world of TOAST there will be collaborations between established designers and up and coming urban artists. This vision will bring a new and fresh aesthetic to the various elements of theatre production. From the set designer teaming up with a well known street artist, to the costume designer collaborating with a popular fashion designer whose company creates clothing for the urban man. We will also have our Tony award winning sound designer Rob Kaplowitz working with an internationally known hip-hop DJ to create a mix tape for the house music at the beginning of the show based on the period of the play. This will be a great way of connecting artists and bringing their respective followers to the theatre. Many theatres have a subscription based following. What we want to do with ToasT is bring in a new audience and connect these communities. It's a proven approach to developing a new mixed audience which we began doing with Lemon's first show 'County of Kings'.
SCENIC
AVONE born and raised in Brooklyn, AVONE is the quintessential New York artist. Through his work, AVONE creates a reimagined urban environment wrought with images of a distinctive and gritty vision of decay. The artist’s work is mainly influenced by the city he calls home, as well as abstract expressionist Franz Kline and Andy Goldsworthy, whose work has inspired the Fragmenting of his writing and self-developed textural surfaces. AVONE’s illustrious list of clients includes global cable television network, ESPN, as well as the men’s professional basketball league, the NBA.
sample work MICHAEL JORDAN'S 50TH BIRTHDAY MURAL AVONE was commissioned by ESPN to create a mural for Michael Jordan's 50th birthday. This is a link to a video of the process of him painting the mural. Here's a small glimpse at the work he does and how he is able to create these layered pieces. http://www.frank151.com/news/watch-espns-short-celebrating-michael- jordans-50th-birthday.html#.US0I0fq9LCQ
VISUAL ART Using various print and painting techniques AV ONE creates textured pieces that are quite dynamic and take his experience with graffiti to a new heights, his pieces reflect a cold and desolate environment of the. prison.
COSTUME AND WARDROBE
P.K. WEST one of the founders of UNYFORME a new, innovative clothing brand that provides classic, but trendy man. Specializing in men's contemporary streetwear, the brand had a nice in blending essential and casual pieces with trendy distinct designs. The fashion objective is based on the team's desire to build a brand that both we, and our customers, believe in. The foundation of the brand relies on producing dependable products that are constructed well and have and amazing attention to detail, all while using premium fabrics. Above all, the garments are made by individuals who ultimately believe that less is more when it comes to design as well as price.
sample work Wardrobe should reflect the prison man. We call this look the Andy Dufrain, but with a modern cut. The following are examples of possible style for inmate's wardrobe.
music
The sounds designed in Lemon's "County of Kings" backdropped a timeline of beats and sounds that reflected on the character's journey through time periods. We opened the house with a well known mix-tape by DJ Neil Armstrong that brought the audience into the world of the play. With ToasT we will have Neil Armstrong create a pre-show mix according to his imagination, using popular references and music of of 1971
Long before he was Jay Z’s tour DJ for all of 2008 and 2009, or a Global Brand Ambassador for Adidas for 2010, NEIL ARMSTRONG was a humble, fan of music. Acknowledged as the founding father of the DJ Collective the “5th Platoon”, Neil was born and bred in NYC. Spent his time in the trenches battling and mastering the art of spinning allowed him to rock shows alongside artists across the Hip-Hop spectrum – from De La Soul, The Roots, Company Flow and Biz Markie, to Kanye West, LL Cool J, Busta Rhymes and Wyclef Jean; Russell Gunn and Ethnomusicology, playing alongside iconic musicians Kenny Garrett (a member of Miles Davis’ band) and Brandford Marsalis. Over the last 9 years, he has made an indelible mark in the sub-genre of Hip-Hop known as “Mix-tape Culture.” Neil’s highly- regarded mix-tapes represent his eclectic music taste and have generated considerable press, most-notably in Rolling Stone, Vibe, MTV.com, Theme, URB and Complex. He has been the NBA’s DJ of choice for their Rookie Shootout since 2006 and he has performed in Stockholm, Finland, Norway, Ireland, Holland, Poland, Belgium, Iceland, Nigeria, Germany, Vancouver, Toronto, the Philippines, China, Singapore, Taiwan, and Tokyo, just to name a few. From rocking in front of over 100,000 fans at the Glastonbury Festival, to anchoring a performance on the David Letterman Show, to p l a y i n g t h r e e consecutive shows at Madison Square.
marketing
Theater in today's world is no longer just about writing a great play, it's also about creating a great experience. That's what builds a buzz and gets audience excited to see original theatrical productions. When writing Lemon Andersen is not only focused on the voice of the character but in his mind an entire world is formed. He wants the audience to see their own world reflected on stage in which they are completely immersed from beginning to end. Then they go home and talk to their friends not only about the play they just saw, but about the experience they had.
art show
Nine visual artists will each do a rendering of the characters in ToasT. The various renderings will be done in the genre they specialize in, from sculpting, to painting, to mixed media pieces. Each artist will bring the folklore heroes of the play to life. This will be a great to have the audience interact with and see the characters in a different light. Through the re-interpretation done by some of today’s greatest urban artists; Mister Cartoon will draw Dolomite, Patrick Martinez will do a piece in neon lights. The art show will be curate by SA Studios proceeds will be benefit the Osbourne Association. This will help build a buzz for the play and introduce the audience to the characters and world of ToasT before the play opens.
The following are examples of how artists can create their own unique variations of the same theme.
the book
Along with the Art Show there will be a book version of the show. A study guide of sorts that will feature the characters and list their history through the old black narratives. The book will focus on the history behind the prisoner reform movement in Attica, the history and the art form of toasts. The book will include a glossary of terms that defines and breaks down the slang of the play which covers a century of African American vernacular. This book will serve as a springboard to the educational outreach that we feel is vital to our mission with ToasT.
EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH
An important part of the mission of ToasT is to provide students with a with background materials and structure for learning more about the history of the Attica uprising, and the larger question of incarceration in America, where over two million people are currently imprisoned. Many of the students for whom Lemon performed County of Kings have had their lives directly impacted by family members or friends being incarcerated. The key dramatic question of ToasT: how an inmate comes home and integrates into society is vital to talk about. Students will also engage in an exploration of an oral poetic tradition of “toasting” that underpins many modern forms of poetry and music students listen to and create every day. We also encourage theater students to observe and participate in the making of Toast through watching rehearsals and meeting with our artistic team and experienced cast members.