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By PSALMAYENE 24 Directed by RAYMOND O. CALDWELL STUDY GUIDE SEASON FOUR Introduction “Theatre is a form of knowledge; it should and can also be a means of transforming society. Theatre can help us build our future, rather than just waiting for it.”—Augusto Boal The purpose and goal of Mosaic’s education department is simple. Our program aims to further and cultivate students’ knowledge and passion for theatre and theatre education. We strive for complete and exciting arts engagement for educators, artists, our community, and all learners in the classroom. Mosaic’s education program yearns to be a conduit for open discussion and connection to help students understand how theatre can make a profound impact in their lives, in society, and in their communities. Mosaic Theater Company of DC is thrilled to have your interest and support! Catherine Chmura Arts Education Apprentice—Mosaic Theater Company of DC Written by Catherine Chmura & Isaiah M. Wooden 2 LES DEUX NOIRS MOSAIC THEATER COMPANY of DC PRESENTS LES DEUX NOIRS NOTES ON NOTES OF A NATIVE SON By Psalmayene 24 Directed by Richard O. Caldwell Choreographer: Tiffany Quinn Set Designer: Ethan Sinnott Lighting Designer: William Kendall D’Eudenio Costume Designer: Amy MacDonald Sound Designer: Nick Hernandez Projections Designer: Dylan Uremovich Properties Designer: Willow Watson Production Stage Manager: April E. Carter Dramaturg: Isaiah M. Wooden & Khalid Yaya Long Table of Contents Curriculum Connections: DC Public School ................................ 4 DCPL Reading List ............................................................................ 4 Synopsis .............................................................................................. 5 About the Artists .............................................................................. 6 EDUCATIONAL SPONSORS Characters .......................................................................................... 7 Mosaic Theater Company of DC wants Music Playlist ..................................................................................... 8 to thank our incredible educational sponsors and supporters who help Dramaturgical Essays ..................................................................... 10 make our arts education programs possible. Themes ..............................................................................................12 Capitol Hill Community Foundation Activities After the Play .................................................................12 DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities Vocabulary ........................................................................................ 18 Reva & David Logan Foundation Lorraine S. Dreyfus Theatre Education Fund Weissberg Foundation Max & Victoria Dreyfus Foundation Nora Roberts Foundation Study Guide 3 Curriculum Connections: DC Public School Taken from the DCPS Scope and Sequence Matrix for the 2018-2019 School Year Grade 9 - Unit 1: Honorable Actions and Honorable Words Students begin the year by thinking about what makes stories interesting, effective, and memorable. They will also begin exploring the high school theme, I am a Leader, by considering the role of honor, or “high esteem; respect”, in making a character admirable within a narrative. Unit 2: Tension in Literature In this unite, students will examine the ways in which mystery, tension, and surprise engage and intrigue readers, identify and describe ways authors ‘hook and hold’ readers through specific literary choices, and analyze the role of stories-within-the- story to create tension and advance the plot. Grade 10 - Unit 4: Virtue and Morality Students conclude the year by thinking about the language of Shakespeare – and further exploring the concept of leadership – through a study of the anchor text, Hamlet. In particular, they will connect the values of virtue and morality with leadership, thinking about the tough choices that Prince Hamlet must make throughout the play. Grade 11 - Unit 2: American Dream Revisited; An Examination of Race, Modernism, and Mayhem In unit 2, students examine nineteenth and twentieth century American literature, including Frederick Douglass’ narrative, the Harlem Renaissance, and “The Lost Generation.” They are also prompted to consider the notion of leadership through the lenses of race and personal responsibility. Through an exploration of the unit texts, students will contemplate questions like, “How do authors use rhetoric to address inequalities and injustices in early America?” and “Is the American Dream real?” They will also analyze the rhetoric of Douglass, Langston Hughes, James Baldwin, and other course readings to reflect on matters of race, agency, and the attainability of the American Dream. DCPL Reading List Notes on A Native Son by James Baldwin Black Boy: A Record of Childhood and 12 Million Black Voices by Richard Wright Youth by Richard Wright If He Hollers Let Him Go by Chester Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison Himes Native Son by Richard Wright The Unfinished Quest of Richard Wright The Street by Ann Petry by Michel Fabre 4 LES DEUX NOIRS Synopsis Set in the legendary Parisian café Les Deux Magots in 1953, Les Deux Noirs: Notes on Notes of A Native Son reimagines the meeting between Native Son author Richard Wright and essayist/ activist James Baldwin. It explores the tension between Baldwin’s searing critiques of Native Son and Wright’s unbridled indignation in response—a confrontation between two mighty African- American artists, with echoes of a present-day rap battle. 5 NATIVE SON Study Guide 5 About the Artists Psalmayene 24 (Playwright) Psalmayene 24 is an award-winning director, playwright, and actor. His directing credits include Word Becomes Flesh (Helen Hayes Award, Outstanding Direction, Play), The Shipment, Not Enuf Lifetimes, and Read: White and Blue. Psalm, as his colleagues call him, has received commissions from The African Continuum Theater Company, Arena Stage, Imagination Stage, Theater Alliance, The Kennedy Center, and Solas Nua. His play, The Frederick Douglass Project, co-written with Deirdre Kinahan, is nominated for six 2019 Helen Hayes Awards, including the Charles MacArthur Award for Outstanding Original New Play or Musical. Psalm is the recipient of an Individual Artist Award in Playwriting from the Maryland State Arts Council and has received grants from the DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities and the Boomerang Fund for Artists Inc. He received the 2014 Imagination Award from Imagination Stage (past recipients include Dr. Jane Goodall, Christopher Reeve, and Dennis Haysbert). As an actor, he has appeared on HBO’s critically acclaimed series The Wire, been nominated for a Helen Hayes award, and is a member of Actors’ Equity Association. Psalm is currently the Master Teaching Artist at Arena Stage and is the Artist-in-Residence at Bowie State University. Infinite love to Diana … Raymond O. Caldwell (Director) Raymond O. Caldwell (Director) has served as Producing Artistic Director of Theater Alliance since January 2019, and served as the Associate Artistic Director at Theater Alliance from 2017-18. He is a resident- director and lecturer in the Department of Theatre Arts at Howard University. Raymond develops applied theatre curriculum for BroadFutures, a non-profit that advances the inherent potential of young adults with learning disabilities through workforce training. He recently joined the board of the Children’s Chorus of Washington DC. He holds an MFA in acting with a focus in community outreach and developing new work from The Ohio State University and a BFA in acting from the University of Florida. In 2009 he was the recipient of the Arena Stage Allen Lee Hughes Fellowship, after which he joined Arena’s staff for six consecutive seasons. In March Raymond traveled to India to work with artists and local NGO’s from Kolkata, Bangladesh, and Nepal to develop new-work that challenged sex trafficking and gender-based violence through digital performance. A DC-based director, he most recently directed Blood at the Root at Theater Alliance and The Frederick Douglass Project with Solas Nua. Raymond has toured nationally and internationally as a performer and directed/developed work throughout the United States, India, Ukraine, Greece, Germany, and the UK. 6 LES DEUX NOIRS Characters JEREMY HUNTER* as James Baldwin The writer. Disarmingly intelligent. Caustic wit. Gay. Enormously ambitious. Speaks with the certainty of a preacher at a pulpit. He will not allow his prodigious inner beauty to be denied. He has a keen lust for life. Hungry in all ways. 29 years old. JAMES J JOHNSON* as Richard Wright The writer. Rebellious and stubborn. Fearless with a probing intellect. He behaves with the confidence of a man who has made impossible dreams reality. Though he is sophisticated, there is a trace of his humble Mississippi roots in his manner. 45 years old. MUSA GURNIS as Ludivine French white woman. Part-time waitress. Comfortable in her own skin. A fantastic dancer. Fun-loving and exuberant. Well- intentioned and guileless, but with an edge. 30 years old. RJ PAVEL as Jean-Claude French white man. A career waiter. Respectful and attentive. Dashing. A stickler for professional protocol—except for when it contradicts his desires. Avid photographer. 35 years old. Study Guide 7 Music Playlist 88 LESLES DEUX DEUX NOIRS NOIRS StudyStudy GuideGuide 99 Dramaturgical Essays Native Sons in Paris By Isaiah M. Wooden, Dramaturgs The details of what happened when three of the twentieth centuries most significant