Table Of ContentBlack Acting Methods
Black Acting Methods offers a range of alternatives to the Euro-A merican per
formance styles that many actors find themselves working with. These
approaches are rooted in a critical framework that allows Afrocentric sensibil
ities and experiences to excite and invigorate approaches to performative
scholarship. A wealth of contributions from directors, scholars, and acting
practitioners of color address Afrocentric processes and aesthetics, and
responses from key figures in Black American theatre illuminate their
methods.
This ground- breaking collection is an essential resource for teachers, stu
dents, actors and directors seeking to reclaim, reaffirm or even redefine the
role and contributions of Black culture in theatre arts.
Sharrell D. Luckett is Assistant Professor of Theatre and Performance
Studies Scholarship at Muhlenberg College.
Tia M. Shaffer is Fine Arts Chair and Theatre Director at South Atlanta
High School in Atlanta Public Schools.
Black Acting Methods
Critical approaches
Sharrell D. Luckett with
Tia M. Shaffer
First published 2017
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
52 aV nderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2017 Sharrell D. Luckett and Tia M. Shaffer
The right of the editors to be identified as the author of the
editorial matter, and of the authors for their individual chapters,
has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
With the exception of Chapter 7, no part of this book may be
reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any
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invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information
storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the
publishers.
Chapter 7 of this book is available for free in PDF format as Open
Access from the individual product page at www.routledge.com. It
has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non
Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing- in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloguing-i n-Publication Data
A catalog record for this book has been requested
ISBN: 978-1-138-90763-8 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-138-90762-1 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-69498-6 (ebk)
Typeset in Bembo
by Wearset Ltd, Boldon, Tyne and Wear
For Eboni,
Our fiercely talented, gorgeous Black friend whose White director
of her MFA program told her during her exit interview:
“I must admit, I didn’t know how to teach you.”
Contents
List of figures ix
Notes on contributors x
Foreword: the Blessing xvi
MolEFi KETE ASAnTE
Acknowledgments xviii
Introduction: the Affirmation 1
SHArrEll D. luCKETT AnD TiA M. SHAFFEr
Methods of social activism 17
1 The Hendricks Method 19
SHArrEll D. luCKETT AnD TiA M. SHAFFEr
2 SoulWork 37
CriSTAl CHAnEllE TruSCoTT
3 Nudging the memory: creating performance with the
Medea Project: Theatre for Incarcerated Women 51
rHoDESSA JonES
4 Art saves lives: Rebecca Rice and the performance of
Black feminist improv for social change 72
liSA BiggS
Methods of intervention 87
5 Seeing Shakespeare through brown eyes 89
JuSTin EMEKA
viii Contents
6 Ritual Poetic Drama within the African Continuum:
the journey from Shakespeare to Shange 106
TAwnyA PETTiForD- wATES
7 Remembering, rewriting, and re- imagining:
Afrocentric approaches to directing new work for
the theatre 123
ClinnESHA D. SiBlEy
Methods of cultural plurality 137
8 The Hip Hop Theatre Initiative: We the Griot 139
DAniEl BAnKS
9 Kadogo Mojo: global crossings in the theatre 168
AKu KADogo
10 #UnyieldingTruth: employing culturally relevant
pedagogy 184
KASHi JoHnSon AnD DAPHniE SiCrE
Reflections from distinguished practitioners 201
11 Rituals, processes, methods 203
JuDyiE Al- BilAli, TiM BonD, SHElDon EPPS,
SHirlEy Jo FinnEy, nATAKi gArrETT,
AniTA gonzAlEz, PAul CArTEr HArriSon,
roBBiE Mc CAulEy, SErET SCoTT,
ToMMiE “TonEA” STEwArT AnD TAlvin wilKS
12 Words of wisdom for actors 213
TAlvin wilKS, SHElDon EPPS, SHirlEy Jo FinnEy,
wAlTEr DAllAS, KAMilAH ForBES, KyM MoorE,
JuDyiE Al- BilAli, TiM BonD, nATAKi gArrETT,
PAul CArTEr HArriSon, AniTA gonzAlEz, ron HiMES
AnD SErET SCoTT
Appendix: recommendations for acting/performance
programs that seek to provide equitable training 219
Index 221
Figures
1.1 Freddie Hendricks 21
1.2 Juel D. lane and the cast of Times, Freddie Hendricks
youth Ensemble of Atlanta, 2004 32
2.1 Scene from Progress Theatre’s neo- Spiritual The Burnin’,
written and directed by Cristal Chanelle Truscott: (l–r)
Cristal Chanelle Truscott, Carlton Turner, Tiana Kaye
Johnson, rebekah Stevens, Derrick Brent ii 49
3.1 rhodessa Jones demonstrating “Dancing is” and “There is
a ladder” exercises 63
3.2 The cast of “BirTHrigHT.” The Medea Project, 2015 69
6.1 Tawnya Pettiford- wates leading a studio class at the
university Kwazulu- natal in Durban, South Africa in the
Drama and Performance Studies Department in 2013 116
8.1 The company of Re/Rites: A Devised Theatre Piece Celebrating
Hip Hop Culture at new york university 142
9.1 nura ward with Aku Kadogo, Ernabella, South Australia,
2013 170
9.2 nura ward with Aku Kadogo, Ernabella, South Australia,
1999 172
