Four African-American female playwrights, 1910-1950: The narratives of their historical, genteel, and Black folk voodoo plays.
Item
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Title
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Four African-American female playwrights, 1910-1950: The narratives of their historical, genteel, and Black folk voodoo plays.
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Identifier
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AAI9605579
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identifier
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9605579
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Creator
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Christian, Samuel.
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Contributor
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Adviser: James V. Hatch
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Date
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1995
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Theater | History, Black | Folklore | Women's Studies
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Abstract
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This dissertation is a critical analysis of the dramatic structure and historical significance of the narratives of plays by four African American female dramatists. The historical, genteel, and Black folk voodoo one-act plays of May Miller Sullivan, Eulalie Spence, Thelma Myrtle Duncan, and Shirley Graham Du Bois were chosen for three common factors--education, publication, and subject matter. Twenty-one one-act plays and one three-act play by Graham are examined. Several unpublished manuscripts of Miller and Duncan that are available at the Moorland-Spingarn Research Center, Washington, D.C. and the Hatch-Billops Collection, New York, N.Y. are also included.;Although there are several scholarly theatre studies that concentrate on the African American in the early 1900s, few have discussed female dramatists. The portrayals of strong voodoo worshippers as characters have been ignored in African American theatre scholarship. The plays with historical and genteel themes have been included in this dissertation because the roots of Black folk voodooism lies within the common folk.;These four significant pioneers were all educators--high school and college professors--essayists, and dramatists. Their platform for the production of these works was usually the school auditorium or the university theatre. The plays of Miller, Duncan, Spence, and Graham were meant "to be read" and then "to be performed;" now it is time for their plays and the secret society of Voodooism "to be celebrated.".
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
