It is a common misconception that African American theater began with minstrelsy. On plantations across the Americas, African American theater was taking place in song, dance and storytelling, all based in African tradition. African American performance developed on the plantation as a means of survival and maintaining a sense of autonomy and culture. The history of Black performers on primarily white stages should also be noted, like that of Ira Aldridge, whose life was heavily documented by Errol Hill. All of these performance practices have had a significant impact not only on African American theatre, but on the greater American cultural landscape.
Blackface Minstrelsy is commonly known to be America’s first original form of popular entertainment. However, every element was stolen from Black performers. White performers in blackface mocked and dehumanized Black people but they would never replicate or best the talent of Black performers. Minstrel troupes began hiring Black performers and Black performers began creating companies of their own. While some of these performers still performed in blackface, the inclusion of Black men and Women in theater allowed Black performers to take back their identity and narrative. After the civil war, Minstrelsy transformed into Vaudeville which used burlesque and spectacle to transform into musical comedy.
A broader cultural New Negro movement began after Black Americans saw no progress toward their own freedom after WWI. The goal was to counteract stereotypical depictions seen in minstrel shows and other popular culture. Black artists were able to produce valuable and significant content that fueled the culture on a mainstream level. The visibility and intensity of the period symbolized a major shift in the degree to which Black people could and did claim the authority to speak about and represent themselves and their experience.
Part 1: Early African American Performance Era
1. William Paine. Mr. Ira Aldridge as Aaron. Islington: London Printing and Publishing Company, 1852. From the Errol G. Hill Papers, 1800-2003. ML-77, Box 88, Folder 26.
Ira Aldridge (1807-1867) was an American Shakespearean actor, known for being the first Black actor to play the character of Othello. He is subject of much research by Errol Hill, which was featured in his book Shakespeare in Sable: A History of Black Shakespearean Actors.
2. Monica Ndounou. “Plantation Performance Elements.” THEA 10.55/AAAS 32.15 class lecture: “Curating Black Theater.” Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, 9 April 2019.
Many elements of African American theatre and performance can be traced back to slavery. The following themes and motifs were developed by enslaved Africans as a means to maintain autonomy and protect their culture. Look for these elements throughout the exhibit!
- Slave music
- Mime
- Dance
- Pidgin language and dialect
- Masked Acts and Coded Meanings
- Double Consciousness (as referenced by W.E.B. DuBois and Anna Julia Cooper, among others)
- Concept of the Mask
- Call and Response
- Divination (as in interacting with the larger spirit consciousness)
- “The Shout”
- Spirit Possession
- Religious Rituals, Rites and Ceremonies
- The Trickster (as in folklore, like Ananzi and Briar Rabbit)
- Double-Voiced Meaning
3. Camille A. Brown. “History of African American Social Dance.” TED Ed, 2016, ed.ted.com/lessons/the-history-of-african-american-social-dance-camille-a-brown.
In this video renowned choreographer and dancer, Camille A. Brown, discusses the history of African American social dance and its impact on American performance art. Brown is known for her work on Choir Boy, Once on this Island, and Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert, as well as directing her own dance company.
Part 2: Minstrelsy Era
1. George W. Walker. "The Real "Coon" on the American Stage." The Theater Magazine Advertiser August 1906. Photocopy. From the Errol G. Hill Papers, 1800-2003. ML-77, Box 77, Folder 12.
This article, written by the famous black minstrel actor George Walker, gives insight into life as a performer during an age where the most common performance was blackface minstrelsy. Walker discusses how his partner, Bert Williams, and he revolutionized their performance style in order to break away from the negative stereotypes portrayed in blackface.
2. “Richard & Pringle, Rusco & Holland’s Big Minstrel Festival” and “The Big 4 Comedians.” Freeman 24 December 1898. From the Errol G. Hill Papers, 1800-2003. ML-77, Box 73, Folder 12.
This newspaper advertisement for two different minstrel shows is one example of the hundreds of minstrel advertisements that appeared in newspapers across America. The top advertisement is for a white minstrel group while the bottom advertisement displays a Black minstrel group.
3. Emma Forbes Waite. “Light on the Blackface Minstrel.” The Magazine Antiques April 1943. From the Errol G. Hill Papers, 1800-2003. ML-77, Box 71, Folder 4.
“Jim Crow” was a stock character that was extremely popular in blackface minstrel shows. This character became so prominent that it not only became a derogatory term for black people but also the colloquialism for the laws passed during Reconstruction to limit the freedom of Black people.
4. Black and White Slide of Billy Kersands. From the Errol G. Hill Papers, 1800-2003. ML-77, Box 82, Folder 18.
Billy Kersands was a prominent star in Black minstrel troupes in the 1860s. Kersands amazing performances had a large impact on the success for the Georgia Minstrels. By 1882 he was making $80 a week, about the same as a white minstrel. In 1885 he founded his own minstrel troupe, named Kersand’s Minstrels, which toured across the East Coast.
5. Black and White Slide of Bert Williams and George Walker. From the Errol G. Hill Papers, 1800-2003. ML-77, Box 82, Folder 18.
George Williams and Bert Williams were two important Black actors of the minstrel era. In the early 1900s they toured around Europe and America, showing Vaudeville plays such as In Dahomey, Sons of Ham, Abyssinia, and Bandana Man. Together they attempted to reclaim blackface by creating a blackface character who suffered from misfortune.
6. “Dixie to Broadway.” 1-27 February, 1977. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. From the Errol G. Hill Papers, 1800-2003. ML-77, Box 71, Folder 7.
The Met’s “Dixie to Broadway” exhibit provides a good explanation of the negative stereotypes that blackface minstrelsy created. The small exhibit catalog highlights the credentials that Black minstrels had and the difficulties that they faced.
Part 3: The New Negro Renaissance
1. Alain Locke, ed. The new Negro: An Interpretation. New York: A. and C. Boni, 1925. Rare E185.82 .L75.
The New Negro was an anthology compiled by Howard University philosophy professor and first black American Rhodes Scholar Alain Locke. The book brought together much of the theory and art that characterized the movement and the concept of the confident, proud, and artistically engaged new Negro. In The New Negro, Locke highlighted the work and ideas of the “younger generation” but also featured some of the older leaders—including a chapter by W.E.B. Dubois. The book’s beautiful portraits and illustrations were done by the White German immigrant artist Winold Reiss and Locke’s Black student Aaron Douglas—who also designed Locke’s bookplate featured in this, Locke’s own copy.
2. Marcus Garvey, ed.The Negro World. New York, NY: Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League, 1920-1933. Rare E185.5 .N3998.
Negro World was a NYC newspaper that was founded in 1918 by Marcus Garvey and Amy Ashwood. The purpose of the paper was to provide a voice to the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League, a national fraternity that was also founded by Garvey. It gave space to Black writers and artists to write about issues that permeated the black community. It also advertised Black theatre productions that took place in Harlem.
