skip to main
|
skip to sidebar
Monday, April 30, 2007
Art is in the DNA of Species Memory
There is a book which I would like to recommend to all of you. It's called MAN'S RAGE FOR CHAOS and it's by Philosopher Morse Peckham of the University of South Carolina.
While my interpretation of Professor Peckham's theory is not a substitute for reading the book, allow me to share with you my understanding of the issue he addresses.
Peckham postulates that the Universe is chaotic and that those humans who are "artists" actually serve as the antennae of the species, that they are hyper sensitive and able to perceive changes in the impending chaos. To me the clearest historical manifestation of this lies in the art & writing of European artists just prior to and immediately after World War Two - cubism, abstract art, symbolism and, in the theater, absurdism. These radical and abrupt shifts in human aesthetics upset the world - but not nearly as much as the violence and pathology of Hitler's Germany and, subsequently, the oppressive domain of the USSR. In both cases, the writing was on the wall and artists put it there.
From my study of MANS RAGE FOR CHAOS, I have come to believe that the true artist is one who wakes up at 3am obsessed by an idea or an image and commits to bringing that obsession into some form of symbolic outreach. At the end of this process, the poor (but blessed) artist is quite often a wreck. For this reason, I believe that there are two things that true art does not wait for. One is permission. The other is money.
Where do scripts belong? Not in drawers or on shelves - not those of the artist, not those of the literary departments of theaters. Scripts belong in the hands of actors.
One reason New York theater is propelled the way it is is because, after 10 or 15 unsuccessful auditions, actors take the initiative. I can't tell you how many of the most powerful productions I saw in NYC were generated by actors who grew tired of waiting for permission. I saw the same thing in Atlanta in the 1980's, when that city enjoyed and benefited from an organization called Actors in Renaissance and when Manuel's Tavern was filled every Friday and Saturday night after performances by pretty much every actor, director and playwright in town. The theatrical community was such an important part of Manuel's clientele that the tavern began presenting Shakespeare in the back room. From that evolved The Atlanta Shakespeare Festival. Sad to say, the Nashville theater community does not enjoy that kind of energy - so far - and I would be interested to know what the acting climate is like in other cities. And of course we constantly undermine our own communities by perpetuating the assumption that "If you were any good, you'd be in New York" If you're any good, people, you're "any good" where ever you are. Talent is not a geographical phenomenon. Let us at least respect ourselves and our colleagues and empower one another within our own communities.
While there is great reward in having a director or producer take a fit over your script, nothing compares to handing a script to an actor who is perfect for a role and knows it. Almost every production of my work has resulted from an actor's commitment to the script. The actor can be your greatest ally.
After the dramaturg, of course.
Jaz Dorsey
Founder
Newer Posts
Home
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Followers
Playwrights and Members On The Web (251)
Aaron Woolfolk
Adam P. Kennedy
Adriana Rogers
Adrienne Dawes
Aishah Rahman
Alan Aymie
Alan Sharpe
Alexander Simmons
Alice Childress
Amina Henry
Amiri Baraka
Andre R. Hogan II
Anna Deavere Smith
Antoinette Nwandu
April Yvette Thompson
Arthur W. French III
August Wilson
Aurin Squire
Ayanna Maia
Barbara K. Asaare-Bediako
Barbara Molette
Barry Scott
Benja K Thomas
Benjamin V Marshall
Bernard Cummings
Betty Chaney
Bill Harris
Bonnie Greer
Brigid Turner
C.B. Murray
Calvin Ramsey
Camille Darby
Carlton Mollete
Cassandra Medley
Charlayne Woodard
Charles Fuller
Charles Gordone
Cheryl Hall
Cheryl L West
Christina Anderson
Christina Ham
Christine Jean Chambers
Clinnesha D. Sibley
Crystal Rhodes
D.C. Copeland
Danai Gurira
Daniel Beaty
Daniel W. Owens
Danny Mullen
Dara J. Bragg
Darryl Reuben Hall
David D. Wright
David Emerson Toney
Debora Asiimwe
Denise Flemming
Derek Lee McPhatter
Dominic Taylor
Dominique Morisseau
Douglas Turner Ward
Dr. Daniel Banks
Ed Bullins
Edgar Nkosi White
Eisa Davis
Ekundayo Bandele
Elizabeth Andrews Zitelli
Elizabeth Van Dyke
Ella Turenne
Eric Charles McGee
Erma Clanton
Esther Armah
Evan Guilford Blake
Farrell Foreman
Felton Perry
France-Luce Benson
Frank E Dobson Jr
Franz Reynold
Fred Thomas, Jr
Garlia Cornelia Jones
George Brome
George C. Wolfe
Germono Toussaint
Gertrude Hadley Jeannette
Glenn Alan
Glenville Lovell
Glory Van Scott
Gregory L Hudson
Gregory S. Carr
Gus Edwards
Henry Meyerson
Henry Miller
Herb Newsome
Hershell Norwood
Ina Norris
Iona Morris
Issa Rae
J.E. Franklin
Jackie Alexander
Jackie Sibblies Drury
Jacquay Waller
Jacqueline Lawton
James Baldwin
James deJongh
James Scruggs
Jamie J Brunson
Janine Nabers
Javon Johnson
Je'Caryous Johnson
Jeff Stetson
Jene India
Jennifer Nelson
Jerome A. Parker
Jerome Preston Bates
Jesse Cameron Alick
Jocelyn Bioh
John ADEkoje
Joy Jones
Julie Dash
Julie Hebert
Julie Whitney Scott
Kalamu ya Salaam
Kamilah Forbes
Karen Evans
Katori Hall
Keith Antar Mason
Keith Josef Adkins
Kelly Nicole Girod
Kenneth B. Davis
Kermit Frazier
Kevin R. Free
Kia Corthron
Kim Brundidge
Kimmika L.H. Willams Witherspoon
Kirsten Greenidge
Klehotas Tshyre
Kymberle Joseph
La'Chris Jordan
Latonia Phipps
Laurence Holder
Laurie Carlos
Lawrence Floyd
Layon Gray
Lenard Starks
Leslie Lee
Levy Lee Simon
Lisa B. Thompson
Lisa Giordono
Lois A. Wiley
Lonne Elder III
Lorey Hayes
Lydia Diamond
Lynn Nottage
Marcinho Savant
Marcus Gardley
Mariann Aalda
Mario Farwell
Marion J. Caffey
Marsha Trice
Mary McCallum
Marylene S. Whitehead
Melissa "Nubian Sun" Green
Melissa Maxwell
Melvin Van Peebles
Michael Ajakwe
Michael Bradford
Michael Dinwiddie
Michael McKeever
Michael Walker
Mignon McPherson Stewart
Mustapha Matura
Mwalim 7
Nathan James
Nathan John Yungerberg
Nathan Louis Jackson
Nathan Ross Freeman
Neil Barclay
Nial Martin
Nichole Thompson-Adams
Nicole C. Kearney
Nikkole Salter
November Dawn
Okoro Harold Johnson
Oni Faida Lampley
Owa
Oyamo
Patricia Ione Lloyd
Paul A. Notice II
Paul Carter Harrison
Pearl Cleage
Perri Gaffney
Peter J Harris
Peter Lawson Jones
Petronia Paley
Philip Hayes Dean
Pia Wilson
PJ Gibson
Psalmayene 24
Ralph Harris
Regina Taylor
Reginald Edmund
Renita Martin
Rha Goddess
Rhada Blank
Ricardo Khan
Richard Wesley
Rob Penny
Robbie McCauley
Robert Alexander
Robert O'Hara
Roger Guenveur Smith
Ron Milner
Ronald McCants
Ronald Wyche
Roy Berko
Rudy Gray
S. Pearl Sharp
S. Robert Morgan
Sabura Rashid
Samm-Art Williams
Sandra Gibson
Sean O'Leary
Sharon Ewell Foster
Sharon J. Willis
Shaun Neblett
Shawn Whitsell
Shay Youngblood
Sherry Boone
Sheryl Lee Ralph
Sloan Robinson
Stanice Anderson
Stephanie Lynn Wilson
Steve Carter
Steve Harper
Suzan Lori Parks
Talvin Wilks
Ted Lange
Thulani Davis
Tony Robinson
Tracey Scott Wilson
Trey Ellis
Tyler Perry
Useni Eugene Perkins
Valetta Anderson
Von Washington
Wesley Brown
William a. Parker
Women of Color-Women of Words
Yayoi Winfrey
Yusef Miller
Yvette Heyliger
Zeretha Jenkins
Zoey Martinson
Playwrights and Members On The Web PART 2 (16)
Cheryl L Davis
Clare Coss
Deaon Griffin-Pressley
Joseph A Walker
Judi Ann Mason
Kathleen Collins
Khalil Kain
Leah Maddrie
Marcus Gardley
Maya Angelou
Ntare Mwine
Richard E Waits
Shaun Neblett
Shawn C. Harris
W. Tré Davis
Playwrights and Members (44)
Tyla Abercrumbie
Jacqueline Taylor Adams
Meshaun Labrone Arnold
Eugene Ashe
Joan M. Baker
Deah Bart
Stephanie Berry
Joseph Blake
Michael Bobbitt
Michael Bradford
Cornell H. Calhoun, III
Carmencita
Gregory Carr
Ron M. Daniels
Harriet A Dickey
Gail Wynn Huland El
Porcha Evans
Melissa Gordon
Louise Gray
Carletta Hunt
Imelda Hunt
Esiaba Irobi
Ebony Johnson
Stephen L Long
Dennis McIntire
Nanna "Nick" Mwaluko
Connie Norwood
Michael Oatman
Tiffany Parks
Daryl Roberts
Candy Robins
Charles Rule
Damion Sanders
Nykeva Sledge
Mark Clayton Southers
Tennrence Spivey
Eugenia Sweeney
Emmitt Thrower
James Anthony Tyler
Nnenna Ukwu
Reenie Upchurch
Ajene Washington
Anthony Lamar White
Jamal Williams
African American Theatre Companies (91 with links)
African American Drama Company (San Francisco)
African American Performing Arts Community Theater (Miami)
African Continuum Theatre (DC)
African-American Shakespere Company (San Francisco)
Amas Musical Theatre (NYC)
American Negro Playwright Theatre (Nashville)
Amun Ra Theatre (Nashville)
Anthony Bean Theater Company (New Orleans)
b Current Theatre Company (Toronto)
Billie Holiday Theatre (Brooklyn)
Black Academy of Arts and Letters (Dallas)
Black Ensemble Theater (Chicago)
Black Spectrum Theatre (Jamaica, NY)
Black Theatre Troupe (Phoenix)
Black Women Playwrights' Group (DC)
Blacken Blues Theater (Dallas)
Bushfire Theatre Company (Philadelphia)
Carpetbag Theatre (Knoxville)
Cincinnati Black Theatre Company
Classical Theatre of Harlem
Collards and Caviar Productions (Nashville)
Congo Square Theatre Company (Chicago)
Crossroads Theatre Company (New Brunswick)
Cultural Odyssey (San Francisco)
Ebony Repertory Theatre (LA)
Effusion Theatre Company (LA)
Emerald Entertainment (Cleveland)
Ensemble Studio Theatre (NYC)
Ensemble Theater (Houston)
ETA (Chicago)
Evelyn Graves Drama Productions (Philadelphia)
Forbidden Fruit Theatre Company (Los Angeles)
Freedom Theatre (Philadelphia)
Freedom Train Productions (Brooklyn)
Hansberry Project at ACT (Seattle)
Harlem Stage
Hattiloo Theatre (Memphis)
Ikam Productions (Decatur, GA)
Impact Repertory Theatre (NYC)
InnerAct Productions (Brooklyn)
iTheatre Collaborative (Phoenix)
Jubilee Theatre (Ft. Worth)
Jump Start Theatre Company (San Antonio)
Juneteenth Legacy Theatre (Louisville)
Karamu House (Cleveland)
Kuntu Repertory Theatre (Pittsburgh)
Kuumba Players (DC)
Langston Hughes Cultural Arts Center (Seattle)
Lorraine Hansberry Theatre (San Francisco)
Los Angeles African American Repertory Company
M Ensemble (Miami)
Ma'at Association of African Centered Theatre (MPAACT) (Chicago)
Mad River Theater Works (West Liberty, OH)
Mahogany Project (Seattle)
Mixed Blood Theatre (Minneapolis)
Movement Theatre Company (NYC)
National Black Theatre (Harlem)
Negro Ensemble Company (NYC)
New African Grove Theatre (Atlanta)
New Federal Theatre (NYC)
New Heritage Theater (NYC)
New Jomandi Theatre (Atlanta)
New Professional Theatre (NYC)
New Works Writers Series (Toledo, OH)
New World Theater (Amherst, MA)
North Carolina Black Repertory Company (Winston-Salem)
Obsidian Theatre (Canada)
Opera Ebony (NYC)
Penumbra Theatre Company (Minneapolis)
People's Theatre (Orlando)
Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Company
Plowshares Theater Company (Detroit)
Providence Black Repertory Company (RI)
Riant Theatre (NYC)
Rites and Reason Theatre (Providence, RI)
Robey Theatre Company (LA)
Shadow Theatre Company (Denver)
Stage Aurora (Jacksonville, FL)
Take Wings and Soar (NYC)
The Black Rep (St. Louis)
The Essential Theatre (DC)
THEARC (DC)
Theate South Atlanta
Towne Street Theatre (LA)
True Colors Theatre Company (Atlanta)
Ujima Theatre Company (Buffalo)
Unity Theatre Company (St. Louis)
Wabi Sabi Productions (NYC)
Washington Productions (Kalamazoo)
Watts Village Theater Company (LA)
Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe (Sarasota)
African American Theatre College Programs
Kuntu Repertory Theatre (Univ. of Pittsburgh)
New World Theater (Univ. of Mass-- Amherst)
Rites and Reason Theatre, Brown Univ. (Providence, RI)
University of Louisville
African American Cultural Organizations
African Family Film Foundation
AfroSolo
August Wilson Center for African American Culture
Black Gives Back
Black Story Tellers
Dwyer Cultural Center (Harlem)
ETA (Chicago)
Frank Silvera Writers Workshop
Harlem Arts Alliance
Langston Hughes Cultural Arts Center (Seattle)
National Black Theatre
National Black Theatre Festival
Project 1 Voice
Resources
AACT Playwriting Contests
AAPEX Archives: The Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee Theatre Research Institute at Ohio State University
African Burial Ground
Black 2 Broadway
Black Drama
Black Film
Black Hollywood Education & Resource Center
Black Scholarships and Grants
Black Screenplays
Black Talent News
Black Theatre Network
Black Theatre Workshop (Canada)
Black Women Playwrights' Group (DC)
BlackFlix
BlackTV247.com
Bridges Black Theatre/Education Links
Broadway Space
Broadway University
Burryman's Play Contests List
Clyde Fitch Report
Comedy Plays
Contemporary African American Female Playwrights (Book)
Doollee
Dramatists Guild
eLIFE Magazine
En Avant Playwrights Message Board
GBM News
History Makers
Internet Broadway Database
Keeping African American Culture Alive
Martha's Vineyard African American Film Festival
National New Play Network
NYC Playwrights
One Stop African American Resource Links
Organization of Black Screenwriters
Pitch Central
Plays By Women RSS Feed
Playwriting Opportunities
Production Scripts
Sonia Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History Library
Soul of the American Actor
Stageplays Forum Markets and Marketing
The Harlem Swing Dance Society
We Go Centric
Women of Color, Women of Words
Yahoo! Group: Plays and Playwrights
Blog Archive
►
2019
(1)
►
June
(1)
►
2016
(12)
►
May
(5)
►
February
(3)
►
January
(4)
►
2015
(38)
►
November
(2)
►
October
(5)
►
August
(1)
►
May
(8)
►
April
(5)
►
March
(5)
►
February
(8)
►
January
(4)
►
2014
(44)
►
December
(4)
►
November
(4)
►
October
(5)
►
September
(3)
►
August
(3)
►
July
(6)
►
June
(2)
►
May
(3)
►
April
(1)
►
March
(3)
►
February
(4)
►
January
(6)
►
2013
(185)
►
November
(7)
►
October
(30)
►
September
(14)
►
August
(24)
►
July
(10)
►
June
(10)
►
May
(22)
►
April
(22)
►
March
(21)
►
February
(10)
►
January
(15)
►
2012
(271)
►
December
(16)
►
November
(13)
►
October
(25)
►
September
(21)
►
August
(29)
►
July
(20)
►
June
(29)
►
May
(35)
►
April
(28)
►
March
(19)
►
February
(17)
►
January
(19)
►
2011
(140)
►
December
(9)
►
November
(13)
►
October
(23)
►
September
(32)
►
August
(15)
►
July
(5)
►
June
(9)
►
May
(6)
►
April
(1)
►
March
(4)
►
February
(11)
►
January
(12)
►
2010
(191)
►
December
(2)
►
November
(2)
►
June
(25)
►
May
(39)
►
April
(24)
►
March
(47)
►
February
(25)
►
January
(27)
►
2009
(492)
►
December
(36)
►
November
(24)
►
October
(36)
►
September
(26)
►
August
(40)
►
July
(42)
►
June
(61)
►
May
(51)
►
April
(36)
►
March
(42)
►
February
(52)
►
January
(46)
►
2008
(157)
►
December
(21)
►
November
(26)
►
October
(16)
►
September
(3)
►
August
(4)
►
July
(6)
►
June
(3)
►
May
(14)
►
April
(15)
►
March
(12)
►
February
(23)
►
January
(14)
▼
2007
(152)
►
December
(1)
►
November
(11)
►
October
(22)
►
September
(14)
►
August
(23)
►
July
(24)
►
June
(22)
►
May
(34)
▼
April
(1)
Art is in the DNA of Species Memory