Today we are going to read Ntozake Shange's choreo-poem and masterpiece For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf.
Please watch this short interview with the playwright. After viewing this video, please go to the library and pick up your script. Return any library books you owe (and are done with: for ex. Talking With)
We have been reading a series of plays where monologues play an important and powerful role in the storyline of the play. In fact, way, way, way back during the ancient Greek period (about the 5th century BCE), theatre performances began as long "choral" odes--essentially monologues where the chorus sang in what is called a dithyramb. After a while, the first actor: Thespis (actors are now called thespians) separated himself from the "chorus" and began to play various roles--and dialogue began!
When writing a play a playwright should have a purpose--a reason to write. A playwright should ask him/herself a variety of questions about his/her premise:
1. Does the play appeal to different races, genders, and regions? At its core all plays should invite a discussion about "what does it mean to be human?"
2. Why does/did the playwright want to write the play? Again this connects to having a purpose--a reason to write.
3. Is the play unique? With hundreds of thousands of plays written each year, only a few thousand are produced. Theatre is not attended as frequently as it once was. This puts considerable importance on the playwright to makes sure the play is creative/unique and offers a compelling story, interesting conflict and characters.
After you read "For Colored Girls...Enuf" please answer these questions:
1. What is the play's premise? Try to identify this in 1-2 sentences.
2. Does the play appeal to a wide audience? Explain why. Use evidence from the text.
3. What seems to be the reason Shange wrote her play?
4. Explain how the play is unique. What does Shange do in her writing or craft that sets this play apart from others? Of course, use textual evidence to support your opinion.
These questions are due next class: 9/23.
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1 comment:
Nautica Lawrence
1.) The things we do (good/bad) define our character whether it’s defining who we really are or not. Such things as defamation of our character have the potential to affect our lives and decisions, sometimes for the worst.
2.) The play does not appeal to a wide audience. It is a direct tribute to African American women and that is the focus. For example there are no male characters or any characters that are not Spanish or African American nor any mention of these people.
3.) I believe Shange wrote her play to connect with people that share the same experiences as she did.
4.) The play is unique in the way the characters are developed in that the characters don’t have a name but just an identity. In her play Shange does not obey the rules of standard English so it makes the language of her play different.
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