Essay on African theatre - 1586 Words

West African Theater Shreyang Prajapati Intermediate Theatre Period 3 09/12/13 African theatre is composed of live performances in which the action are carefully planned to give a powerful sense of drama through large actions and it comes from sub-Saharan Africa. African theatre is influenced by African dramatic traditions and Western theatre. The influence of Western styles originates from European presence, European education , and the artists training outside of Africa. The magnitude of foreign influence varies from country to country. This influence slowed the development of African theatre in Zimbabwe. For example, productions continued to exemplify Western theatre. The Afrocentricity in West Africa in†¦show more content†¦and Wole Soyinka. Ola and Wole spent many years as university playwrights/directors and their ability to stage their own works led them to have a strong theatric skill set. Wole Soyinka was a brilliant critic and satirist who was the first African to win the Nobel Prize for Literature in 86 was regarded as Africa’s best writer. His art reflects the difficulties facing an African playwright writing in English. He moved from naturalistic treatment of his subjects to the Yoruba view of subjects. His early satires The Trials of Brother Jero (1960) and Lion and the Jewel (1963) are popular with all English-speaking audiences. However the philosophical and verbal complexities in his later works are aimed at the select few. Death and the King’s Horseman (1975) and The Strong Breed (1963) are focused on the impact of cultural conflict. On the other hand, Soyinka’s political satires, such as Kongi’s Harvest (1965), are both raw and entertainment focused. A Dance of the Forests (1963) and The Road (1965) described the complicated dramatic paradoxes of African life through the Yoruba myths. Secondly, Soyinka criticized the myth of the glorious African past by rejecting the African concept that the revival of African culture has to come from African cultural heritage to be made for and performed to celebrate the Nigerian independence of October 1960. His drama became pessimistic after the civil war inShow MoreRelatedAfrican American Theatre And American Theater1902 Words   |  8 PagesAfrican-American Theatre has gone through exponential changes throughout the course of American history. They have made a push towards defining theatre for a whole of African-American culture. In doing so, African-American actors, directors, technicians, and theatre entrepreneurs strive to be the very best in their field and â€Å"create a true American theatre† (Miller 335). The theatre challenges thespians to hold onto their roots but branch out and mingle with the culture of today. The African-AmericanRead MoreTheatre As A Form Of Entertainment1460 Words   |  6 PagesTheatre is the activity or profession of acting in, producing, directing, or writing plays. Theatre is where playwrights produce plays, directors manage rehearsals and actors enact on stage. The coming together of all those components make up theatre, but there’s also a small piece missing. Theatre is complete when an audience comes together to experience the play. Theatre to many people is a form of entertainment. Just like no w a days people go to the movies to indulge in a form of amusement, that’sRead MoreFences, By Eileen J. Morris968 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"Fences† is a theatre play run at Ensemble Theatre, located in Houston and it was written by August Wilson and directed by Eileen J. Morris. Fences is the African-American story of a black family trying to settle in the middle of the American Pittsburgh urban area in the 1950s. Wilson made special attention to the details of the time and brought them to the present, in a nice and original everyday production. Fences play starts on a Friday, when Troy and Bono go to Troy s house as usual for theirRead MoreAnalysis Of Paul Green Theatre At Detroit 67 And Took My Seat On Stage Right1732 Words   |  7 PagesWhen I walked into Paul Green Theatre to watch Detroit ‘67 and took my seat on stage right, my first thought was this story is going to be entirely depressing. The scene was a dingy living space of a family in the 1960’s with a cold concrete floor that served as a modest barrier between the stage and audience along with a dimly lit single room containing a couch and a record player in the front of the stage. I could almost feel the chilly aura being emitted from the concrete floor and poorly-paintedRead MoreInformative Outline on Nuclear Energy1257 Words   |  6 PagesTheatre Review Form ------------------------------------------------- Instructions ------------------------------------------------- 1. Your WOTA instructor will have provided you with details on the event and what they expect for proof of attendance. It would be a good idea to have this review form handy so that you know the questions you’ll be answering. Give yourself enough time to get seated and settled before the performance. ------------------------------------------------- 2. Do notRead MoreMexican Women in Mexican Revolution736 Words   |  3 Pagesit never took place. Eventhough, the injurious tragedy of events have not only been recorded in history books, but is an embeded trench in the memory in each mind of its survivors! In summary, I am reminded through Soldaderas that not only do African Americans have an enriching history of Kings, and Queens succumed by slavery resulting in a past that is rooted in shame. But, that every ethnic culture has a rich history that has experienced continual rape and molestation through the perpetuatorsRead MoreAnalysis Of I Will Point Out How Valerie Curtis Newton Directed Brothers ``1285 Words   |  6 Pagescomes to theatre as they are the artist who develop the characters, dialogue, theme, and the story of a play. However, playwriting is restricted to dialogue and stage directions so it is up to the director to have the artistic vision to transform the play script into a production. In this paper, I will point out how Valerie Curtis-Newton directed Sons, a play written by Oni Faida Lampley, with regards to the theatre size, actors, and different production aspects. Sons revolves around an African-AmericanRead MoreBiography Of Hairspray At Toby s Dinner Theatre1329 Words   |  6 PagesPrompt A The last play I went to was Hairspray at Toby’s Dinner Theatre in Columbia when I was 12.After reading the syllabus for class, I was very excited to see a theatrical performance especially at the age I am now because I’ll understand it more. I thought that the Bluest Eye was a beautiful, informative and expressive performance. I went in with an open mind because I didn’t know what to expect. After reading some Toni Morrison’s books which are filled with a imagery and surprises, I was veryRead MoreA Dance of the Forest4738 Words   |  19 PagesExistence: Myths and Rituals in Wole Soyinka’s Theatre Rosa Figueiredo, Polytecnic of Guarda, Portugal Abstract: The citation for Soyinka’s 1986 Nobel prize for literature reads: â€Å"Who in a wide cultural perspective and with poetic overtones, fashions the drama of existence†. The â€Å"wide cultural perspective† mentioned refers to the fact that Soyinka’s writings, especially the dramas for which he is best known, are at once deeply rooted in traditional African expressive and performance forms like mythsRead MoreProblems and Prospects of Theatre Entrepreneurship in the Nigerian Economy2129 Words   |  9 PagesPROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS OF THEATRE ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN THE NIGERIAN ECONOMY Afolabi Taiwo Okunola (Department of Theatre Film Arts, University of Jos, Nigeria) Abstract The business of theatre management is business of management. It is a culmination of the directive principles, canons and protocols governing theatre and management together to form a formidable team which thus makes a theatre entrepreneur. Being a theatre entrepreneur in Nigeria entails many dilemmas, challenges and hurdles. Thus