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Native American Theatre
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Native American Theatre Ensemble, Red Earth Theatre;
Black Elk Speaks - play
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Ira Aldridge
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African Grove actor;
Left the US and played Othello in 1833 at Royal Theatre in London;
Played every major Shakespeare role;
Never came back to US
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Amiri Baraka (AKA Leroi Jones)
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African-American playwright with extreme views;
Believed in segregation and white people are all devils;
Opened: Spirit House Movers and Playes;
Wrote: Dutchman, The Slave, The Toilet
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Paul Robeson
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African-American playwright, actor, singer, scholar;
First black solo performance (concert),
Acted in O'Neil's work, Show Boat, Othello on Broadway
Political views: Pro-Soviet Union meant gov. would not let him leave US and had to stop performing;
allowed to perform again in '58
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Charles Busch
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Gay playwright and actor;
Wrote: Vampire Lesbians of Sodom, Psycho Beach Party;
Usually starred as the female lead in his own plays
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Eduardo Machado
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Cuban playwright;
Plays generally about Cuban immigration;
Wrote: Broken Eggs, Fabiola
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The Negro (But, the other word. It's a play title)
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Written by: Edward Sheldon;
About a light-skinned black man that is elected governor and cannot fight racism because his constituents would discover he is black.
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David Henry Hwang
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Asian American playwright;
Wrote: M. Butterfly
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Lorraine Hansberry
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African-American playwright;
Wrote: A Raisin in the Sun
First black female playwright on Broadway
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Free Southern Theatre
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Richard Schechner, John O'Neil, Gil Moses;
Brought free high quality theatre to rural southern towns
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Theatres of Diversity
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African American, Asian American, female playwrights, gay and lesbian, hispanic
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Maria Irene Fornes
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Wrote: Mud, Promenade, Fefu and Her Friends
Queen of Off & Off-Off Broadway;
Known for her wide variety non-commercial theatre
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Mauland Ron Karenya
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Black extreme political activist;
Believed black plays should always show the unfairness of American Dream;
Came up with 7 requisites for black culture;
Invented Kwanzaa
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Langston Hughes
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African-American playwright, poet, novelist;
Wrote: Mulatto, Soul Gone Home
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Tony Kushner
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Gay playwright, theorist, and critic;
Wrote: Angels in America
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Bert Williams and George Walker
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Acting duo known for vaudeville style;
Performed in In Dahomey - the first black musical on Broadway in 1902
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Gay and Lesbian Theatre
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Written BY AND FOR gays and lesbians;
Goes beyond stereotype and tends to be about identity and society vs. culture
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African Grove
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First black theatre company in US;
Formed in 1820 by William Brown and James Hewlett;
Police intervened when they made white audience members sit in the back
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Charles Ludlum
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Director of The Ridiculous Theatre Company;
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Bob Cole and William Johnson
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Collaborated on the composition of first black American musical comedy in 1898
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Harvey Fierstein
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Gay actor and playwright;
Wrote: Torch Song Trilogy
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Mart Cowley
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Gay playwright in the late 60's;
Wrote: Boys in the Band, which is now considered opressive
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Luis Valdez
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Mexican-American playwright;
Postmodern and commedia dell'arte influences;
Did shows at farms for migrant workers;
Worked with San Francisco Mime Troop;
Wrote: Zoot Suit [First Mexican playwright on Broadway]
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Terrence McNally
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Gay playwright;
Wrote: Corpus Christi, Compassion!
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Nilo Cruz
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Cuban Playwright;
Wrote: Anna and the Tropics
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Milcha Sanchez-Scott
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First successful Hispanic playwright;
Wrote: Roosters, Dog Lady
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Slit Britches
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Gay and lesbian theatre company;
Founded by: Lois Weaver, Peggy Shaw, Deb Margolin
Known for: Belle Reprieve - lesbian Streetcar Named Desire
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Jose Rivera
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Puerto Rican playwright;
Wrote: Marisol, References to Salvidor Dali Make Me Hot
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Ethel Waters
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Black actress known for her work on Broadway, film, and music;
"Sweet Mama Stringbean;"
One of the most recognized faces on Broadway
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Lafayette Players
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Founded by: Anita Bush and Lester Walton in Harlem;
Did a new show every week;
Proved black actors can portray real characters
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Suzan-Lori Parks
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African-American playwright;
Wrote: The Imperceptible Mutabilities of the Third Kingdom, The America Play, Death of the Last Black Man in America, Topdog/Underdog
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Scott Joplin
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King of Ragtime (Composer);
Wrote a series of musical revues;
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Willis Richardson
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Wrote: The Chip Woman's Fortune in 1923;
First black playwright on Broadway
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Negro Ensemble Company
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Douglas Turner Edward, Robert Hooks;
Focused on training actors;
Criticized for selling out to whites
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Stonewall Riots
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Police tried to close Stonewall, gay and lesbian hangout in NY. Rioters fought police. Considered the beginning of the gay rights movement
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August Wilson
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Bi-Racial playwright;
Grand Design: Write one play for each decade of the 20th century, usually family drama;
Wrote: Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, Fences
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