Dutchman D-File
Audience Engagement
About Our Production
Our production will be set in the year it first premiered, 1964. All design elements will be inspired by Baraka's stage directions, "subway heaped in modern myth," so though they appear incredible realistic their details will stretch towards mythology and parable. For example, Lula's net bag will fit the style of the net bags of 1964 but might be made with rope that looks much more like it belongs on a ship rather than a bag. The set design of the subway might appear like an exact replica of a 1964 New York Subway, but lighting and color choice will add a ghoulish unsettling feeling. Our Costume Designer will utilize textures and patterns that appear basic or normal from 20ft away but might not be quite right if witnessed in close proximity. For example, perhaps Clay's tie is patterned with skulls inspired by Lula's line, "you look like death eating a soda cracker." The conductor's costume might take inspirations from the originally costuming used by Daddy Rice for his impersonation of Jim Crow inspired by Baraka's stage direction, "doing a sort of restrained soft shoe" (38).
We hope to use Dutchman to bring to light race relations in America today. By choosing to set Dutchman in 1964, we hope to provide a barrier that will allow the audience to better receive its message. With our very straight telling we hope to have the audience thinking about how relevant the work is 55 years later.
We will make several very subtle gestures to remind the audience that there is still work to be done in achieving racial equality. One thing that will bring Dutchman into the present is that there will be a pack of skittles and a bottle of Arizona iced tea as trash on the subway. These are the items that Trayvon Martin was carrying when he was killed by police and they have become a symbol of police brutality towards the black community. There is also several references to newspapers in the stage directions. This seems like a good way to make a subtle bridge that will not distract from the action. There are several headlines from the New York Times that could be useful: “MALCOLM X SEES RISE IN VIOLENCE; Says Negroes Are Ready to Act in Self‐Defense” from March 13 1964. If other newspaper is needed, as subway trash perhaps, “Martin Luther King Is Slain in Memphis; A White Is Suspected; Johnson Urges Calm” from April 5th 1968 or “The L.A. Riots 25 Years Later: A Return to the Epicenter” from April 17th 2017 would do. As Villanova’s library has a subscription to the Times, it would be fairly simple to reprint these cover pages from the Time’s digital archive.
We hope to use Dutchman to bring to light race relations in America today. By choosing to set Dutchman in 1964, we hope to provide a barrier that will allow the audience to better receive its message. With our very straight telling we hope to have the audience thinking about how relevant the work is 55 years later.
We will make several very subtle gestures to remind the audience that there is still work to be done in achieving racial equality. One thing that will bring Dutchman into the present is that there will be a pack of skittles and a bottle of Arizona iced tea as trash on the subway. These are the items that Trayvon Martin was carrying when he was killed by police and they have become a symbol of police brutality towards the black community. There is also several references to newspapers in the stage directions. This seems like a good way to make a subtle bridge that will not distract from the action. There are several headlines from the New York Times that could be useful: “MALCOLM X SEES RISE IN VIOLENCE; Says Negroes Are Ready to Act in Self‐Defense” from March 13 1964. If other newspaper is needed, as subway trash perhaps, “Martin Luther King Is Slain in Memphis; A White Is Suspected; Johnson Urges Calm” from April 5th 1968 or “The L.A. Riots 25 Years Later: A Return to the Epicenter” from April 17th 2017 would do. As Villanova’s library has a subscription to the Times, it would be fairly simple to reprint these cover pages from the Time’s digital archive.
A Journey To Time Past
We decided to invest a good deal of effort into explicating the social context that gave rise to Dutchman. We also believe placing this play in context will make our production more valuable. We believe it is essential to try to build the social and political world of the 1964 Black liberation movement. Specifically, the power of Dutchman’s violent climax may be misunderstood if the audience is not aware of the debate among Civil Rights leaders between non-violence and attaining equality "by any means necessary."
Lobby Display
The lobby will be set up like a museum. The walls will be covered with a visual timeline of the 1930s - 1960s offering the audience an opportunity to gain larger context around the events Clay and Lula would have lived through. The timeline will also note when Dutchman first premieres as if to give the audience a "you are here" spot on the timeline map. Major events of African-American history will be listed and photographs will help punctuate the line.
In an effort to create a more holistic experience, patrons will be invited to download our Dutchman app where they can experience an "auditory timeline" of recorded speeches, poems, interviews, etc. from decades leading up to the 1960s. We will offer headphones available for rent in a basket at the center of the lobby. For the 1930s, we will offer interviews with former slaves recorded by The Federal Writers Project. For the 1940s, we will include works of Langston Hughes and periodical publications of Zora Neal Hurston. For the 1950s, we will include selections from the Digital Library of Georgia’s “Civil Rights Oral History Interviews.” For the 1960s, we will feature poetry of our beloved playwright, Amiri Baraka, as well as Malcolm X's "Ballot or the Bullet" and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have A Dream." Words of Baraka's we are considering include his reading of "The Revolutionary Theatre," "Black Art," "Dope," "Why Is We Americans," and "It's Nation Time." We will also include poetry by Sonia Sanchez such as "Blk/Wooomen/ chant," "Black Magic," and "What does it mean to be human?"
Created with the in-kind support of Software Engineer students, our Dutchman app will also allow audience members to explore an mobile version of the dramaturgical website offering them opportunities to learn more about the context surrounding Dutchman with a tap of their finger.
In an effort to create a more holistic experience, patrons will be invited to download our Dutchman app where they can experience an "auditory timeline" of recorded speeches, poems, interviews, etc. from decades leading up to the 1960s. We will offer headphones available for rent in a basket at the center of the lobby. For the 1930s, we will offer interviews with former slaves recorded by The Federal Writers Project. For the 1940s, we will include works of Langston Hughes and periodical publications of Zora Neal Hurston. For the 1950s, we will include selections from the Digital Library of Georgia’s “Civil Rights Oral History Interviews.” For the 1960s, we will feature poetry of our beloved playwright, Amiri Baraka, as well as Malcolm X's "Ballot or the Bullet" and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have A Dream." Words of Baraka's we are considering include his reading of "The Revolutionary Theatre," "Black Art," "Dope," "Why Is We Americans," and "It's Nation Time." We will also include poetry by Sonia Sanchez such as "Blk/Wooomen/ chant," "Black Magic," and "What does it mean to be human?"
Created with the in-kind support of Software Engineer students, our Dutchman app will also allow audience members to explore an mobile version of the dramaturgical website offering them opportunities to learn more about the context surrounding Dutchman with a tap of their finger.
Pre-Show Music
Before the show, audience members will take an auditory journey through history listening to African American Blues music in chronological order beginning in 1899 and ending with Nina Simone's "Mississippi Goddamn" in 1964. The music will begin when the lobby opens, one hour before the show.
|
|
Speaker's Night
Our speaker will reflect on the historical and social context surrounding Dutchman.
Post-Show Discussions
We will follow every performance with a post-show discussion to offer the audience a communal space in which to process and discuss their collective and individual experience of the play. A dramaturg and moderator would be present for every discussion and actors would be welcomed and invited to join as well. We hope this will allow our audiences to have meaningful conversations surrounding the piece and where we are with race relations in America today.
Pre-Show Talk
We will offer one pre-show discussion to discuss whether or not much has changed in race relations in America from 1619, when the first Dutch ship brought slaves to Jamestown, to 1964, when our play takes place, to today.
Blog Posts
Dramaturges will create blog posts commenting and reflecting on the rehearsal process.
Short Educational Videos
We will create short educational videos, with the assistance of professors in order to provide further context for our audience. We will focus on discussion topics such as the historical context leading up to 1964 to help audience members understand the understandable rage inside of Clay. We will also ask professors to comment on the allegorical interpretation of the play and invite the audience to see for themselves what exactly Baraka may have meant when his poetry comes to life in Dutchman.
Any Changes to the V-File?
We would replace the final image with the show poster. We are also open to changes and suggestions based on feedback from the Director and our Dramaturgy professor.
Budget
We will use $100 to purchase headphones for audience members to use to listen to the audio clips available on our Dutchman app before the show. Once the run of the show is complete, these can be given to the box office to be used for assisted listening devices. We will use the remaining $100 any printing, copyright and/or supplies needed for the timeline lobby display.
EXPENSE COST
HEADPHONES $100
PRINTING/ SUPPLIES $100
TOTAL $200
EXPENSE COST
HEADPHONES $100
PRINTING/ SUPPLIES $100
TOTAL $200
Program Note Explanation
Both dramaturges created program notes individually. Thus, we have decided to create two separate explanations for each of our individual program notes. These can be found under "Program Material" underneath our respective Program Notes.
Audience Engagement_Dutchman | |
File Size: | 1973 kb |
File Type: |