In attaining this objective, this paper aims to discuss an exact period of African American cultural development in America, the 'Harlem Renaissance', an important period that substantially influenced the evolution of African American theater. It examines some of the factors that have contributed to the comparatively slow progression of African American theater as a subgroup of African American literature. Finally, this paper critically examines how actors, writers, and African American society strove to overcome deep-seated barriers to the growth of theater and build the groundwork for the birth of a vibrant contemporary theater.
The Harlem Renaissance, according to Cary D. Wintz, was 'mainly a literary and political movement, the precise temporal limitations of which are quite hard to recognize.' The Harlem Renaissance, also known as the 'Negro Renaissance' and the 'New Negro movement,' is sometimes described as a broad term for the societal and artistic awakening that spread among African Americans in the 20th century. Literary scholars have questioned the words 'Harlem' and 'Renaissance' with some explanation: as a literary period, it was not the awakening implied by the word 'renaissance' because it labeled the first incidence of ongoing literary and intellectual value in the United States. The Harlem Renaissance originated about 1910 and finished around the 20th century.
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The focus of the movement in New York's Harlem district allowed for the development of a mass movement of African American theatrical talent since this was the place where actors, artists, and writers went in their desire for jobs, fortune, and recognition. The first opportunity to form sustained African American support came during the Renaissance era, with the development of theaters in Harlem itself, rather than simply showing African American plays in white-prominent neighborhoods. The Lafayette and Lincoln theaters were among the eminent establishments in the early twentieth century. These theaters were flanked by nationally renowned resorts and clubs, and they were able to contribute to the era's cultural dynamism.
It was not until the culminating years of the Harlem Renaissance that two full-length black plays reached Broadway, Roger Whitlow says of the Harlem Renaissance's importance in the development of African American drama. The Broadway production of Langston Hughes's Mulatto in 1935 represented the pinnacle goal of African American achievement. Slave-performed forms such as Ring Shout, the cakewalk, tap dancing, Jig, and Buzzard Lopes, as well as the verbal play of eulogies, story-telling, and rap, form the foundation of African American theater. These elements of creative and cultural articulation strongly indicate the enslaved African American's ability to portray a wide variety of imitated behavior and play adoption, a trait made even more impressive because it was cultivated under the terrible conditions of slavery. Thus, it has been suggested that African Americans were natural actors due to the conditions of American chattel slavery.
In 1855, there was more regularity in the appearance of African-American-authored plays. Miralda, a book, was published that year. Three years later, The Escape and A Leap for Freedom were also published, and all three plays were fervent anti-slavery messages, but they were also intended as abolitionist passages rather than dramatic performances. What followed was a slew of dramatic works of varying caliber throughout the next decades. In addition to these works of 'serious theater,' there was a substantial African American involvement in 19th-century theater. The black presence was extremely noticeable in genres of play such as musicals, and humorous operas. The publication of The Underground Railroad in 1879, is also a notable example.
Racism had been a major aspect of American theater. For nearly two centuries, African Americans were not authorized to perform in plays starring white actors, even when the roles were intended to depict black people. They were also denied admittance, Even if they could afford the hefty ticket pricing, they were denied entrance to white-owned theaters. The best they could hope for was to accept segregated reserved seats, a humiliating arrangement that was maintained even when African American dramas starring black actors and actresses were shown. Some African Americans who were able to fight their way into plays had to undergo all kinds of racist acts, including boos from the audience, and all types of biased comments from white drama critiques, accompanied with various attacks and threats.
With so many dehumanizing racial stereotypes prevalent in the American theater from its inception, it's no surprise that many African American literary writers were not instantly attracted to employment in the theater. Some of the first artists were actually obliged to take positions as actors in blackface shows as they were the only ones obtainable at the time. Natural talent was just insufficient to support a flourishing theater, as was clearly apparent during the Harlem Renaissance. As a result, African Americans in the theater were in a scenario in which white people, who controlled the theaters, represented the majority of audiences and the judges of impeccable quality, dominating American theater. Many theater franchisees, producers, and audience members were not ready to have their false beliefs about African Americans disrupted by plays that aimed to portray them in a more favorable light, having been flooded with negative perceptions of African Americans generally pictured in plays. This meant that plays composed by African Americans with real creative aims had to be self-sponsored or rely on the grace of affluent sponsors to perform.
Despite the challenges they faced, African Americans in the theater took full advantage of whatever they had to accomplish their goals, tapping on the richness of their traditions in the process. In addition to these characteristics, they had a rich dance and music culture that was heavily impacted by the culture of their homeland. African American actors, directors, and authors based their efforts on establishing a successful theater legacy on these advantages. Therefore, beginning in 1910, a few small organizations began to arise in different African American communities with the goal of responding to their local communities' theatrical demands.
African American in theater gained support near the end of the Harlem Renaissance thanks to the Federal Theatre Project, a federal government program launched in 1935 as part of its comprehensive recession relief program. In order to have the greatest potential impact, the Federal Theater Project established companies all around the United States, fostered the development of community theater, performed racially diverse plays, and actively attempted to spotlight all facets of theater. These policies made the Federal Theatre Project the polar opposite of commercial theater, and its more welcoming and creative position allowed both rising and renowned African American playwrights to contribute significantly to the development of African American theater. The Federal Theatre Project's artistic independence permitted African Americans to perform plays that wouldn't have made it to the public stage. Because of the relatively low ticket rates, their production was available and affordable to African American audience members. African American theater professionals were able to get professional theatrics training.
The Federal Theater Project's good impact lasted even after it was hastily abolished by the Congress Of The United States in 1939. One of its most significant outcomes was to aid in the creation of The American Negro Theatre which was established in 1944. In addition, The American Negro Theater served to uplift playwrights, actors, and African American authored plays and productions, securing the rise of African American theatre in the post-World War II era. The phenomenal growth in the caliber and amount of plays throughout the era is possibly best exemplified by A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, which premiered in 1959.
The excellence of current African American theater is a worthy testament to the consistency and courage of the Harlem Renaissance's directors and producers, authors, actors, and playwrights.
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