Successive thoughts and ideas up to 7/28
------------------------
7/28 New & revised ideas
David's idea for representing race: Instead of stocking masks, masks over makeup; the masks could be changed and would represent specific race, but the makeup (not seen till the end?) would look as if the skin had been peeled away leaving the red musculature underneath. So race could be "taken off" but only by literally peeling away the face.
REALLY INTERESTING. POSSIBLE?
--------------------------
7/28
Changes after meeting with Don & Bev:
Definite: build out apron only to 2nd row (level with stage) and move audience risers upstage so that more of the acting area is on the stage (but still get two sections of audience facing each other.
Possible: costumes would all be built (since we don't have much appropriate to pull) and would use only red, black, and white as colors; basic undergarment might incorporate those colors but with different patterns for each actor.
Costume add-ons and props could be oversized (parody)
Possible: thrones might incorporate video monitors, perhaps above and behind Kings' head to suggest that the image is what they are seeing; another possibility: Kings are effigies, seated in thrones, with video heads.
Possible: a wireless microphone is built into a large prop (an oversized quill pen?) which would amplify the voice of whoever held it; this person would have The Voice and other would not. Voice = power. Voice = literary power. David's point: someone writes the accounts of what happens (the victors write the histories). Those deprived of voice are forgotten (black Omoinda).
What if white characters could speak (and their race was represented by white, white makeup) but black and indian characters wore stocking masks and their voices were read by "readers"?
And what if the Readers brandished enormous quill pens?
------------------------
7/26 IDEA:
1) performance opens with Lucy/Welldon scene "played straight" (makeup, no masks)
2) scene interrupted by shouts from audience for Kings
3) Manager appears, begs for silence; then, either (1) 4 Kings in costume brought from audience and placed on thrones; or (2) total break in action and 4 audience members invited up from house (raffle idea) and given costume bits and war paint, then placed on thrones
4) scene begins again, but this time characters are wearing white masks
rationale: we're seeing the action from here on out through the eyes of the 4 Kings; images are "strange" and skin color is prominent
------------------------
7/26
OROONOKO PROJECT: Preliminary (simplified) character list/breakdown
as of 7/26
Cast size: 15 men & women (in any proportion)
Queen's Theatre characters:
Manager
4 Indian Kings (either dressed similarly to Verelst portraits or (if audience members) given cheesy
"Indian" headdresses & tomahawks, warpaint, etc.
possible: entertainers for musical interludes/acts (3 men, 3 women?)
Coffeehouse (and other) characters:
3 London gentlemen
Aphra Behn
possible present-day "readers" (4?)
Oroonoko characters:
female: Lucy (young Englishwoman)
Welldon (Lucy's sister disguised as a man)
Widow Lackitt (older Englishwoman planter)
White Omoinda (Oroonoko's wife from Africa, enslaved: Southerne adaption)
Black Omoinda (Oroonoko's wife from Africa, enslaved): Behn original)
male: Oroonoko (African prince, enslaved: sometimes dressed as English gentleman)
Aboan (Oroonoko's lieutenant, enslaved African)
Governor (English gentleman, planter)
Blanford (English gentelman, planter)
Captain Driver (slave trader)
Planter 1 (English gentleman, planter)
Planter 2 (same)
Planter 3 (same)
Stanmore (English gentleman)
[Jack Stanmore (Stanmore's brother)] optional
various African slaves (3 men, 3 women?)
various American Indians (6 men?)
Macbeth characters:
Macbeth
3 Witches
Banquo
Line of English kings (represented either by actors or video imagery)
Line of Indian kings (same)
Indian Emperour characters (very tentative):
Cortez (Spanish conquistador)
Aztec princess
Montezuma
Spanish priest
Pizarro (conquistador)
NOTES: costumes need not be complete; layers reflecting different periods (present-day, 1710, period of play being presented)
possible present-day layer (men and women): white tights, black bike shorts, red long-sleeved tee or turtleneck
faces covered by appropriate-colored stretchy fabric (stocking or tights): red, black, white
possible mouth-hole cut out
PROBLEM: African slaves and attacking Indians should be nearly naked. How do we represent them? Cover shirt and tights with black (or red) shirt & tights?
-------------------------
7/25
SUGGESTED OROONOKO SET ELEMENTS:
extended thrust (25’wide, extending to about row 6-7; raked upward?)
10’ X 10’ X 9” platform on thrust for smaller scenes
audience risers on apron
4 tall “thrones” on thrust
2 platforms on apron (r & l of risers)
possible escape ramp off apron to aisle
possible drapes from 2nd cat (audience enter breezeway door)
possible small 2D scenic elements illustrating location in 18th century scenic manner
possible video monitors suspended over center of acting area (facing each section of audience)
Rationale:
extended thrust combines with audience seating on apron to push playing area into middle of auditorium; proscenium house becomes a “room” with action in the center; upsets audience expectations of either proscenium or audience-on-stage presentation; accommodates those audience members who wish more comfortable seating
smaller platform on thrust provides elevation, enhances “demonstration” quality of certain more intimate scenes (possibly other actors not in scene watching action); puts certain characters “on a pedastel”; suggests slave auction block
audience in risers on apron effects a “confrontational” seating arrangement, with one block of audience members facing another; reinforces “encounter” theme of production
main acting area surrounded by audience reinforces concept of performance as demonstration rather than creation of illusionary space
thrones for “4 Kings” reinforces performance as specific historical event, audience watching exotic royalty watching performance; we simultaneously see performance through their eyes (performance as “strange”) and are cast as 18th century Londoners watching exotic American Indians.
platforms off thrust provide for scenes set outside action of play(s): coffeehouse commentary, Aphra Behn reading from her text, other contemporary non-dramatic texts performed, possible location for voice actors during some scenes; important that these areas not be outside audience circle
escape ramp and drapery from 2nd cat would contain audience area while providing exit to offstage area for actors other than passing over apron; increases staging and entrance/exit possibilities; might require audience to enter from side door (breezeway) which would enhance transformation of the space
small 2D scenic elements (similar to groundrows?) would suggest 18th century scenic conventions, enhance non-realistic and historicized style; could also add to sense of parody in certain scenes
video monitors would allow for several effects, such as: contemporary (commercial?) imagery juxtaposed with period scenes; live feeds of extreme closeups, particularly of skin of actors; negative effects, reversing white to black, etc.; imagery of audience watching performance; alternate versions of scene being performed.
--------------------------
7/15
OROONOKO PROJECT: INITIAL IDEAS FOR SET & COSTUMES (7/15)
SETTING: The setting of the performance is non-fictional: Kittredge Theatre, fall 2006. At the same time, we're at a performance in the Queen's Theatre, London, 1710 seeing a performance set in the British colony of Surinam in the 1660s (Oroonoko) as well as one set in feudal Scotland (Macbeth) and--possibly--one set during the conquest of Mexico in the early 16th century. (However, all to these plays are performed as they would have been seen by the 1710 London audience--sort of.) In addition, we may have scenes set in an 18th-century London coffeehouse and in the present day.
The look of the performance needs to be fragmentary, a juxtaposition of elements and periods, illusion and reality: for example, visible microphones, layered costumes, scenery (if any) as "scenery." Signs Another way of thinking about it: the elements of the performance are displayed upon a visible scaffold or armature (I'm not talking about literal scaffolding). That idea leads me to visualize a "rough", simple look overall, with contrasting, highly theatricalized elements (maybe).
performance is based on an event in London (1710) in which, at a performance of Macbeth in the Queen's Theatre the audience demanded that the four visiting "Indian Kings" be seated on the stage where they could be seen, the setting might include some references to that location an period. At the same time, we should take care not to try to create the feeling of being in that theatre at that time, but possibly
Audience relationship--create an arena-like arrangement but in the house rather than on the stage, turning the auditorium into a "room" for performing, allowing audience members to sit in cushioned seating if they wish; would enhance a sense of performance as display, audience as "crowd", disrupt conventional proscenium seating expectations more than by putting audience onstage by putting stage in audience. Also would keep much of stage free for classes, etc. (although acting area could include part of apron to minimize discomfort for those sitting in first few rows); would entail some audience seating in risers on stage/apron.
Acting area--would need to be large enough for 10-12 actors to be surrounded by audience (in the house); would also need slightly raised platform large enough for 4-5 actors where scenes/actors could be "displayed" more prominently.
Four "thrones"--
-------------------------
STRUCTURE:
listening to director of Robt. Wilson film talking about "triangular" structure of her film: present to past to where they meet. What shape should this piece have?
triangular: present > past > present meets past
actors on a stage as themselves trying to encounter each other (must be mixed races)
1710 and plays, etc.
contemporary actor meets character or contemporary actor meets self as character
or: student stuck trying to decide where to sit in cafeteria (present)
1710, etc.
dance of trying to get out of skin
linear/broken: framework is Oroonoko plot; interrupted by
---------------------------------------
7/9 Thoughts
Just read this op-ed piece in the NYT on the "Black Legend" portraying the Spanish in the new world as particularly brutal and rapacious (http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/09/opinion/09horwitz.html?_r=1&oref=slogin). Thinking again about whether to work Dryden's Indian Emperour into the piece--how to integrate it--and the key seems to be to focus on the scene as a clear English attempt to paint the Spanish "black" in order to justify their own imperial ambitions. Inheriting the mantle of civilization that the Spanish no longer deserve. I immediately visualized the torture scene staged in such a way (or context) as to make clear that it depends upon and promotes a view that we enthusiastically inherit: conquestidors as rapacious murderers. But it's not my favorite scene--how might I work in the Cortez seduction scene? Or should I?
-------------
Idea for opening play & audience involvement:
1) when enter, audience given raffle number and written instructions to shout "We want the Indian Kings" when prompted
2) prologue speech (epilogue?)--possibly cast assembles onstage
3) opening scene from Oroonoko begins (way to introduce Behn version, too? possibly begin Macbeth?)
4) scene interrupted almost immediately by shouts from audience: "We want the Indian Kings" (plants in audience start shout, encourage audience to throw things? riot?)
5) S.M. stops performance, explains that in 1710 a London audience stopped a performance because the four visiting Iroquois sachems couldn't be seen; they were subsequently placed on the stage. SM then announces that a drawing will be held and four audience members holding the winning tickets will get to personify the four indians, and gives those not wanting to be chosen time to give their ticket to someone who does; four winners are placed on four "thrones" on the stage with suitable pomp--maybe dressed in cheap headdresses and "warpaint" and given tomahawks?
6) Scene then allowed to continue
Why? to generate audience involvement and upset expectations and provide a bit of fun; to provide information about historical context (necessary?); to give the audience an opportunity to view their representatives viewing the play; most importantly, to personify the Indian Kings in such a way that the performance is seen through their eyes and other performers are "made strange" (all other performers wear stocking masks throughout).
Possible scenes:
from Behn's Oroonoko:
from Southerne's Oroonoko:
from Davenant's Macbeth:
from Dryden's Indian Emperour:
from Spectator:
------------------------------------
7/5 Thoughts on themes
An attempt to clarify, specify, and choose a primary theme for Oroonoko Project:
"Race" is the overarching theme. But getting at it (under it?) is the problem.
1) Fear of being replaced (fear of "surrogation"): Original black Omoinda is replaced by white Omoinda; Indians watching performance are doomed to be replaced by white Europeans; white colonists fear being "replaced by" attacking Indians they are--without knowing it?--attempting to replace; contemporary white Americans fear being replaced by dark-skinned immigrants (the whole culture will be changed, language as an indicator); "white race" fears being replaced/absorbed by dark races, whiteness is fragile and easily overcome by darkness ("whiteness" being skin color but also white culture and privilege); white man fears being replaced as sexual partner by more virile black man; white audience thrilled by seeing their fears of being replaced (especially sexually) presented on stage (hence replacement of black Omoinda by white Omoinda--shades of Othello!); individual fear of being replaced as expression of fear of dying--or: what's really scary about dying is that I'll be replaced and forgotten.
2) Fear of assimilation/absorbed: closely related (same as?) #1: fear of losing sense of self, who "I" am as indicated by skin color, speech, culture, etc.; acceptance of "other" is conditional upon the Other changing to become like the self (again, according to specific indicators of given historical moment); need to identify self as "not them" (insistence upon maintaining cultural standards, which could include fear/disdain of commercialism represented by Captain (slave trader) and "bad" planters; need to make Oroonoko and Imoinda the ideal of classical European culture (exemplars of values being dismantled by certain class of whites); "Governor's" attempted rape of Omoinda as prefiguring constant rape of black female slaves by white owners; contemporary reference include immigration debate, question of continued racism, continuing though diminished taboo against showing black/white sex, marrying outside group; fear of higher birthrate among "darker" races and declining birthrate among whites; loss of virility in white male.
3) Sex, sex, sex: all of the above fears find their most potent expression in images of sex; black man or woman ok as object of desire as look as they "look" white (contrast description of Behn's description of Oroonoko with images of contemporary black culture stars); thrill of seeing black/white sex then and now (contemporary images from film or live); question of whether race/difference disappears through sex (carnal knowledge); a place for scene from Indian Emperour?
4) Question of individual identity: are we all the same under the skin? attempts to remove white, black, red "skin"; attempts to "find" each other through the mask of skin color, especially through sex; skin color as constructed (and historically contingent) marker of identity/difference;
------------------------------------
7/4 Possible titles for "Whiteness" project:
Oroonoko, in Black and White and Red: An Entertainment based on Mr. Southerne's Adaption of Mrs. Behn's Novella Concerning the Enslavement and Death of an African Prince, as Performed on the Occasion of the London Visit in the Year 1710 by The Four Indian Kings from the American Colonies; With Additional Selections From Mr. Davenant's adaption of Mr. Shakespeare's Macbeth, also Played Before the Four Kings.
The Oroonoko Project: An Trans-Temporal Entertainment based on Mr. Southerne's Adaption of Mrs. Behn's Novella (Oroonoko; or, The Royal Slave) Concerning the Enslavement and Death of an African Prince, as Performed on the Occasion of the London Visit in the Year 1710 by The Four American Kings; With Additional Selections From Mr. Davenant's adaption of Mr. Shakespeare's Macbeth "being drest in all it's Finery, as new Cloath's, new Scenes, Machines, as flyings for the Witches; with all the Singing and Dancing in it, Expressly For the Entertainment of the Four INDIAN KINGS lately arriv'd from the American Colonies."
[E]Racing Past Times; or, Whence We Came: An Enquiry into Certain Conceptions of Race
Oroonoko
Skin: An Inquiry
------------------------
7/28 New & revised ideas
David's idea for representing race: Instead of stocking masks, masks over makeup; the masks could be changed and would represent specific race, but the makeup (not seen till the end?) would look as if the skin had been peeled away leaving the red musculature underneath. So race could be "taken off" but only by literally peeling away the face.
REALLY INTERESTING. POSSIBLE?
--------------------------
7/28
Changes after meeting with Don & Bev:
Definite: build out apron only to 2nd row (level with stage) and move audience risers upstage so that more of the acting area is on the stage (but still get two sections of audience facing each other.
Possible: costumes would all be built (since we don't have much appropriate to pull) and would use only red, black, and white as colors; basic undergarment might incorporate those colors but with different patterns for each actor.
Costume add-ons and props could be oversized (parody)
Possible: thrones might incorporate video monitors, perhaps above and behind Kings' head to suggest that the image is what they are seeing; another possibility: Kings are effigies, seated in thrones, with video heads.
Possible: a wireless microphone is built into a large prop (an oversized quill pen?) which would amplify the voice of whoever held it; this person would have The Voice and other would not. Voice = power. Voice = literary power. David's point: someone writes the accounts of what happens (the victors write the histories). Those deprived of voice are forgotten (black Omoinda).
What if white characters could speak (and their race was represented by white, white makeup) but black and indian characters wore stocking masks and their voices were read by "readers"?
And what if the Readers brandished enormous quill pens?
------------------------
7/26 IDEA:
1) performance opens with Lucy/Welldon scene "played straight" (makeup, no masks)
2) scene interrupted by shouts from audience for Kings
3) Manager appears, begs for silence; then, either (1) 4 Kings in costume brought from audience and placed on thrones; or (2) total break in action and 4 audience members invited up from house (raffle idea) and given costume bits and war paint, then placed on thrones
4) scene begins again, but this time characters are wearing white masks
rationale: we're seeing the action from here on out through the eyes of the 4 Kings; images are "strange" and skin color is prominent
------------------------
7/26
OROONOKO PROJECT: Preliminary (simplified) character list/breakdown
as of 7/26
Cast size: 15 men & women (in any proportion)
Queen's Theatre characters:
Manager
4 Indian Kings (either dressed similarly to Verelst portraits or (if audience members) given cheesy
"Indian" headdresses & tomahawks, warpaint, etc.
possible: entertainers for musical interludes/acts (3 men, 3 women?)
Coffeehouse (and other) characters:
3 London gentlemen
Aphra Behn
possible present-day "readers" (4?)
Oroonoko characters:
female: Lucy (young Englishwoman)
Welldon (Lucy's sister disguised as a man)
Widow Lackitt (older Englishwoman planter)
White Omoinda (Oroonoko's wife from Africa, enslaved: Southerne adaption)
Black Omoinda (Oroonoko's wife from Africa, enslaved): Behn original)
male: Oroonoko (African prince, enslaved: sometimes dressed as English gentleman)
Aboan (Oroonoko's lieutenant, enslaved African)
Governor (English gentleman, planter)
Blanford (English gentelman, planter)
Captain Driver (slave trader)
Planter 1 (English gentleman, planter)
Planter 2 (same)
Planter 3 (same)
Stanmore (English gentleman)
[Jack Stanmore (Stanmore's brother)] optional
various African slaves (3 men, 3 women?)
various American Indians (6 men?)
Macbeth characters:
Macbeth
3 Witches
Banquo
Line of English kings (represented either by actors or video imagery)
Line of Indian kings (same)
Indian Emperour characters (very tentative):
Cortez (Spanish conquistador)
Aztec princess
Montezuma
Spanish priest
Pizarro (conquistador)
NOTES: costumes need not be complete; layers reflecting different periods (present-day, 1710, period of play being presented)
possible present-day layer (men and women): white tights, black bike shorts, red long-sleeved tee or turtleneck
faces covered by appropriate-colored stretchy fabric (stocking or tights): red, black, white
possible mouth-hole cut out
PROBLEM: African slaves and attacking Indians should be nearly naked. How do we represent them? Cover shirt and tights with black (or red) shirt & tights?
-------------------------
7/25
SUGGESTED OROONOKO SET ELEMENTS:
extended thrust (25’wide, extending to about row 6-7; raked upward?)
10’ X 10’ X 9” platform on thrust for smaller scenes
audience risers on apron
4 tall “thrones” on thrust
2 platforms on apron (r & l of risers)
possible escape ramp off apron to aisle
possible drapes from 2nd cat (audience enter breezeway door)
possible small 2D scenic elements illustrating location in 18th century scenic manner
possible video monitors suspended over center of acting area (facing each section of audience)
Rationale:
extended thrust combines with audience seating on apron to push playing area into middle of auditorium; proscenium house becomes a “room” with action in the center; upsets audience expectations of either proscenium or audience-on-stage presentation; accommodates those audience members who wish more comfortable seating
smaller platform on thrust provides elevation, enhances “demonstration” quality of certain more intimate scenes (possibly other actors not in scene watching action); puts certain characters “on a pedastel”; suggests slave auction block
audience in risers on apron effects a “confrontational” seating arrangement, with one block of audience members facing another; reinforces “encounter” theme of production
main acting area surrounded by audience reinforces concept of performance as demonstration rather than creation of illusionary space
thrones for “4 Kings” reinforces performance as specific historical event, audience watching exotic royalty watching performance; we simultaneously see performance through their eyes (performance as “strange”) and are cast as 18th century Londoners watching exotic American Indians.
platforms off thrust provide for scenes set outside action of play(s): coffeehouse commentary, Aphra Behn reading from her text, other contemporary non-dramatic texts performed, possible location for voice actors during some scenes; important that these areas not be outside audience circle
escape ramp and drapery from 2nd cat would contain audience area while providing exit to offstage area for actors other than passing over apron; increases staging and entrance/exit possibilities; might require audience to enter from side door (breezeway) which would enhance transformation of the space
small 2D scenic elements (similar to groundrows?) would suggest 18th century scenic conventions, enhance non-realistic and historicized style; could also add to sense of parody in certain scenes
video monitors would allow for several effects, such as: contemporary (commercial?) imagery juxtaposed with period scenes; live feeds of extreme closeups, particularly of skin of actors; negative effects, reversing white to black, etc.; imagery of audience watching performance; alternate versions of scene being performed.
--------------------------
7/15
OROONOKO PROJECT: INITIAL IDEAS FOR SET & COSTUMES (7/15)
SETTING: The setting of the performance is non-fictional: Kittredge Theatre, fall 2006. At the same time, we're at a performance in the Queen's Theatre, London, 1710 seeing a performance set in the British colony of Surinam in the 1660s (Oroonoko) as well as one set in feudal Scotland (Macbeth) and--possibly--one set during the conquest of Mexico in the early 16th century. (However, all to these plays are performed as they would have been seen by the 1710 London audience--sort of.) In addition, we may have scenes set in an 18th-century London coffeehouse and in the present day.
The look of the performance needs to be fragmentary, a juxtaposition of elements and periods, illusion and reality: for example, visible microphones, layered costumes, scenery (if any) as "scenery." Signs Another way of thinking about it: the elements of the performance are displayed upon a visible scaffold or armature (I'm not talking about literal scaffolding). That idea leads me to visualize a "rough", simple look overall, with contrasting, highly theatricalized elements (maybe).
performance is based on an event in London (1710) in which, at a performance of Macbeth in the Queen's Theatre the audience demanded that the four visiting "Indian Kings" be seated on the stage where they could be seen, the setting might include some references to that location an period. At the same time, we should take care not to try to create the feeling of being in that theatre at that time, but possibly
Audience relationship--create an arena-like arrangement but in the house rather than on the stage, turning the auditorium into a "room" for performing, allowing audience members to sit in cushioned seating if they wish; would enhance a sense of performance as display, audience as "crowd", disrupt conventional proscenium seating expectations more than by putting audience onstage by putting stage in audience. Also would keep much of stage free for classes, etc. (although acting area could include part of apron to minimize discomfort for those sitting in first few rows); would entail some audience seating in risers on stage/apron.
Acting area--would need to be large enough for 10-12 actors to be surrounded by audience (in the house); would also need slightly raised platform large enough for 4-5 actors where scenes/actors could be "displayed" more prominently.
Four "thrones"--
-------------------------
STRUCTURE:
listening to director of Robt. Wilson film talking about "triangular" structure of her film: present to past to where they meet. What shape should this piece have?
triangular: present > past > present meets past
actors on a stage as themselves trying to encounter each other (must be mixed races)
1710 and plays, etc.
contemporary actor meets character or contemporary actor meets self as character
or: student stuck trying to decide where to sit in cafeteria (present)
1710, etc.
dance of trying to get out of skin
linear/broken: framework is Oroonoko plot; interrupted by
---------------------------------------
7/9 Thoughts
Just read this op-ed piece in the NYT on the "Black Legend" portraying the Spanish in the new world as particularly brutal and rapacious (http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/09/opinion/09horwitz.html?_r=1&oref=slogin). Thinking again about whether to work Dryden's Indian Emperour into the piece--how to integrate it--and the key seems to be to focus on the scene as a clear English attempt to paint the Spanish "black" in order to justify their own imperial ambitions. Inheriting the mantle of civilization that the Spanish no longer deserve. I immediately visualized the torture scene staged in such a way (or context) as to make clear that it depends upon and promotes a view that we enthusiastically inherit: conquestidors as rapacious murderers. But it's not my favorite scene--how might I work in the Cortez seduction scene? Or should I?
-------------
Idea for opening play & audience involvement:
1) when enter, audience given raffle number and written instructions to shout "We want the Indian Kings" when prompted
2) prologue speech (epilogue?)--possibly cast assembles onstage
3) opening scene from Oroonoko begins (way to introduce Behn version, too? possibly begin Macbeth?)
4) scene interrupted almost immediately by shouts from audience: "We want the Indian Kings" (plants in audience start shout, encourage audience to throw things? riot?)
5) S.M. stops performance, explains that in 1710 a London audience stopped a performance because the four visiting Iroquois sachems couldn't be seen; they were subsequently placed on the stage. SM then announces that a drawing will be held and four audience members holding the winning tickets will get to personify the four indians, and gives those not wanting to be chosen time to give their ticket to someone who does; four winners are placed on four "thrones" on the stage with suitable pomp--maybe dressed in cheap headdresses and "warpaint" and given tomahawks?
6) Scene then allowed to continue
Why? to generate audience involvement and upset expectations and provide a bit of fun; to provide information about historical context (necessary?); to give the audience an opportunity to view their representatives viewing the play; most importantly, to personify the Indian Kings in such a way that the performance is seen through their eyes and other performers are "made strange" (all other performers wear stocking masks throughout).
Possible scenes:
from Behn's Oroonoko:
from Southerne's Oroonoko:
from Davenant's Macbeth:
from Dryden's Indian Emperour:
from Spectator:
------------------------------------
7/5 Thoughts on themes
An attempt to clarify, specify, and choose a primary theme for Oroonoko Project:
"Race" is the overarching theme. But getting at it (under it?) is the problem.
1) Fear of being replaced (fear of "surrogation"): Original black Omoinda is replaced by white Omoinda; Indians watching performance are doomed to be replaced by white Europeans; white colonists fear being "replaced by" attacking Indians they are--without knowing it?--attempting to replace; contemporary white Americans fear being replaced by dark-skinned immigrants (the whole culture will be changed, language as an indicator); "white race" fears being replaced/absorbed by dark races, whiteness is fragile and easily overcome by darkness ("whiteness" being skin color but also white culture and privilege); white man fears being replaced as sexual partner by more virile black man; white audience thrilled by seeing their fears of being replaced (especially sexually) presented on stage (hence replacement of black Omoinda by white Omoinda--shades of Othello!); individual fear of being replaced as expression of fear of dying--or: what's really scary about dying is that I'll be replaced and forgotten.
2) Fear of assimilation/absorbed: closely related (same as?) #1: fear of losing sense of self, who "I" am as indicated by skin color, speech, culture, etc.; acceptance of "other" is conditional upon the Other changing to become like the self (again, according to specific indicators of given historical moment); need to identify self as "not them" (insistence upon maintaining cultural standards, which could include fear/disdain of commercialism represented by Captain (slave trader) and "bad" planters; need to make Oroonoko and Imoinda the ideal of classical European culture (exemplars of values being dismantled by certain class of whites); "Governor's" attempted rape of Omoinda as prefiguring constant rape of black female slaves by white owners; contemporary reference include immigration debate, question of continued racism, continuing though diminished taboo against showing black/white sex, marrying outside group; fear of higher birthrate among "darker" races and declining birthrate among whites; loss of virility in white male.
3) Sex, sex, sex: all of the above fears find their most potent expression in images of sex; black man or woman ok as object of desire as look as they "look" white (contrast description of Behn's description of Oroonoko with images of contemporary black culture stars); thrill of seeing black/white sex then and now (contemporary images from film or live); question of whether race/difference disappears through sex (carnal knowledge); a place for scene from Indian Emperour?
4) Question of individual identity: are we all the same under the skin? attempts to remove white, black, red "skin"; attempts to "find" each other through the mask of skin color, especially through sex; skin color as constructed (and historically contingent) marker of identity/difference;
------------------------------------
7/4 Possible titles for "Whiteness" project:
Oroonoko, in Black and White and Red: An Entertainment based on Mr. Southerne's Adaption of Mrs. Behn's Novella Concerning the Enslavement and Death of an African Prince, as Performed on the Occasion of the London Visit in the Year 1710 by The Four Indian Kings from the American Colonies; With Additional Selections From Mr. Davenant's adaption of Mr. Shakespeare's Macbeth, also Played Before the Four Kings.
The Oroonoko Project: An Trans-Temporal Entertainment based on Mr. Southerne's Adaption of Mrs. Behn's Novella (Oroonoko; or, The Royal Slave) Concerning the Enslavement and Death of an African Prince, as Performed on the Occasion of the London Visit in the Year 1710 by The Four American Kings; With Additional Selections From Mr. Davenant's adaption of Mr. Shakespeare's Macbeth "being drest in all it's Finery, as new Cloath's, new Scenes, Machines, as flyings for the Witches; with all the Singing and Dancing in it, Expressly For the Entertainment of the Four INDIAN KINGS lately arriv'd from the American Colonies."
[E]Racing Past Times; or, Whence We Came: An Enquiry into Certain Conceptions of Race
Oroonoko
Skin: An Inquiry
posted by Graham at 8:17 PM
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