Title: Hurston's "real Negro theatre": participation observation of African American folk
Source document: Brno studies in English. 2015, vol. 41, iss. 2, pp. [91]-107
Extent
[91]-107
-
ISSN0524-6881 (print)1805-0867 (online)
Persistent identifier (DOI): https://doi.org/10.5817/BSE2015-2-6
Stable URL (handle): https://hdl.handle.net/11222.digilib/135028
Type: Article
Language
License: Not specified license
Notice: These citations are automatically created and might not follow citation rules properly.
Abstract(s)
This article explores Zora Neale Hurston's theatrical project "real Negro theatre." If regarded from the standpoint of current ethnomethodology which emphasizes dialogue and interaction between ethnographer and their informants, Hurston's realization of the theatre in the South can be classified from the ethnographic point of view as ahead of its time. The main argument of this article is that Hurston turned around the technique of participation observation for the purpose of the theatre and envisaged active engagement of an audience which was familiar with the presented forms. Moreover, due to the fact that her performance was supposed to function as a display of folklore in the process of creation, the practical realization of the theatre was a development of African American folk aesthetic in the institution of a theatre and an original contribution to the New Negro discourse. Analyses of The Fiery Chariot (1932) and Spunk (1935), two plays closely affiliated with this project, are included.
References
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[3] Cole, Jean Lee, and Charles Mitchell (2008) "Introduction." In: Cole, Jean Lee and Charles Mitchell (eds.) Zora Neale Hurston: Collected Plays. London: Rutgers University Press, xv–xxxiv.
[4] Gates, Jr., Henry Louis (1988) The Signifying Monkey: A Theory of African-American Literary Criticism. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
[5] Hemenway, Robert E. (1977) Zora Neale Hurston: A Literary Biography. London: University of Illinois.
[6] Hurston, Zora Neale (1995) "Folklore and Music." In: Wall, Cheryl A. (ed.) Memoirs and Other Writings. New York: Library of America, 875–894.
[7] Hurston, Zora Neale (1943) "High John de Conquer." The American Mercury, 450–458.
[8] Hurston, Zora Neale (1995) Mules and Men. In: Wall, Cheryl A. (ed.) Folklore, Memoirs and Other Writings. New York: Library of America, 5–175.
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[11] Jackson, Patricia Gale (2001) "If He Asks You Was I Running Tell Him I Was Flying, If He Asks You Was I Laughing You Tell Him I Was Crying: Reading John Henry as American History 1870." In: Goldner, Ellen J. and Safiya Henderson-Holmes (eds.) Racing & (E)Racing Language: Living with the Color of Our Words. New York: Syracuse UP, 57–76.
[12] Kaplan, Carla (2002) Zora Neale Hurston: A Life In Letters. New York: Doubleday.
[13] Krasner, David (2002) A Beautiful Pageant: African American Theatre, Drama, and Performance in the Harlem Renaissance, 1910–1927. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
[14] Marcus, George E. and Michael M. J. Fischer (1999) Anthropology as Cultural Critique: An Experimental Moment in the Human Sciences. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
[15] Patterson, Tiffany Ruby (2005) Zora Neale Hurston and a History of Southern Life. Philadelphia: Temple UP.
[16] Sanfield, Steve (1989) The Adventures of High John the Conqueror. August: Little Rock.
[17] Schechner, Richard (1985) Between Theater and Anthropology. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
[18] Schechner, Richard (2003) Performance Theory. New York: Routledge.
[19] Smith, Ayana (2005) "Blues, Criticism, and the Signifying Trickster." Popular Music 24 (2): 179–191.
[20] Tedlock, Barbara (2005) "The Observation of Participation and the Emergence of Public Ethnography." In: Denzin, Norman K. and Yvonna S. Lincoln (eds.) The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Research. Thousand Oaks: Sage, 467–481.
[21] Wintz, Cary D. and Paul Finkelman (2004) Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance, Vol. 1. New York: Routledge.
[2] Clifford, James (1986) "Partial Truths." In: Clifford, James and George E. Marcus (eds.) Writing Culture: The Poetics and Politics of Ethnography. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1–26.
[3] Cole, Jean Lee, and Charles Mitchell (2008) "Introduction." In: Cole, Jean Lee and Charles Mitchell (eds.) Zora Neale Hurston: Collected Plays. London: Rutgers University Press, xv–xxxiv.
[4] Gates, Jr., Henry Louis (1988) The Signifying Monkey: A Theory of African-American Literary Criticism. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
[5] Hemenway, Robert E. (1977) Zora Neale Hurston: A Literary Biography. London: University of Illinois.
[6] Hurston, Zora Neale (1995) "Folklore and Music." In: Wall, Cheryl A. (ed.) Memoirs and Other Writings. New York: Library of America, 875–894.
[7] Hurston, Zora Neale (1943) "High John de Conquer." The American Mercury, 450–458.
[8] Hurston, Zora Neale (1995) Mules and Men. In: Wall, Cheryl A. (ed.) Folklore, Memoirs and Other Writings. New York: Library of America, 5–175.
[9] Hurston, Zora Neale (2008) The Fiery Chariot. In: Cole, Jean Lee and Charles Mitchell (eds.) Zora Neale Hurston: Collected Plays. London: Rutgers University Press, 222–226.
[10] Hurston, Zora Neale (2008) Spunk. In: Cole, Jean Lee and Charles Mitchell (eds.) Collected Plays. London: Rutgers University Press, 229–268.
[11] Jackson, Patricia Gale (2001) "If He Asks You Was I Running Tell Him I Was Flying, If He Asks You Was I Laughing You Tell Him I Was Crying: Reading John Henry as American History 1870." In: Goldner, Ellen J. and Safiya Henderson-Holmes (eds.) Racing & (E)Racing Language: Living with the Color of Our Words. New York: Syracuse UP, 57–76.
[12] Kaplan, Carla (2002) Zora Neale Hurston: A Life In Letters. New York: Doubleday.
[13] Krasner, David (2002) A Beautiful Pageant: African American Theatre, Drama, and Performance in the Harlem Renaissance, 1910–1927. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
[14] Marcus, George E. and Michael M. J. Fischer (1999) Anthropology as Cultural Critique: An Experimental Moment in the Human Sciences. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
[15] Patterson, Tiffany Ruby (2005) Zora Neale Hurston and a History of Southern Life. Philadelphia: Temple UP.
[16] Sanfield, Steve (1989) The Adventures of High John the Conqueror. August: Little Rock.
[17] Schechner, Richard (1985) Between Theater and Anthropology. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
[18] Schechner, Richard (2003) Performance Theory. New York: Routledge.
[19] Smith, Ayana (2005) "Blues, Criticism, and the Signifying Trickster." Popular Music 24 (2): 179–191.
[20] Tedlock, Barbara (2005) "The Observation of Participation and the Emergence of Public Ethnography." In: Denzin, Norman K. and Yvonna S. Lincoln (eds.) The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Research. Thousand Oaks: Sage, 467–481.
[21] Wintz, Cary D. and Paul Finkelman (2004) Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance, Vol. 1. New York: Routledge.