Marx

Donald Egley

Theatre 241

December 1, 2004

Paper #1

Throughout the 1950's and 1960's, racism plagued the heart and soul of Americans. During this period, many Americans did not realize the sub-racism that was occurring with African Americans. "Yellowman" written by Dael Orlandersmith recognizes and embraces the racism that occurred and develops reasons why African Americans treated each other the way they did. A major concept that was developed was the separation between light skinned and dark skinned African Americans. Through the scenery, sound, and lighting, it allowed the audience to depict a vision of turmoil among African Americans during this time period.

The scenery was not elaborate in "Yellowman" because it solely wanted the audience to be able to imagine and create their own mental picture of what happen during their early childhoods and what was occurring now. The scenery was made up with a couple chairs on stage for each actor. Each actor performs many roles in the play making them very versatile while being simple. This element of the stage also creates a scene for the two lead actors to build upon.

The sound of the play hits upon some soul and rock music performed by African Americans. It allows the audience to feel the an African American vibe leading them into the play. Jimmy Hendrix was played with some others, to give that sound and mood. Many of the monologues were filled with great intensity and feeling among the actors. They were able to move to opposite sides of the stage to give the feeling of being alone and telling their story. Their was screaming, yelling, and arguments with the internal actors performed but also showing that the two actors were able to overcome obstacles such as their parents influence. From the way they performed, the actors refused to play the role of a victim, but as a someone

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