American Theatre Culture

This essay helps us really examine American theatre and where exactly it grew from. It would or does not surprise me that American theatre is more based in the people that truly build this land, the natives, slaves, and working class. This article describes not only the basis of theatre as we know it and as it was back in the olden days, but how the same roots that theatrical art grew out of also provided the foundation for the culture of America as a whole that only progressed with time. For example, the article speaks about dancing and about “rag” dancing which eventually became the lively classic jazz dance we commonly associate with the 1920s era as a whole, not just for blacks but for white too. It’s no surprise that in that time, the

Any sentiment toward Europe and the British especially was unwelcome. In this reinvention of theatre, AfricanAmericans truly established their foothold on theatre, despite the fact that some say there is no connection at all. The first thing this article goes into detail about it the art and practice of minstrel shows. The performance traditions of the African slaves directly influenced this new “native” American theatre. The songs, dances, and masking created the form of theatre that eventually became blackface and vaudeville performance. The stock character of the “negro” was created by white performers in blackface that became a common character in performances. This character was described as “ridiculous” as it blatantly made fun of the black artists and the performances they created. And whites not only belittles these poor people but also profited and but a certain pair became golfing to former presidentEisenhower. These white performers not only stole the dancing and singing style and turned it into a farce but even the old “masked” tradition came into play as they were “masked” in