Acting Up and Getting Down : : Plays by African American Texans / / ed. by Elvin Holt, Sandra M. Mayo.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter University of Texas Press Complete eBook-Package 2014-2015
• MitwirkendeR: Bedford Walker, Celeste,; Brown-Guillory, Elizabeth,; Hawkins, George,; Houston, Sterling,; Lee, Eugene,; Meloncon, Thomas,; Shine, Ted,
• HerausgeberIn: Holt, Elvin,; Mayo, Sandra M.,
• Place / Publishing House: Austin : : University of Texas Press, , [2021]; ©2014
• Year of Publication: 2021
• Language: English
• Series: Southwestern Writers Collection Series, Wittliff Collections at Texas State University
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (364 p.)

One of the few books of its kind, Acting Up and Getting Down brings together seven African American literary voices that all have a connection to the Lone Star state. Covering Texas themes and universal ones, this collection showcases often-overlooked literary talents to bring to life inspiring facets of black theatre history. Capturing the intensity of racial violence in Texas, from the Battle of San Jacinto to a World War I–era riot at a Houston training ground, Celeste Bedford Walker’s Camp Logan and Ted Shine’s Ancestors provide fascinating narratives through the lens of history. Thomas Meloncon’s Johnny B. Goode and George Hawkins’s Br’er Rabbit explore the cultural legacies of blues music and folktales. Three unflinching dramas (Sterling Houston’s Driving Wheel, Eugene Lee’s Killingsworth, and Elizabeth Brown-Guillory’s When the Ancestors Call) examine homosexuality, a death in the family, and child abuse, bringing to light the private tensions of intersections between the individual and the community. Supplemented by a chronology of black literary milestones as well as a playwrights’ canon, Acting Up and Getting Down puts the spotlight on creative achievements that have for too long been excluded from Texas letters. The resulting anthology not only provides new insight into a regional experience but also completes the American story as told onstage.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction: Definition of Black Theatre -- Camp Logan -- Johnny B. Goode -- Killingsworth -- Driving Wheel -- Br’er Rabbit -- When the Ancestors Call -- Ancestors -- Appendix A: Chronology -- Appendix B: Playwrights’ Canon -- Publications by Black Texas Playwrights -- Author Photo Credits