The development of an African-based dramatic structure

African Americans have historically turned to African philosophy and practice as a way of shaping and enhancing their artistic work. From the use of a generic African setting as a backdrop to Bert Williams' and George Walker's turn-of-the-century musicals, to the careful anthropological studies of Katherine Dunham, African Americans have sought, and found, vitality, spirituality and kinship in the art of Africa. This study examines a similar alliance between African-American theatre artists and the performance practices of the Yoruba of Southwestern Nigeria. A Yoruba-based aesthetic will fill two overlapping needs in American theatre. It will offer African-American theatre artists a tool for developing their own theatrical voice, and it will provide critics with a method for evaluating works outside of the "well-made-play" tradition. This study will give an African-based alternative to linear plot construction and proscenium performance practices. In Chapter One, I discuss an African world view as a way of providing a foundation for the Yoruba performance practices analyzed in Chapter Two. Chapter Three gives the Yoruba-based dramatic structure derived from the analysis in Chapter Two. That structure is then applied to the creation of an original play. In Chapter Four, the production is analyzed by reviewing commentary from the performers, the participant observers and three guest critics. In Chapter Five, I conclude this study with recommendations for the continuation of this sort of African-based dramatic/performance structure. The central issue of this study, then, is how an African world view and African performance practices can inform the development of plays specifically designed for African-American audiences, though accessible to a general American audience.