MATERIALS
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-Video of film EMPEROR JONES;
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-Text of the play;
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-Books on Robeson’s life that contain photographs of the actor as the characters he has played;
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-Music tapes of drums, e.g., Olatunja’s DRUMS OF PASSION;
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-Any props or costume pieces that students feel will help them develop the characters they will be interpreting.
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1. Our first task after watching the film and reading the text will be to study the scenes that the filmmakers added to the movie to open up the play. Some of these scenes will be fun for us to reinterpret through improvisation. The church scenes, the scene in the bar, and the stabbing scene especially lend themselves to group improvisation. The actors will set up the scene, decide on the characters they will play, and pick one character trait (e.g. “My character carries a bible in the church scene and is continually reading aloud from it.”; or “My character carries a purse and continually sneaks peeks of herself in her compact mirror, taking any opportunity to freshen up her make-up during the church service.”; etc.). The actors are very imaginative and will come up with interesting character behaviors.
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2. This play affords us one of the best opportunities to explore sensory and place exercises. We will view scenes from the film and watch how the actors deal with the jungle and the heat. Actors will explore an imaginary jungle environment and ask questions such as: Physically, where does heat affect me? How do I walk (run) through a jungle? What vegetation is there? Is the jungle dark or full of light? Is the heat humid or dry?
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3. Looking at the text we will work with the dialect in the play and discuss how to deal with it. The actors may begin work on the text by updating the dialogue, using their own words.
NINA MAE MCKINNEY / HALLELUJAH
For most of the cast of HALLELUJAH this film was the beginning and end of their screen careers. The only one to meet with “success”—and heartache—was its beautiful leading lady, Nina Mae McKinney. In the famous cabaret scene McKinney, as Chick, danced a sensuous dance which has been copied by leading ladies from Lena Horne in CABIN IN THE SKY to Lola Falana in THE LIBERATION OF L.B. JONES
McKinney, born in 1912 in Lancaster, South Carolina, moved with her family to New York and was in Lew Leslie’s famous BLACKBIRD revue when she heard of King Vidor’s auditions for HALLELUJAH. She was 17 when she won the role. Vidor brought her from a chorus spot to a starring role.
“Chick represented the black woman as an exotic sex object, half woman, half child. She was the black woman out of control of her emotions, split in two by her loyalties and her own vulnerabilities. Implied throughout the battle with self was the tragic mulatto theme. Chick was always referred to as “that cinnamon-colored gal” or “high yeller.” In this stereotypical concept the white half of her represented the spiritual; the black half, animalistic.” (4)
She was the first black actor in film to be recognized as a potential mainstream star, but her great success in HALLELUJAH led her nowhere. She was to discover that there were no leading roles for black leading ladies in Hollywood. Five years after HALLELUJAH, McKinney was forgotten in America. She appeared in Europe singing in cafes and nightclubs. In 1935, in England, she appeared opposite Paul Robeson in the film SANDERS OF THE RIVER. She did return to the screen and appeared in a number of independent all black films. Her last important role was in PINKY (1949).