Jacqueline E. Lawton
  • Home
  • Info
    • Artistic Statement
    • Bio
    • Awards and Fellowships
    • Affiliations
  • Writing
    • Upcoming Events
    • Previous Events
    • Plays
    • Productions
    • Commissions
    • Award Ceremonies
    • Publications
  • Advocacy
    • Appearances
    • Facilitation, Workshops, and Trainings
    • Access, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in the American Theatre
    • Gender Equity
    • Theatre and Technology
    • Theatre Action >
      • After Orlando
      • Climate Change
      • Every 28 Hour Plays
    • Testimonials
    • Additional Resources
  • Dramaturgy
    • New Play Development
    • Production Dramaturgy
    • Dramaturgy and Script Consultation
    • Additional Resources
  • Teaching
    • Qualifications
    • Curriculum Development, Theatre Arts Integration and Teaching Artist Training
    • Philosophy
    • Experience
  • Producing
    • ARDEO
    • On Stage with the Migration Series
    • Out of Silence: Abortion Stories from the 1 in 3 Campaign
  • Media
    • Gallery
    • Good Ink
    • Media Coverage
    • Interviews
    • Press Releases
    • Podcast & Video
  • Blog
  • Contact

Goodbye, Bountiful. Bye.

4/25/2013

1 Comment

 
Picture
Brilliant director Timothy Douglas helmed the 2011 co-production of Horton Foote's THE TRIP TO BOUNTIFUL at Round House Theatre and Cleveland Play House. And I had the great fortune to serve as dramaturg. Timothy and I had worked together previously on Thomas Gibbons' Permanent Collection, so I was excited to be in the room with him again. 

In Timothy's hands, Horton Foote's masterful play was told eloquently and seamlessly through the lens of a Black family, which made it even more powerful, relevant and beautiful. At least it was to me ... a young Black woman from Texas, who was experiencing the difficulty of her parents aging not-so-gracefully.

Of course, D.C. audiences will remember Timothy's production at Round House Theatre, which featured Doug Brown, Jessica Frances Dukes, Chinai J. Hardy, Howard Overshown, Lizan Mitchell, and Lawrence Redmond. This production had meant so much to me. And so had the play...

I had first read THE TRIP TO BOUNTIFUL back in college. I had spent hours and hours transcribing a film, HORTON FOOTE TRIBUTE, which had been written, directed and produced by my screenwriting professor, Richard Lewis. The film had been commissioned by the Texas Book Festival in honor of the Oscar, Emmy, and Pulitzer Prize-winning author and was broadcast on PBS stations throughout Texas. This was back in 1999.

When the Broadway revival was announced and said to be starring none other than Cicely Tyson, Vanessa Williams and Cuba Gooding Jr., I scoured the press release for Timothy's name. I mean, it only made sense. He had just directed it using the same conceit of having the Watts family cast with African American actors. I was all set to update the dramaturgy packet and additional research materials in the event he should need them. Only Timothy's name never appeared. He wasn't attached to the production in any way.

Stunned, I text him immediately and shared my dismay. We spent a few moments commiserating our mutual disappointment and several more moments working through the frustration of the lack of opportunities for people of color on the Great White Way. Later, once the sting had worn off, I was able to file it under "yet another pivotal moment that wiped away several shades from my rose tinted my glasses."  Such lessons in life are useful, bitter though they may be.

If you have a moment, please read this informative, thorough and compelling article, The Not-So-Bountiful Trip to Broadway by Alisa Solomon, a drama critic and professor at Columbia University's School of Journalism. In it, Timothy Douglas speaks graciously and candidly about his experience. It's an absolute must-read for any artist working in the American Theatre today.
1 Comment
Stuart Handloff, Artistic Director, The Great American Laughing Stock Company link
4/25/2013 11:01:04 am

Last season, our theatre company devised a musical adaptation of Moliere's Tarfuffe. The music and verse was entirely new, created by the cast and director, although the characters and plot were true to Moliere's original. Since the production was the work of the cast and director, but the production was financed and produced by our theatre company, who owns the finished product? If someone in the cast or crew wants to use some or all of the work that was created as the basis for a more thorough adaptation, who gets credit - or even financial compensation should the book and music actually sell? And even if someone learns of this idea from watching or hearing about our show and goes on to develop a similar work, is credit due to our original production for first creating the idea?

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    My Blog

    Picture
    I'm a playwright, dramaturg, and teaching artist. It is here where you'll find my queries and musings on life, theater and the world. My posts advocate for diversity, inclusion, and equity in the American Theatre and updates on my own work. Please enjoy!
    Tweets by @dulcia25

    Categories

    All
    Advocates For Youth
    ARDEO
    Blackbirds
    Dance Exchange
    Dc Theatre
    Diversity And Inclusion
    Dramatist Guild
    Gender Parity
    Intelligence
    Lions Of Industry
    LoTT
    Love Brothers Serenade
    Mothers Of Invention
    Musings
    Nnpn
    Noms De Guerre
    Nso
    Our Man Beverly Snow
    Plays For Two
    TCG
    Theatre Education
    Theatre For Social Change
    The Hampton Years
    The Inferior Sex
    Triangle Theatre
    Wizard Of Oz
    Women Artistic Directors
    Women Directors
    Women Dramaturgs
    Women Playwrights
    Women Stage Managers
    Women Theatre Critics
    Xx Playlab Festival

    Archives

    June 2020
    April 2020
    December 2019
    September 2019
    May 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    September 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    June 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    August 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    May 2012

    Reading List
    2am Theatre
    American Theatre Wing

    Americans for the Arts
    The Atlantic
    Black Girl Dangerous
    Colorlines
    Feminist Crunk Collective
    Feminist Spectator

    The Good Men Project
    Guardian: Theatre
    Guernica
    HowlRound
    Media Diversified
    The Nation
    NEA Art Works
    NPR Arts and Life
    NYTimes: Arts

    Opine Season
    The New Yorker
    The Paris Review

    Salon
    Theater Talks
    Think Progress
    WaPo: Theatre
    Works by Women

    Vox

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Home
  • Info
    • Artistic Statement
    • Bio
    • Awards and Fellowships
    • Affiliations
  • Writing
    • Upcoming Events
    • Previous Events
    • Plays
    • Productions
    • Commissions
    • Award Ceremonies
    • Publications
  • Advocacy
    • Appearances
    • Facilitation, Workshops, and Trainings
    • Access, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in the American Theatre
    • Gender Equity
    • Theatre and Technology
    • Theatre Action >
      • After Orlando
      • Climate Change
      • Every 28 Hour Plays
    • Testimonials
    • Additional Resources
  • Dramaturgy
    • New Play Development
    • Production Dramaturgy
    • Dramaturgy and Script Consultation
    • Additional Resources
  • Teaching
    • Qualifications
    • Curriculum Development, Theatre Arts Integration and Teaching Artist Training
    • Philosophy
    • Experience
  • Producing
    • ARDEO
    • On Stage with the Migration Series
    • Out of Silence: Abortion Stories from the 1 in 3 Campaign
  • Media
    • Gallery
    • Good Ink
    • Media Coverage
    • Interviews
    • Press Releases
    • Podcast & Video
  • Blog
  • Contact