African Grove Theatre Essay

Introduction

The African Americans in the 1820s had a particularly hard time in the New York City theatre industry and were not prepared to call it home because of the racial injustice of the whites to the blacks. Amid the scathing and heightened racial segregation, African Grove Theatre sprouted (Warner 2001). The NYC was increasingly becoming an asylum for the slave trade escapees and many whites used to capture them for sale to the South. It was only up to 1826 when the illegal trade was finally abolished in the city. Each passing month in New York, the numbers of the African Americans were growing. There, therefore, rose a mass of people who wanted a platform to showcase and share the African culture through the theatre industry. In this hard socio-political mayhem, black institutions rose as a way of creating and recognizing the space of the blacks in society and espouse their cultural needs (Dewberry 1982). The African Grove Theatre is an outstanding example of an African-American effort of what it takes to build an autonomous, creative, and authentic, unique institution since it was the first of its kind in New York. It has served as a great inspiration tool to the contemporary young and old blacks to venture into the theatre industry despite many challenges often faced arising from racial issues. It is debated that it existed for only three years from 1821 to 1824, whereas other literature documents the theatre to have to have finally come to an end in 1828. However short the period of existence, the creativity, resilience and wits demonstrated is exceptional.

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The Rise of African Grove Theatre

Before the American theatrical industry started taking root, theatre companies from England were common. In 1767 at the John Street Theatre, for the first time, a self-governing American theatre company surfaced in New York. The dominance of the whites in the field was expected since the blacks at the time had little place in public participation due to slave trade that had lasted for more than a hundred years on the American soil. In 1798, a 2000 capacity stone structure three-tied was constructed in the Park Theatre. There was a section set aside for the people of the color and white rowdies, prostitutes and a large part of it for the whites. It is recorded that the black sections were expected pickpockets and sweeps (Aldridge 1850). None of the city's theatre centers were welcome to accommodate any black. The best of the interactions they could have amongst themselves were church meetings on Sundays, after which they could say hi to each other and head straight home. In August 1821, William Henry Brown opened the African Grove which was to be epic and revolutionary in the American history- exclusive for the black audience. Courtesy of the improving economic conditions for people of the color, they got an entering wedge to the municipal affairs. The population of the blacks by birth and by shipment was increasing, forming a good foundation of starting a strong black community.

Mr. Brown, the figure behind the success story of the African Grove Theatre, was a free black Liverpool liner steward who left his sea travels in around 1816. Together with James Hewlett, a successful vocalist, and actor of the Shakespeare's plays, they founded the theatre. Initially, Brown has hired a house located to the northern side of the Thomas street to be a tea garden. The theatre was as a result of a growing demand to have an entertainment platform for the black community culture (Dewberry 1982). They could obtain their ice cream, tea, ice punch as they listened to music. In this theatre, Shakespeare adaptations, African America plays, contemporary plays of a wide genre variety were performed. It generated a good competition to the Park Centre and was forced to terminate its operations due to the insecurity of the whites. Through the white authorities and courts, they disparagingly considered the Grove Theatre gatherings as civil congregations to champion their rights. Harassment and bullying was the order of the day and slid the blossoming industry into a trench of debt and instability. In 1826 the facility was razed by an inferno, speculations identifying the rivals to be responsible for the act. The company existed for many years, far more than the three-year period known, through its legacy that is felt to this day.

The Success Story of African Grove Theatre

William Brown hailed from the West Indies. As a steward, he had traveled widely to the Caribbean and England countries and seen how theatre performances could be organized, pretty different from a typical African American play. At 35 Thomas Street, through the sale of foods and drinks, Brown became so successful in short drama pieces, poetry, vocal and instrumental performances, attracting huge crowds to the entertainment. The pioneering performances were known as the ballad operas, disjunctive to the typical contemporary operas. They were mere recitations coupled with songs to articulate deeper sentiments. He moved to Mercer and Bleeker street proximal to Prince and built a small theatre of capacity 300-400. Bradhurst was the owner of the property and was a socially active vocalist who had a say in the municipal councils.

The success of the company can succinctly be attributed to the intelligent customization of classical theatre practices through redefinition and re-interpretation. Whichever the source of the plays, the white ideology in them was molded to fit the Negro culture. Between 1821 and 1822, grand plays that had been performed include the Life in London, Tom and Jerry, Obu, The Poor Soldier, Don Juan, Othello, and the Three-Finger'd Jack. Ira Aldridge and James Hewlett are the key actors who boosted the African Grove Theatre through their mastery of the art (Shafer 1977). In late 1821, Ira Aldridge had already entered the book of records as the first black to take the role of King Lear in Shakespeare's works. The singular novelty of the dramas attracted a vast portion of listeners cutting across the white, black, and Latino people. Othello and Richard III were the favorites in the year 1821. It is unfortunate that in the performance hall, the white audience used to create a lot of disturbance and rowdiness. A section for them was purposely created as a way of controlling them, but it didn't work out (McAllister 2003). This formed part of the reasons the theatre was closed for, several months later.

William Brown, as a contingency plan to the rising opposition and cruel controversy ignited by the Park Theatre, shifted the classical repertoire of the African Theatre to contemporary drama. In this way, socially acceptable and relevant leitmotifs could lessen the animosity that was rife then. Tom and Jerry were adopted by the Grove Theatre, though previously performed by their rivals - Park Theatre. The tone, ideology, the cast, and everything in that play was altered and tailored to meet the African taste. William Brown later wrote a very stimulating play by the title The Drama of King Shotaway and directed its performance. It rose the theatrical ranks to be recognized as the debut black drama under the American dramas. The storyline has its setting in the 1795 Carib insurrection opposing the British administration at the St. Vincent island.

The flourishing of the Theatre was not a walk in the park. There was a lot of negative criticism, oppression from the government, financial constraints, competition, and many other challenges. Slowly, the entertainment gatherings started evolving to address the African plight as far as freedom rights were concerned. There was a deeper want in the people who went beyond amusements and visibility. Education and participation in the economic and democratic fights (Dewberry 1982) otherwise known as the liberation struggle of blacks became points of interest. Such an awakening of the blacks was infuriating to the already mounting racial stereotypes and prejudice. The black man was seen in a new light as a potential threat to the peace and supremacy the white had hitherto enjoyed.

Challenges Which Faced the African Grove Theatre

The challenges the company faced were majorly socio-political. Others were financial, and competition from the theatre industry. Through the white authorities, the police frequented the Grove Theatre and interrupted the performances often (Dewberry 1982). The reason given was the chaotic conduct of the audience which was a product of the whites themselves. The company was forced to close and banned from going on with its activities. There was a white party of the society who were convinced that such gatherings at the theatre were civil liberation movements under the guise of entertainment. The courts, the rulings were made in favor of the white majority. Due to the frequent raiding and interferences, management of the theatre crippled into a financial crisis that precipitated its closure. A keen look at the happenings during these raids, the interludes of the African Company plays with songs made the audience more chaotic with shouting and blaring screams. It gave occasion for the police to feel justified in paralyzing the company from operating. Ironically, those who attend the sessions went home satisfied and happy in a peaceful manner. It, therefore, implies that the arrests were uncalled-for and malignant.

Park Theatre was located just adjacent to it. For any business, having a good performing competitor is not savory. Both used to perform Shakespeare's work, and the liberal New Yorkers who were white found their way to both of the theatre centers. Stephen Price, a Park Theatre manager, is recorded to have plotted a scheme to sabotage Brown's work through malicious hiring and recruiting of white actors. Their sole purpose was to act malevolently in Brown's creations. The rivalry sprung from the unexpected success of an African theatrical center in the white-dominated New York, as the 1820 magazines report e.g. the National Advocate (Hay 1994). The situation could have had more roses than thorns had the many liberalists whited voiced the unfair trading that was taking root. Racist critics demeaned the performances of the theatre by terming them as "clown shows."

Impact of the African Grove Theatre on the Future Industry

A lot has been learned from William's three-year Grove Theatre for the contemporary artists. Black performance on stage is exceptional when compared to others about self-expression and emotions. Be it music, singing, dancing and drama, aspects of quality and organization are consciously put to the altar to elicit emotions and produce satisfaction in the process of expressing oneself (McAllister 2003). Such ways of acting on the stage are crafted to fit the black audience which is appealed by that approach. In the 19th century, the acting was viewed by some Yankees as effrontery and tarnation tactics which should not find their way to the stage (Aldridge 1850).

Also, the resilience of William to buoy on with his dreams of establishing an African theatre in those racially hash conditions is an encouragement to both the whites and the blacks. The industry needs dedication and whichever the race a person may be associated with; the audience will be willing to listen to the entertainment. All that is needed is a quality production.

Conclusion

The freedom currently enjoyed in the film industry has a long history. The often dark and thorny traversals down the sands of time reveal what commitment to the course of theatre performances can produce. African Grove Theatre was able to set a founding stone, a landmark in the acting industry that will forever act as a tower of hope and encouragement. People from diverse backgrounds can join hands and move to the stage to produce a telling art that will not only entertain, but educate the listeners to treat each other with respec...