Seven Black Plays: The Theodore Ward Prize for African American Playwriting

by Chuck Smith (Editor), August Wilson (Contributor), Christopher Moore (Contributor)

Awarded annually since 1987, the Theodore Ward Prize recognizes the outstanding individual accomplishments of African American playwrights, as well as their growing importance to the shape and direction of American drama in our time. This collection, edited by a director and educator who has been affiliated with the contest for fifteen of its seventeen years, showcases a selection of the award-winning plays and offers a rich and varied view of the best of two decades of evolving African American drama.

These seven plays, which span the Ward Prize's history, represent a wide range of talents, experience, and perspectives brought to bear on diverse themes, from a unique moment in the history of baseball's Negro League to a working-class couple contending with a neighborhood bully; from a child's memories of negotiating desegregation to coming of age amidst the ravages of racism, child abuse, and AIDS. By turns poetic and moving, brave and rousing, uproarious and unsettling, these works written by established and emerging playwrights allow actors, directors, theatergoers, and readers to sample the multifarious dramatic experience being limned by African American playwrights today.

Genres: Plays

424 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Briana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm on a major theater and drama kick, so I was looking forward to picking up Seven Black Plays edited by Chuck Smith. It is an anthology of seven collected plays that either won the Theodore Ward Prize for African American Playwriting or placed second between 1987 and 2002. Each play details the Black American experience and takes on topics such as desegregation, racism, child abuse, AIDs, bullying, and historical moments that focus on the Negro Baseball League. Of the seven plays, I connected with "Fathers and Other Strangers" by Jeff Stetson and "North Star" by Gloria Bond Chunie the most, and I rated both of them 5 out of 5. However, "The Gift Horse" by Lydia R. Diamond is another one that spoke to me, and I rated it 4 out of 5. The 3-star reads here were "The Last Season" by Christopher Moore, "Jelly Belly" by Charles Smith, and "Kiwi Black" by Shepsu Aakhu, which were all decent. Finally, the one I connected with the least was "Hambone" by Javon Johnson, which wasn't bad.

This is more like 3.5 stars rounded up for Goodreads. I see why Chuck Smith selected these plays because they're all so diverse, but a great representation of the Black theatrical canon of the time period. The elegance in writing and structure felt like Black theater was experiencing a Renaissance around the same time Black television and movies were taking off on screen.

[Mizz · Rating 3 out of 5]

hey so, tbh i havent read every play in this collection so this is simply a review of The Gift Horse by Lydia R. Diamond. (may come back and edit when i get the chance).

This play really spoke to me. I think its very real in an emotional sense (not sure how i feel about the dialog tho it could be because im reading it ant watching it be performed so there is something missing imo) and i teared up at the end.

All of the characters were great, though i basically hated two of them. They felt so lived in and alive. It was an emotional read. Ruth's, the main character, journey was great and Jordan's parallele journey was interesting though im not fully sure if I understood it (again, i think watching actors perform this would really help).

i dunno, i just loved this particular play!

(note: the triggers im listing for the play are in there but do to the play format one may or maynot find them graphic - homophobia, sexual assault, incest )

[Kelly Is Brighid · Rating 4 out of 5]

Collection of award-winning plays written by black-skinned, up & coming playwrights. A Chicago production - my hometown. Chosen off of display at library for Black History Month. Glad I did. A variety of topics, enriching.