AMAS REPERTORY THEATRE

240 Pages·2014·0.89 MB·English

AMAS REPERTORY THEATRE: PASSING AS BLACK WHILE BECOMING WHITE

by

JEAN H. SIDDEN

A DISSERTATION

Presented to the Department of Theater Arts
and the Graduate School of the University of Oregon
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy

June 2014
DISSERTATION APPROVAL PAGE

Student: Jean H. Sidden

Title: Amas Repertory Theatre: Passing as Black While Becoming White

This dissertation has been accepted and approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the Doctor of Philosophy degree in the Department of Theater Arts by:

Theresa J. May Chairperson
John B. Schmor Core Member
Lori Hager Core Member
Mark Whalan Institutional Representative

and

Kimberly Andrews Espy Vice President for Research and Innovation;
Dean of the Graduate School

Original approval signatures are on file with the University of Oregon Graduate School.

Degree awarded June 2014
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© 2014 Jean Hartley Sidden
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DISSERTATION ABSTRACT

Jean H. Sidden

Doctor of Philosophy

Department of Theater Arts

June 2014

Title: Amas Repertory Theatre: Passing as Black While Becoming White

Amas Repertory Theatre was founded in 1969 by Rosetta LeNoire, an African
American actress who pursued a mission of developing original musicals while practicing
interracial casting. The company’s most successful show was Bubbling Brown Sugar
(1975). Throughout Amas’s history LeNoire’s complicated perspective on what constituted
discrimination sometimes caused her casting choices to be questioned. LeNoire believed in
a colorblind theatre and society, however, as the decades passed, her colorblind perspective
was challenged by neo-conservative philosophy which states that in a colorblind society no
particular group should receive any more privilege than another. This definition of
colorblind is used to justify conservative efforts to eliminate affirmative action and
undermine race conscious legislation. In the late 1990s, at her retirement, LeNoire, who
always believed that color did not matter, turned her theatre over to white leadership, who
still operate Amas today. At that point, Amas changed from a company that had, from its
founding, been considered to be a black theatre to one that is now white.
As the history of Amas unfolds, my study examines the complex politics
surrounding the concept of colorblindness. Efforts by Actors’ Equity to promote interracial
or, as it is often called, nontraditional casting are also investigated as well as the
conservative backlash against race conscious policies, particularly during and after the
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administration of Ronald Reagan. In the present day Amas practices a multicultural
mission, however, as my dissertation examines the company’s programming decisions as
well as its perspective on race, Amas is revealed to be an example of how white operated
theatres, even if unintentionally, through the agency of white power and privilege, are
affected by the same institutional racism that permeates American society. My dissertation
then challenges Amas and other theatres to take responsibility for staying fully aware of the
racially charged issues and tensions that exist in America today. When theatre professionals
seek out and are committed to engaging in open dialogue on race they are in a stronger
position to make knowledgeable decisions regarding the representation of race on stage.

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CURRICULUM VITAE

NAME OF AUTHOR: Jean H. Sidden

GRADUATE AND UNDERGRADUATE SCHOOLS ATTENDED:

University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon
University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona
Arizona State University, Phoenix, Arizona

DEGREES AWARDED:

Doctor of Philosophy, Theater Arts, 2014, University of Oregon
Master of Arts, Theatre Studies, 2009, University of Arizona
Bachelor of Arts, Interdisciplinary Arts and Performance, 2002, Arizona State
University

AREAS OF SPECIAL INTEREST:

Theatre History
Representation of Race Onstage
African American Theatre History
The Life and Plays of Anton Chekhov
Musical Theatre
Directing
Acting

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:

Graduate Teaching Fellow, University of Oregon, 2010-2014]
Acting I, II, III, History of Theatre I, II, III

Graduate Teaching Assistant, University of Arizona, 2007-2009]
Introduction to Theatre

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GRANTS, AWARDS, AND HONORS:

School of Theatre Arts Graduate Creative Achievement Award, 2008, University
of Arizona.

Peter Marroney Scholarship, University of Arizona, 2008

Arizona Community Foundation Scholarship, University of Arizona, 2009

Mary L. Ashton Scholarship, University of Arizona, 2008-09

Arnold, Isabelle, and Rupert Marks Graduate Scholarship, University of Oregon,
2011-12

Glen Starlin Research Fellowship, University of Oregon, 2012-2013

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I gratefully acknowledge the careful guidance of my dissertation committee
Chair, Associate Professor Theresa May, who surprised me with her detail and many
questions. Though mightily challenged by my consternation, Dr. May never let go and it
is because of her kind persistence my writing is organized, focused and possibly makes
sense. Dr. May also recognized the change in direction I took half way through my
writing process, supported and encouraged me, and was always excited for my
discoveries. I also am grateful for the careful readings and excellent notes and
suggestions of other committee members, Associate Professors John Schmor and Lori
Hager and Dr. Mark Whalan. I also thank Assistant Professor La Donna Forsgren who
enlightened me as to just how much I had to learn on the topic of black theatre. Many
thanks also to May Britt Jeremiah in the Theatre Arts Office for all her nurturing care and
assistance.
Thanks to Tricia Rodley for putting up with my disposition over the course of
four years. Believe it or not, it meant a great deal. Best of luck with every single thing
you do.

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For Ian and Bridget, always

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter Page

I. INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................... 1
Maybe It’s Okay? ...................................................................................................... 5
Keeping Rosie Alive .................................................................................................. 10

Debate on Nontraditional Casting: Never-ending ................................................... 14

Scope and Structure .................................................................................................. 20
Terminology ............................................................................................................... 23
Methodology and Scholarship ................................................................................... 25
Why Not a Black Theatre? ........................................................................................ 27
Black Theatre and “black theatre” ............................................................................ 28
II. THE JOURNEY TO AMAS: BACKGROUND AND INFLUENCES
THROUGH THE TWENTIETH CENTURY ........................................................... 30
The Harlem or New Negro Renaissance ................................................................... 31
James Hubie “Eubie” Blake and the Beautiful Garden ............................................ 39
Bill “Bojangles” Robinson: The Godfather .............................................................. 47
Harold Burton and Wendell Willkie’s One World Philosophy ................................ 56
Federal Theatre Project .............................................................................................. 63
American Negro Theatre ........................................................................................... 69
Black Arts/Black Nationalism and the Founding of Amas ...................................... 73
III. AMAS IN THE 1970s-1980s: BLACK ARTS, BUBBLING BROWN
SUGAR, AND BINGO! ............................................................................................. 81
Brown vs. Board of Education ................................................................................ 84
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