Visions & Voices: Conversations with Fourteen Caribbean Playwrights

For those interested in theatre and Caribbean literature, 2014 marks the release of a seminal collection, Olivier Stephenson's Visions & Voices: Conversations with Fourteen CaribbeanPlaywrights.

Featuring the words of the most important of the first generation of postcolonial playwrights-some of whom are still alive-this exploration presents expansive personalities such as Errol Hill, Errol John, Trevor Rhone, and Dennis Scott, discussing their experiences of working in the Caribbean, the UK and North America; their struggles to survive as artists; perceptions of the relationship between their work and the region's socio-political condition; views on the relationship between their work and the art of other playwrights; and their attempts to build popular audiences and develop a Caribbean theatre aesthetic.

"Without exception, these playwrights were engaged artists and their work never lost sight of the sociopolitical dynamics of the region. For this reason, their words offer us a way to understand, at least in part, the role of the playwright in Caribbean society. I sincerely believe that a lot of what was said in the interviews still holds true to the present time." ~ Kwame Dawes.

Visions & Voices: Conversationswith Fourteen Caribbean Playwrights is a unique collection of interviews with prominent Caribbean playwrights of the 1970s: Derek Walcott, Errol Hill, Errol John, Michael Abbensetts, Trevor Rhone, Alwyn Bully, Roderick Walcott, Edgar White, Slade Hopkinson, Lennox Brown, Carmen Tipling, Dennis Scott, Stafford Ashani Harrison and Mustapha Matura.

About Olivier Stephenson

Olivier Stephenson is a poet, a playwright, a screenwriter, and a journalist. He is the former executive director and a founding member of the Caribbean American Repertory Theatre in New York City and Los Angeles. He currently lives in Miami, Florida.

Publication date: 1 December 2013

ISBN: 9781845231736

Pages: 436

Price: £19.99 /$39.95

Publisher: Peepal Tree Press

17 King's Avenue, Leeds, LS6 1QS, United Kingdom

Tel/Fax: +44 (0)113 2451703

www.peepaltreepress.com

About the Press

Peepal Tree Press is home of the best in Caribbean and Black British fiction, poetry, literary criticism, memoirs and historical studies.

Peepal Tree is a wholly independent company based in Leeds, founded in 1985, and now publishing around 25 books a year. We have published over 250 titles, and are committed to keeping them in print. The list features new writers and established voices. In 2009 we launched the Caribbean Modern Classics Series, which restores to print essential classic books from the 1930s - 70s. We are grateful for financial support from Arts Council England. We are also home to Inscribe, a national project which supports writers of African & Asian descent.

Review Copies

For review copies, images, interviews or for more information email hannah@peepaltreepress.com

Master of the Tragicomic: Trevor D. Rhone (1940-2009)

One of the most gut-busting, laugh out loud moments I experienced in a theater was when Oliver Samuels stepped on stage wearing a gas mask in the play School’s Out which was written and directed by Trevor D. Rhone. This giant of Caribbean theatre died today at the age of 69.

Rhone’s great strength as a writer was his ability to weave memorable characters, born out of the matrix of Jamaican history and culture, into a text that always contained biting social commentary. He was also one of the funniest playwrights in the Caribbean. Another of those hilarious moments that Rhone created, this time in film, that I’ll never forget was in Smile Orange: “I can’t swim, Miss Doris. I can’t swim.”

Of course, Trevor Rhone will be remembered for coauthoring, The Harder They Come, the film that brought reggae and the cruelties of the Jamaican ghettoes uptown. Ever since Ivanhoe Martin, singer and gun man, stepped into our celluloid imagination, the world has never been the same.

Trevor Rhone’s tragicomic vision and his abilty to portray the harsh realities of Jamaican life while never losing his sense of humor will remain unrivalled in Caribbean theatre for a long time. His unique voice will be missed when the curtain falls, and the lights will be dimmer throughout the Caribbean.

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Photo Credit: Jamaica Observer

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Top Ten Caribbean Theatre Classics: Results

First, give thanks to all who participated by submitting and voting. This has been an educational experience for me and I hope that I'll be able to do more posts like this.

I'd also like to thank Cheryl Williams, who proposed the topic, and I hope this was helpful for all the teachers who read and contribute to this blog.

The Results

The two that were omitted on the last vote were as follows:

In the Beautiful Caribbean by Barry Reckord

Pantomime by Derek Walcott

They both received 4% of the total vote.

Vote for the Top Ten Caribbean Theatre Classics

First, give thanks to all those who submitted your choices to the “Top Ten Caribbean Theatre Classics” which closed on Monday, May 25, 2009, @ 4:30 pm.

The voting begins today and will end on Friday, June 5, 2009, @ 4:30 pm.

I’ve posted the list of with the number of votes here and they are listed alphabetically here. I have organized the voting based on number of votes. In the case of a tie, if a playwright was mentioned at least twice, then s/he was “bumped up” the list. I realize that some may disagree with the voting methods, but this is not a definitive list. Unlike the method for submission, the voting method does not give me the option of unlimited choices, and this just seemed to be the most equitable method of choosing the plays.

These are the final choices from the submissions. I am very interested in any comments about this process and especially about the plays that made the final cut.


Please do not be intimidated by the list or if you haven't read all 12 plays.

Vote for Your Top Ten Caribbean Theater Classics
	Dream on Monkey Mountain by Derek Walcott
	Ti Jean and his Brothers by Derek Walcott
	School's Out by Trevor Rhone
	Smile Orange by Trevor Rhone
	Echo in the Bone by Dennis Scott
	Dog by Dennis Scott
	Pantomime by Derek Walcott
	The Rapist by Pat Cumper
	Fallen Angel and the Devil Concubine by Pat Cumper
	In the Beautiful Caribbean by Barry Reckord
	White Witch by Barry Reckord
	The Joker of Seville by Derek Walcott
Free polls from Pollhost.com

Submissions: Top Ten Caribbean Theatre Classics

Submissions for the Top Ten Caribbean Theatre Classics will begin today. Without getting too complicated, I’ve decided to break it down into two rounds.

Also, if you can't think of twelve, put what ya got!



In case you get lost, here is the direct link to the survey:

http://CTLSilhouette.wsu.edu/surveys/ZS91063

Instructions:

Type in your 12 choices. Update (5/5/2009--Thanks, Pam!). These are not in order of preference. Merely list your choices.

When you reach your 12th choice, hit SEND survey and you’re done!

Give thanks and spread the word!

ROUND ONE

Submissions for the Top Ten Caribbean Theatre Classics will run May 4, 2009 to 4:30 p.m. on May 15, 2009.

ROUND TWO

Voting for the Top Ten Caribbean Theatre Classics will run May 18, 200 to 4:30 p.m. on May 29, 2009.

The Top Ten Caribbean Theatre Classics will be announced on June 1, 2009—the start of Caribbean-American Heritage Month

Definition(s) for the TOP TEN Caribbean Theatre Classics

The setting of the play should be in the Caribbean or Diaspora and the characters should be of Caribbean descent or second generation.

The playwright does not have to be of Caribbean descent.

The playwright does not have to be alive—except in her/his work.

Please submit only once. We are operating on the honor system.

Here’s the link for the submissions: Top 10 Caribbean Theatre Classics

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Top Ten Caribbean Theatre Classics

Cheryl Williams, an English Literature teacher working with adolescents and the CSEC English Literature syllabus, has asked me to assist her in compiling a Caribbean theatre “list of classics.”

Similar to the “Name Your Top Ten Caribbean Novels,” this survey will be conducted in two rounds.



Round One will run May 4, 2009--May 15, 2009. Readers will be asked to submit the names of 12 plays that they consider to be classics of Caribbean theatre.

Round Two will run May 18, 2009—May 29, 2009. Readers will be asked to vote on the results of Round One.

The “Top Ten Caribbean Theatre Classics” will be announced on June 1, 2009—the start of Caribbean-American Heritage Month.

In order to make this as representative as possible, please spread the word by linking and/or e-mailing this post to your colleagues.

1Love,

Geoffrey

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Happy Earth Day

Everglades Litany

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