A Black History Tribute: Ira Aldridge (First African American Shakespearean Actor)

Ira Aldridge as Othello, 1830 by Henry Perronet Briggs

In honor of Black History Month, I wanted to talk about the life of Ira Aldridge, the first African American Shakespearean actor.  Just this past weekend, Saturday, February, 18th, 2012, I was given the job to video tape a One-Act Play called Ira Aldridge: The African Roscius, written by Jacqueline E. Lawton.  The play was part of The 23rd Annual Savannah Black Heritage Festival and was featuring Avery Brooks (Ira Aldridge) and Jewell Robinson (Amanda Ira Aldridge, his daughter).  

A History and Outline of the Western Theater

To most people, theater is a fun and exciting subject; and it very well is and can be.  However, theater wasn't always as entertaining to everyone as it is today.  Like any subject or field of study, theater has its glamorous and not so glamorous moments in time. I will briefly discuss the rise and fall of theater in the Western part of the world.

Theater's Origin

It is not known exactly when and where theater was started.  It is evident, though, that every culture has used some elements of theater to communicate, to pass down information, and to just entertain.  I will talk about the start of theater in the Western World. 

A Brief History of Acting

You know the old cliche, you won't know where you're going until you know where you've been.  Well, it's the same for acting.  Of course, like anything, when you talk about history, it's always a little fuzzy.  It's been passed down through history and in many theater classrooms that the first actor was Thespis of Icaria.  Thespis was a part of a dithyrambic chorus that sang in honor of Dionysus, a Greek god of wine and