Afrocentric Approaches to African American Drama

This essay aims to draw attention to the fundamental differences that exist between the inherent qualities of African American dramatic tradition and the dramatic tradition of the West through an assessment of initial models in both traditions. Aristotle, Shakespeare, Descartes and Nietzsche’s contribution to European arts, literature and philosophy may have been great however Aristotelian premises do not explain African or Asian phenomena. In Black Theatre: Premise and Presentation, Molette and Molette (1986) argue that in African American drama rather than Aristotle’s formula on linear development, aesthetic priorities place a higher value on texture in forms of dialogue, music, and spectacle (Molette & Molette, 1986). Rather than the script, the theme, the plot, the character, the presentation is of primary importance; it is the overall effect of the presentation and not just the words but how well they are presented to the audience. Fundamentally this essay postulates that understanding African American drama in the light of Afrocentricity rests on viewing it as a means of total creation that derives its power from the interaction of a human being with the self, the community, and the cosmos.