WRITTEN BY REGINA TAYLOR

ADAPTED FROM THE BOOK BY MICHAEL CUNNINGHAM AND CRAIG MARBERRY

DIRECTED BY PAMELA HUNT

CHOREOGRAPHED BY MERCEDES ELLINGTON

Study Guides are supported by a generous grant from Citigroup

THE REPERTORY THEATRE OF ST. LOUIS

2. What’s the Story?Who’s Who?

3. Words to the Wise4. Bio & Beyond6. African-American Heritage and the Tradition

of Adorning the Head8. The Music of Crowns9. Q & A

12. Read More About It

C O N T E N T S

MISSOURI ARTS COUNCIL

2004–2005 SEASON

Major Sponsor: Anheuser-Busch Companies

What’s the Story?Each of the characters in Crowns possesses the essence of an Orisha, a deity in the Yoruban beliefsystem. Please see pages 16 and 17 of your Crownsprogram for additional information, or visit thefollowing page on The Rep’s website:www.repstl.org/mainstage/crowns2.shtml.

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Who’s Who?Crowns, a play with music and dance, is adapted from a bookby Michael Cunningham and Craig Marberry. Unlike plays thatfollow a sequential story or “plot line,” Crowns weaves together avariety of stories from different characters, time periods andperspectives that, when integrated with music and dance, create atapestry of voices that transcend time and place. The essentialstory of Crowns is that of Yolonda, a young African-American girltrying to figure out her identity, her place in the world, and herplace in her own culture.

Yolonda is a tough girl from Brooklyn who is proud of herstatus as a true New Yorker. When Crowns starts, Yolonda hasbeen sent to South Carolina to live with her grandmother afterher brother has been shot. Mother Shaw, Yolonda’s grandmother,welcomes her granddaughter into a circle of women (Wanda,Jeanette, Velma and Mabel) and a Man who takes many roles.These characters help Yolonda begin linking her own experiencesto the stories of her relatives, her history and her people.

Crowns follows Yolonda, Mother Shaw and the othercharacters through a church service. Through its many parts, theservice draws Yolonda out of her isolation and grief, teaches herthe history of her ancestors and her people, and initiates her intoa place in her new community. The women spend the earlymorning getting dressed and ready for church. The service startswith a Processional, with Yolonda reluctantly wearing a hat thatMother Shaw has bought for her. The women teach Yolonda the“hat queen rules” of etiquette and proper hat wearing.

When the Morning Service begins, Mother Shaw takes overand ushers in the Spirit, which temporarily transforms the space.Shadows of the past take the place of stained glass windows, andechoes of ring shouts and slave songs envelope Yolonda. She pullsaway to perform her own “rebel dance,” a movement that evokesthe urban landscape of her Brooklyn home and herhomesickness. The congregation tries to embrace Yolonda withtheir message of everlasting love and their own stories of loss.Yolonda tells them her story last, describing her brother’s deathand his funeral. She remembers him with sadness and longing,and the women open their arms to her and soothe her with song.In a final movement, Yolonda is baptized, welcomed andaccepted into the legacy of these women and all the ancestorswho have gone before her. She recognizes the unique ways herancestry manifests in herself as she declares, “The more I studyAfrica, the more I see that African Americans do very Africanthings without even knowing it. Adorning the head is one of thosethings…whether it’s the intricate braids or the distinct hairstylesor the beautiful hats we wear on Sundays. We just know insidethat we’re queens. And these are the crowns we wear.”

The cast in The Rep’s production of Crowns. Clockwise fromleft to right: Chaundra Cameron (Mabel), Darryl ReubenHall (Preacher/Man), Denise M. Thimes (Mother Shaw),Jannie Jones (Velma), Gayle Samuels (Wanda), Erin Cherry(Yolanda), and Stacie Precia (Jeanette)

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c r o w n —1) a reward of victory2) a royal or imperial headdress3) the highest point (such as theupper part of a hat or mountain)4) a circular ornament for thehead 5) something that impartssplendor, honor or finish

“ h a t t i t u d e ” —a neologismdescribing the proud andsomewhat showy personality of a“hat queen.”

Yo r u b a —a member of a WestAfrican people living chiefly insouthwest Nigeria, or the beliefsystem, culture or Benue-Congolanguage of that people

D a r l i n g t o n —a town in thenortheast of South Carolina.

g l a u c o m a —Glaucoma is adisease of the eye marked byincreased pressure within theeyeball that can result in damageto the optic disk and gradual lossof vision.

A n d y G u m p —Gump was acharacter from the comic strip“The Gumps” by Sydney Smith,started in 1919 and syndicated bythe Chicago Tribune. It was thefirst comic strip to continue astoryline from one day to the next.

“ E s h e o B a b a e s h e ” —Thisis the Yoruba phrase for “Thankyou Father, thank you.”

H o l y T r i n i t y P e n t e c o s t a l

C h u r c h —a protestant churchwhich emphasizes expressiveworship and the receiving ofspiritual gifts, such as faithhealing

“ t o s p e a k i n t o n g u e s ” —tospeak in a language unknown tothe speaker and inspired by theHoly Spirit

“ t h e S p i r i t ” —refers to theHoly Spirit, the third person of theTrinity in Christianity

“ g e t t i n g m y p r a i s e o n ” —to expressively and dramaticallyworship God and experience thepresence of the Holy Spirit

“ W h e n G i b r a l t a r

t u m b l e s ” —The Rock ofGibraltar is the rocky peninsula on the south-central coast ofSpain. “Gibraltar” has come to besynonymous with stronghold orfort. In the play, this phrase means“when you have lost everything.”

To b a c c o w o r m —a greenworm, filled with tobacco juice,that is long and clingy

“ G a f f n e y w o m a n ” —a womanfrom the town of Gaffney, SouthCarolina.

“ b a n k t h e p o t a t o e s ” —topreserve potatoes by piling theminto a conical shaped mound andcovering them with straw or earth

B e n n e t t C o l l e g e —Bennett isa traditionally African-American,small, four-year liberal arts collegein North Carolina. In 1926 itbecame a college for women only.

S p e l m a n C o l l e g e —Spelmanis a prestigious African-Americancollege in Atlanta, Georgia.Founded in 1881, it is the oldestblack women’s college in theUnited States. Many students atSpelman participated in andorganized sit-ins and boycotts toprotest segregation in the 1960s.

D r . P l a y e r —Dr. Wilma B.Player was president of BennettCollege from 1956 to 1966, andunder her leadership the collegegrew dramatically. She went on tobecome the director of the Division of College Support in the U.S. Office of Education,Department of Health, Educationand Welfare. She died in 2003.

Wo o l w o r t h ’s —This store inNorth Carolina was the site ofprotests during the civil rightsboycotts of the 1960s.

Words to the WiseYo l a n d a — O g u n

Yolanda is a young woman from Brooklyn. Afterher brother died, she was sent to live with (and tolearn from) her grandmother in South Carolina.Her Orisha is Ogun, the deity of iron, war andmodern technology. She is known as the clearer ofpaths, and her colors are green and black.

M o t h e r E l s i e S h a w — O b a t a l a

Mother Shaw is Yolanda’s grandmother and a verywell-respected religious woman. She embodiesObatala, the Orisha of the mind, wisdom andcreativity. Obatala literally means “Chief of theWhite Cloth,” and white and silver are her colors.

P r e a c h e r / M a n — E l e g b a

The Preacher/Man portrays many characters, fromReverend to brother to husband. He possesses thespirit of Elegba, the Orisha of the crossroads andthe messenger between the physical and thespiritual worlds. Elegba’s colors are red and black.

J e a n e t t e — Ye m a ya

Jeanette is a great admirer of Mother Shaw.Nonetheless, she wouldn’t even think aboutloaning a hat to Mother Shaw—or to anyone else.Jeanette’s Orisha is Yemaya. Often referred to as the“Mother of All,” Yemaya is the Orisha of seas andlakes. Her color is blue.

Ve l m a – O ya

Velma grew up on a tobacco farm and later workedfor a funeral home. She represents Oya, the Orishaof storms, and she is a fierce warrior. Her color ispurple.

M a b e l – S h a n g o

Mabel grew up on a farm and afterward became apreacher’s wife. Shango is the Orisha of fire,lightning, drums and dance. Her colors are red andwhite.

Wa n d a – O s h u n

Wanda, like the other women in the play, is a “hatqueen.” She developed her love for hats from herGrandma Em. Wanda shares the nature of Oshun,the Orisha of flowing waters and love. Her colorsare gold and bright yellow.

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Regina Taylor

A distinguished artistic associate of Chicago’sGoodman Theater, Regina Taylor collaborated onand appeared in the play Millennium Mambo,which premiered at New York’s Signature Theatre

in early 2001. As a playwright,Taylor was honored by theAmerican Critics’ Association forOo-Bla-Dee. Drowning Crow,Taylor’s adaptation of AntonChekhov’s The Seagull, wasproduced in 2002 at theGoodman. She also wrote thestage production of A Night inTunisia, which was performed atthe Alabama Shakespeare Festivaland the George Street Playhousein New Brunswick, NJ, amongother theaters.

Regina Taylor played the pivotal role of LillyHarper in the critically acclaimed television seriesI’ll Fly Away, which earned her a Golden GlobeAward for Best Actress in a Drama Series and anNAACP Image Award. She recently received theWomen in Film Gracie Allen Award for herportrayal of Anita Hill in the television film StrangeJustice.

While attending Southern MethodistUniversity, Taylor made her professional actingdebut in the CBS television film Crisis at CentralHigh. Her additional television credits include theseries Law & Order, the films Cora Unashamedand Making the Case for Murder: The HowardBeach Story, and, on CBS, the mini-series Childrenof the Dust. Her feature film credits include TheNegotiator, Courage Under Fire,A Family Thing, Lean on Me, Losing Isaiah and

Clockers.

Taylor was the first black woman to play Julietin Romeo and Juliet on Broadway. Her other

Broadway credits include As You Like It andMacbeth. She has appeared Off-Broadway andregionally in numerous productions includingMachinal and A Map of the World at the JosephPapp Public Theater, The Illusion at the New YorkTheatre Workshop, and The Tempest, for which shereceived a Dramalogue Award. Taylor also starredin the Off-Broadway production of Jar the Floor atthe Second Stage Theater in New York.

Michael Cunningham

is a commercialphotographer whose clientsinclude Coca-Cola and SaraLee. Two of his photographsare currently on loan to theSmithsonian’s AnacostiaMuseum, and his works havebeen featured in The NewYork Times and Ebony. Helives in Winston-Salem,North Carolina.

Craig Marberry,

a former TV reporter, holds amaster’s degree injournalism from ColumbiaUniversity and is the ownerof a video productioncompany. He has writtenarticles for the WashingtonPost and Essence magazine.Marberry is also thegrandson of the late LouisHenry Ford, formerPresiding Bishop of theChurch of God in Christ. Helives in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Bio & Beyond

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Crowns: Portraits of Black Women in Church Hats byphotographer Michael Cunningham and journalist CraigMarberry, published in 2000, is a collection of photographs ofAfrican American women in their most resplendent Sunday finery,accompanied by heartfelt oral testimonies that capture the faithand fashion statements these hats represent. The book lovinglyevokes the lives and stories of 54 “hat queens,” ranging in agefrom 22 to 78, who are photographed in the hats that they wear tochurch each Sunday. From young women to grandmothers, thewomen in the book reflect the history—and the “hattitude”—that is passed from generation to generation.

Before the book was even published, Craig Marberryapproached writer and director Emily Mann, artistic head of New Jersey’s McCarter Theatre, about transforming the materialfor the stage. Mann commissioned a stage adaptation from actorand writer Regina Taylor, who spent two years devising atheatrical language for the play, including a three-week residencyat the Sundance Theatre Lab. In addition to introducing musicand movement, Taylor distilled the women represented in the book to six female characters (and one man) and created a new character—a young woman from Brooklyn who is sent to live with her grandmother in South Carolina after her brotheris shot.

Directed by Taylor and co-produced by McCarter Theatreand New York’s Second Stage Theatre, Crowns received its worldpremiere at McCarter in October 2002. It has since been producedto acclaim at theatres around the country, and was honored inNew York with seven 2003 Audelco Awards for Excellence in BlackTheatre, including Musical Production of the Year.

During rehearsals for the world premiere, Regina Taylortook a few moments to speak with the McCarter Education staffabout the experience of developing and working on Crowns. Thefollowing are excerpts from that conversation.

What was your response when McCarter first approached youwith this project?

I was very excited because I recognize all of these women. They have a sense of community and family that I know well, andI was attracted to the power of the truthfulness of their words. Iwas very much compelled to bring these women to the stage.

How did you come from looking at the stories that are allseparate in the book to creating something with a throughline?

The tradition of adorning oneself for worship is something thatcomes from Africa. This was something that was passed down overthe waters and that African Americans retain here in our churchservices. So when I looked at the book again within this context, Ithought of church music, which harkens back over the waters toAfrican music and I thought about the movement of ring shouts,which goes back directly to Africa. I began to consider things thatare passed down in terms of African cultures, and then I followedthat thread from African traditions to church traditions to how

that has filtered down into all of American society. So now youhave field songs, you have the blues, you have rock, you have rap,you have jazz. All of that is connected—it has a line with adefinite root. So in looking at doing the play I began to look athow I could weave together the narratives, the hat stories, whichreveal so much about the women and where they are going. At thesame time, knowing that not everyone knows about these stories, Iintroduced the character of a young woman from Brooklyn who isliving too fast and her brother has been shot, so her mother sendsher down to Darlington, SC, to live with her grandmother. That’swhere she is initiated into the circle. She is our surrogate throughthis evening and she is indoctrinated and is baptized in thishistory. And that’s the journey that I’ve created.

All of the stories in the book are so compelling, how did youchoose which stories to include?

That was very hard. It became about the arrangement of the pieceand the way the stories fit into the structure. I started with aSunday and I divided it into different parts. In the play theaudience follows the course of that day even though we are goingback and forth in time. We start at sun up and we have themorning ritual of getting ready for church. We have theprocession to church, the morning service, a wedding, a funeral, abaptism and then a recession. So that is the structure. Then Istarted choosing which pieces fit into those sections. I then startedgrouping those pieces so that the stories in the book, from allthese different women, became narrowed down to six differentcharacter types. The seventh character became the Man. And fromthere the voices kind of fell into place.

What made you decide that the character of the Man wasimportant to this story?

I think it is important to have that male/female element. Andthere is a different energy to the piece with him being present. It’snot the same as “girls night out” because when you introduce amale persona the energy responds and changes. I thought thatdynamic was important. And, because he takes on the roles of allof the different men in these women’s lives, I felt we very muchneeded his voice to complete the story.

What do you hope that people who see Crowns will walk out ofthe theatre with?

Generally I hope that people will be open to seeing how this affectstheir own lives and how the specific stories are also universal. Thepiece harkens upon where you come from and what you passdown and the importance of passing something down to someoneelse. That passing is taken into another person and transformshis/her life, and then that person creates what was passed downanew. This is what I hope people will see in it, and it is what Ihope they will be thinking about as they leave the theatre.

The interview with Regina Taylor appears in full in the McCarter’s Teacher Resource Guide(www.mccarter.org/crowns.cfm); these excerpts are reprinted by permission

A Conversation with Playwright Regina Taylor

Throughout African cultures and the Africandiaspora, men and women have traditions ofadorning their heads in creative anddistinctive ways. For daily wear or for specialceremonial occasions, hairstyles andheadgear show respect and veneration of thehead, which is believed to be the seat ofspirituality and identity and the site ofconnection to the divine. Among the Yorubapeople of southwestern Nigeria, the head(ori) is seen as the seat of the person’s vitalforce (àse, pronounced “ah-shay”). TheYoruba believe that the physical head is thevisible representation of the invisible butequally real spiritual head—so, to honor thespiritual, one must treat the physical withrespect.

African-American culture retainsmany traditions, rites and rituals that can betraced back to ancient African ancestry. Theserituals commemorate each passage into anew stage of life. African-American traditionstake new shapes as time alters them, buttrace their roots back to African cultures. InCrowns, the church service includes abaptism, a wedding and a funeral, markingthree important passages.

B i r t h

In almost every culture, the birth of achild is marked with ceremonies to honor theimportant event. Ancient-African traditionsays that the name of the child will affect therest of his or her life. Great care is taken tochoose a positive, unique name that willguarantee the child a happy, healthy andsuccessful life. Baptism also marks thechild’s entrance into the community.Baptism in a pond or river symbolizes awatery grave, and when the individualemerges from their brief submersion, theyare born again into a new life, no matterhow old they may be. Throughout that newlife, they will be important members of acommunity that will accompany them incelebration and in sorrow.

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QUOTES FROM CROWNS: PORTRAITS OF

BLACK WOMEN IN CHURCH HATS

BY MICHAEL CUNNINGHAM AND CRAIG MARBERRY

“Sundays are a precious gift tohardworking women who havelabored unceasingly through theworkweek…

“If the woman is African American,she has some fancy hatboxes on ashelf in her closet. … She dresses inthe finest Sunday church clothes sheowns, layers her face with FashionFair cosmetics and sprays herselfwith a wonderful perfume, and thenshe puts on THE HAT. … She looksat her reflection from every possibleangle. And then, she leaves home andjoins the company of her mothers andaunties and sisters and nieces anddaughters at church whose actionshad been identical to hers thatmorning. They too had waitedlongingly for the gift of a Sundaymorning. Now they stroll up anddown the aisles of the church, stars of splendor, beauty beyondmeasurement. Black ladies in hats.

“To a compliment directed at the hat,each Black lady will give a littlefrown and deprecatingly say, ‘This thing? I almost didn’t wear it it’s so old.’ As she turns away theBlack woman’s smile is resplendent.”—MAYA ANGELOU

“But every woman that prayeth orprophesieth with her head uncovereddishonoureth her head.” 1 CORINTHIANS 11:5

“We just know inside that we’requeens. And these are the crowns wewear.” —FELECIA MCMILLAN, JOURNALIST

A few of

the many

types of hats

in Crowns

Pillboxa brimless woman’s

hat with a flatcrown and

straight sides

M a r r i a g e

“Jumping the broom” emerged as awedding tradition during slavery, when it wasillegal for slaves to marry. When a bride andgroom jump the broom, it symbolizessweeping away past problems and welcomingthe new life of a married couple. For theKgatla people of southern Africa, it wascustomary on the day after the wedding forthe bride to help the other women in thefamily to sweep the courtyard clean,symbolizing her willingness and obligationto assist in housework at her in-laws’ homeuntil the couple moved to their own home.

Wine is also an important part of themarriage ceremony. The ritual of pouringwine is complicated and very strict in someAfrican societies. A libation, or offering ofwine by pouring it on the ground to calldeparted ancestors to witness the wedding,can be a dramatic part of a weddingcelebration. The libation ceremony offers amoment to pause and reflect on theimportance of family and heritage.

Weddings are lively, loud and full ofjoy. The ceremony and celebration involvelots of music provided by bells, drums, hornsand other instruments. The bride and groomhear their guests yell out wishes for them,such as this one, “May the spirits on high, aswell as the spirits below, fill you with grace.”

D e a t h

Traditionally African Americansconsider death to be a critical part of the life cycle, not its ending. African-Americanfunerals, often held at night, may reflect ablend of African customs with WesternChristian practices. An African-Americanfuneral often includes a long procession inwhich everyone passes the grave, shouting,chanting and singing.

The African tradition of markinggraves with the household possessions of thedeparted continued in the New World. ManyAfricans and their descendants believed thatthe spirit would need the use of the person’sbest pots, vessels, clocks, and so forth afterdeath, so those items were placed on top of the grave so that the spirit would belacated and would not haunt and maketrouble for the living. Shells also oftendecorated graves, in keeping with the African BaKongo belief that a sea shell canenclose the immortal soul.

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“When the Apostle Paul wrote anopen letter to the Corinthians,decreeing that a woman cover herhead when at worship to symbolizeher obedience to God and the churchhierarchy, he could not have imaginedthe flamboyance with which African-American women would comply. For generations, black women haveinterpreted Apostle Paul’s edict withboundless passion and singular flair,wearing platter hats, lampshade hats,why’d-you-have-to-sit-in-front-of-me-hats, often with ornaments that runneth over. These captivatinghats are not mere fashion accessories.Neither, despite their Biblical roots,are they solely religious headgear.Church hats are a peculiarconvergence of faith and fashion that keeps the Sabbath both holy and glamorous.” —CRAIG MARBERRY

“Listen, never touch my hat! Admire it from a distance. Those are the hat queen rules, honey.” —PEGGY KNOX, CHILD CARE PROVIDER

“You can flirt with a fan in yourhand. You can flirt holding acigarette, too. But a woman can really flirt with a hat.” —DOLORES FOSTER, REAL ESTATE AGENT (RETIRED)

“My husband said, ‘You don’t need another hat. You don’t have but one head.’” —DOROTHY WYNECROFF,

MIDDLE SCHOOL TEACHER (RETIRED)

“Our crowns have already been bought and paid for. All we have todo is wear them.” —JAMES BALDWIN

African-AmericanHeritage and the

Tradition of Adorningthe Head

Fedoraa low soft felt hat

with the crowncrested lengthwise

Top Hata tall crowned hat,

often black

Derbya man’s stiff felthat with a dome-shaped crown and

a narrow brim

Gele (pronounced gay-lay)

a Nigerian headwrapping which cantake many different

shapes

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Music“I envisioned a Gospel music-driven piece…

a crazy-quilt of music and movement and storytellingthat takes us through the rituals of a Sunday

in the South with characters breaking out of theframework to deliver ‘arias,’ direct addresses

to the audience that may start in the Sunday church service but jump off

into memories of life experiences in different times and

different places.”— REGINA TAYLOR

Theof

Music is an essential ingredient interwoven into thestories and the storytelling of Crowns. For the characters inthe play music functions as a way to tie the past to the presentand as a way for them to commune with the spirits, with theLord and with their ancestry. In order to fully appreciate thesignificance of music within this world, some knowledge ofAfrican and African-American musical traditions is helpful.The following is a brief overview of some of the various stylesof music you will experience in Crowns as well as anintroduction to a few of the rituals that were influential in thedevelopment of African-American music.

F i e l d H o l l e r

The field holler is a kind of African-American musicoriginating in the early days of American slavery. A kind ofwork song, used as a form of communication among blackplantation workers in the South, the field holler made use ofcall and response.

R i n g S h o u t

The ring shout was one of the features of slaveChristianity that made the faith so powerful for the enslavedAfricans and so foreign to European cultures. EnslavedAfricans rarely had their own church buildings, so theyusually had to meet in homes or outdoors, in the woods.While singing and moving the body were an integral part ofworship, the seeming chaos and abandon with which the ringshout was conducted were frightening to owners who wantedcomplete control over the slaves. The ring shout was not,however, all chaos. It was actually a gratifying combinationof emotional release and controlled community behavior, andit is directly linked to the counter-clockwise circle dances ofAfrican Spiritual expression and ancestor worship.

S p i r i t u a l s

A spiritual is a religious song made famous by theAfrican Americans of the Southern United States. Spiritualsare emotional songs that have a strong rhythm. A leadersometimes sings one or two lines alone, and a chorus joins inthe refrain. Spiritual singers often emphasize the rhythm byclapping their hands. Slaves based most of their spiritualsupon characters and stories from the Bible. Many slaves

thought of themselves as modern children of Israel andsought freedom from bondage. Well-known spirituals include “Go Down, Moses,” “Deep River,” and “Swing Low,Sweet Chariot.”

B l u e s

Blues developed in America from the various musicalexpressions of African Americans. The blues are an extremelyflexible type of music, and various musicians have createdindividual styles of performing them. Many blues lyrics reflect loneliness or sorrow, but others present a humorous ordefiant reaction to life’s troubles. As for its exact origins, blues may have developed after the American Civil War fromshort solo calls and wails called “field hollers.” Blind LemonJefferson and Mississippi John Hurt were well-known singersof country blues.

J a z z

Jazz music has often been called the only art form tooriginate in the United States. The history of jazz began in the late 1800s when a new form of music grew from acombination of influences, including African-Americanmusic, African rhythms, American band traditions andinstruments, and European harmonies and forms. Theearliest jazz was performed by African Americans who hadlittle or no training in Western music. During its history, jazz has absorbed influences from the folk and classicalmusic of Africa, Asia, and other parts of the world.

R a p

Rap is a form of popular music that is generally spoken orchanted at a fast pace rather than sung. Rap is performedover musical accompaniment that emphasizes rhythm ratherthan melody. Often this accompaniment consists of shortsegments of earlier recorded music combined in new patterns.Rap music first developed in the mid 1970s in New York City,and soon spread to other urban areas, primarily amongAfrican-American teenagers. At its earliest stages, the biggestinspiration for rap came from disc jockeys in Jamaica whowould talk, or toast, over recorded music they played in clubs.

Source: McCarter Theatre Teacher Resource Guide

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These questions and activities are designed to help students anticipate the performance and then to build on their impressions and interpretations after attending the theatre. The activities and questions are divided into “B e f o r e t h e P e r f o r m a n c e ” and “A f t e r t h e P e r f o r m a n c e ” categories. While most of the exercises provide specificinstructions, please feel free to adapt these activities to accommodate your own teachingstrategies and curricular needs. To assist you in incorporating these materials into yourexisting curriculum, we have provided the numbers of some of the corresponding Missouri Knowledge Standards and Illinois Learning Standards. In addition, the majorityof the content integrates or allows demonstration of the following Missouri PerformanceGoals: 1.5, 1.9, 2.1, 2.3, 2.4, 2.5 and 4.1.

QA

&

B e f o r e t h e P e r f o r m a n c e

1If a copy is available, share the bookCrowns: Portraits of Black Women inChurch Hats with your students. For the

most part, the book is a collection of personalstories of black women, and the stories are all tiedtogether through the hats the women wear. Oralhistory, or storytelling, plays an important role inthe history of all peoples. In Crowns, Yolandalistens to the stories of her grandmother and extended family inSouth Carolina, and these stories serve to bring about changesin her life. Have your students ask an older person from theirfamily or community to share a story with them which wasunique and memorable. Ask them to take notes as they listen tothe story. Have the students relate the stories they were told to therest of the class. Afterward, ask them to explain what theylearned from the stories. What value does storytelling have to theteller? What importance can it have for the listener? What valuedoes it have to our society as a whole? (MO: CA1, CA3, CA4,

CA5, CA6, CA7, SS2, SS6 IL: 3, 4, 16, 18)

2The Orisha, deity-like figures of the ancient Yorubareligion, play a large role in Crowns. In fact, many peoplethroughout the African diaspora find the Orisha and

Yoruban beliefs to be a way of connecting to their own heritage.Joseph Campbell, who became famous for his work incomparative mythology, once wrote of myths, “Myths are publicdreams, dreams are private myths.” In this statement, he wasencapsulating the belief that myths explore needs and desiresthat are common to all of us. They serve to bind us together as acommunity.

Myths share common stories and figures throughout many cultures of the world. Have your students

read the article about Yoruba and the Orisha on pages 16 and 17 of their Crowns

program, or have them visit the following page on The Rep’s website:

www.repstl.org/mainstage/crowns2.shtml.Split the class into groups of no more than four.

Have each group do further research on a few ofthe more than 300 Orisha. Each group should then research thedeities of another ancient culture—the Roman, Greek, Native-American, Norwegian and Egyptian cultures are good choices.Based on their research, have them prepare ComparativeMythology Notebooks. The notebooks should give thedescriptions of at least 10 Orisha. After each Orisha, they shouldlist a deity from the other culture that is most similar to thatOrisha, along with that deity’s description and characteristics.Ask the class these questions: How similar were the deitiesbetween the two cultures? What do you think might account forthese similarities? What value do you think these deities had forthe people that believed in them? Did belief in these figures serveto separate the society or bring it closer together? Why? (MO:CA1, CA2, CA3, CA4, CA5, CA6, CA7, SS2, SS6 IL: 1, 2, 3, 4, 16,18)

A f t e r t h e P e r f o r m a n c e

3How does Yolanda’s speech and body language differ fromthe other female characters in the play? What are thedifferences between her movements and the body language

of the Orisha at the beginning of the play? Were there anysimilarities? What do you believe would account for thesesimilarities and/or differences? (MO: CA1, CA2, CA5, CA6, CA7,

FA1, FA2, FA3, FA4, FA5 IL: 4, 5, 25, 27)

COMMUNICATION ARTSCOMMUNICATION ARTS

FINE ARTSFINE ARTS

10

4Regina Taylor, the playwright of Crowns, related thefollowing about the book on which the play was based:“When I first looked at the photographs and read the

stories, I felt a deep sense of recognition—a sense of where Icame from, a sense of the women who helped raise me, a senseof the community that was provided by aunts and neighbors andthe women who worshipped in the church I grew up in. Therewas very much a feeling of knowing all of these women atdifferent points in my life.” Why was Yolanda, who was fromBrooklyn, able to find healing and identity in Darlington, SouthCarolina? What do you suspect would be the differences betweenwomen in Brooklyn and those in South Carolina? Support youranswers. What effect did the stories that the women shared withYolanda have on her? Why? (MO: CA1, CA2, CA5, CA6, CA7,

FA1, FA2, FA3, FA4, FA5, SS2, SS6 IL: 4, 5, 16, 17, 18, 25, 27)

5Hats take on many values in Crowns. Hold a classdiscussion on the following questions: What purpose dothe hats serve in the structure of the play? What meanings

do the crowns have for each of the characters? When the play isconsidered as a whole, what do the hats symbolize? Have each ofyour students wear a favorite hat—or the favorite hat of afamily member or friend—to class. Ask them to relate a story,either true or fictional, that revolves around the hat. (MO: CA1, CA2, CA5, CA6, CA7, FA1, FA2, FA3, FA4, FA5

IL: 4, 5, 25, 26, 27)

6The hats in Crowns serve to tie the diverse stories of all theunique African-American women together. If you werewriting a book about your peers that was a collection of

their stories, what could you use to unify them? Make a list ofthe reasons your “tie” would bring the stories together as awhole. (MO: CA1, CA2, CA3, CA4, CA6, CA7, FA1, FA2, FA3,

FA4, FA5 IL: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 25, 26, 27)

B e f o r e t h e P e r f o r m a n c e

1Hand out the character descriptions from “Who’sWho” to the class. All the characters in the playshare the traits of Orishas, who symbolize

everything from war and love to lightning and water.Split the class into groups, and have each groupwrite a short dramatic scene to be performedfor the class. The characters in their scenesshould be modern but posses thecharacteristics of these Orisha. Askyour students to consider thefollowing questions as theywrite their scenes: Whatwould each Orisha’spersonality and behaviorbe like given the forcesshe controls? How would thesebehaviors manifest themselvesin a modern person? Havethem make a list of theseattributes for use after theperformance.(MO: FA1, FA2, FA3,

FA4, FA5, CA1, CA2, CA3, CA4,

CA5, CA6, CA7 IL: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 28,

29, 30)

2Have your students read“The Music of Crowns”earlier in this Study Guide.

Each of the music styles listed in the

article (gospel, jazz, hip hop, etc.) has an influence on themusic in the play. Ask the class to bring in examples ofeach music style or songs that are heavily influenced by

the listed music styles. How does eachsong exemplify one or moreof the styles of music fromthe article? (MO: FA1, FA2,

FA3, FA4, FA5, CA1, CA2,

CA6, CA7 IL: 1, 4, 5, 28, 30)

3Portraits of BlackWomen in Church Hats.Basing a work of art on

a work from another art form isvery common. For example, themovie trilogy The Lord of theRings is based on the books ofthe same name by J.R.R. Tolkien,

and the artwork of Leonardo DaVinci plays a prominent role in the

bestselling book, The Da VinciCode. What books, movies and plays

can you think of that were based onother works of art? Why would it

appeal to an artist to base theirwork on the art of another

person? (MO: FA1, FA2, FA3,

FA4, FA5, CA2, CA6, CA7

IL: 4, 5, 28, 30)

Costume rendering of an Orisha by Scenic Designer Reggie Ray.

11

4Have your students read “What’sthe Story” from earlier in thisStudy Guide. Given the context of

the play, how would they design the setand lighting? What type of costumeswould they design and how would theybe different for each of the characters?Ask them to give their reasons for theirdesign choices.(MO: FA1, FA2, FA3, FA4,

FA5, CA1, CA2, CA3, CA6, CA7 IL: 1, 4,

5, 28, 29, 30)

A f t e r t h e P e r f o r m a n c e

5The percussionist, James A.Jackson II, plays a large role in Crowns. How doespercussion support the theme of the piece? Why does the

percussionist begin the play, and how does his opening sceneforward the story? What type of drum is he playing and what isits significance to African heritage?(MO: FA1, FA2, FA3, FA4, FA5, CA2, CA6, CA7 IL: 4, 5, 28, 30)

6As a class, discuss the characters of Yolanda, Mother Shawand the Preacher/Man. How were their roles different fromone another and how did each support the story? What

effect did each character have on the other two? How did eachcharacter change (or not change) throughout the play? Who didyou feel was the central character? Why? (MO: FA1, FA2, FA3,

FA4, FA5, CA2, CA6, CA7 IL: 4, 5, 28, 30)

7Have your students read the Designer’s Note byChoreographer Mercedes Ellington on page 35 of theirprograms. In the note, she refers to a language of dance

that reflects “new” Americans. How does the Choreographyreflect the heritage of these new Americans? How does themovement change throughout the play to reflect the changes ofthe characters? How does the Choreography move the storyforward? How does it serve to develop the personalities of the

characters on stage? How do thechoreography, characters and hatsinteract? (MO: FA1, FA2, FA3, FA4, FA5,

CA1, CA2, CA3, CA6, CA7 IL: 1, 4, 5,

28, 30)

8Discuss the following technicalelements of the play: the lighting,the costumes, the costume

fly-ins, the hat framework, the Stairway to Heaven and the Africanfloor patterns. What technical purposesdid each serve in the play? How dideach of these elements add to the

mood? How did each forward the storyline? Did any of theseelements serve to link the characters to their ancestry? If so,which ones? (MO: FA1, FA2, FA3, FA4, FA5, CA2, CA6, CA7 IL:

4, 5, 28, 29, 30)

9In addition to the music styles listed in the article “TheMusic of Crowns,” Musical Director Timothy Carpenterensured that the songs also represent the styles of different

African-American church movements. For instance, “That’s AllRight,” the ring-shout song during which Yolanda is pulled intothe middle of the ring, is very characteristic of the Pentecostalchurch. Can you list the characteristics (soft, fast, heavyrhythms, etc.) of the music from different churches (Methodist,Pentecostal and others)? Which songs in the play sounded like“church music”? What influence has church music had onmodern secular music? Support your answers. (MO: FA1, FA2,

FA3, FA4, FA5, CA2, CA6, CA7 IL: 4, 5, 28, 30)

10How were the qualities of the Orisha reflected by eachof the characters? Consult the list of Orisha attributesthat you made in “Before the Performance.” Did the

characters show some of the qualities that were on your list?(MO: FA1, FA2, FA3, FA4, FA5, CA2, CA6, CA7 IL: 4, 5, 28, 30)

B e f o r e t h e P e r f o r m a n c e

1Throughout the many communities of the world thatcome from African ancestry, there are religions,philosophies and traditions that can be traced back to the

ancient culture of Yoruba. Research the beliefs and ceremoniesof ancient Yoruba and write an essay that explores and answersthe following questions: What similarities do the Yorubanceremonies and rites of passage have to those of modern AfricanAmericans? What might be the reason for these similarities?What were the differences? Is there value to a modern AfricanAmerican in learning about Yoruban beliefs? Why or why not?(MO: SS1, SS2, SS4, SS5, SS6, CA1, CA3, CA4, CA6, CA7 IL:

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)

2Many of the stories in Crowns explore the African-American struggle for civil rights. Create a collage thatshows the major events in this struggle. Your collage can

be made up of photographs from magazines, copies ofphotographs from books, copies of headlines from oldnewspapers, or any other creative items you can imagine thatrepresent the civil rights struggle. (MO: SS1, SS2, SS4, SS5,

SS6, CA1, CA3, CA4, CA6, CA7 IL: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 14, 15, 16, 17,

18)

SOCIAL SCIENCESSOCIAL SCIENCES

Rep Scenic Artist James VanWell chalking-inand painting the African designs for theCrowns set.

12

A f t e r t h e P e r f o r m a n c e

3Many spirituals such as “Wade in the Water” had veryspecial meanings to slaves. What hidden meaning did thissong have? What other spirituals had special meanings,

and what was the hidden importance of each song? (MO: SS1,

SS2, SS3, SS4, SS5, SS6, CA1, CA6, CA7, FA3, FA5 IL: 4, 5, 14,

15, 16, 17, 18, 25, 27)

4Crowns revolves around the stories of African-Americanwomen. What were the central themes of these stories? Atthe end of the play, Yolanda says: “The more I study Africa,

the more I see that African Americans do very African thingswithout even knowing it. Adorning the head is one of thosethings. Now I have about 60 hats...mostly I wear my gelees. Theyconnect me to the Motherland. They connect me to myself, Andin a way they connect me to my brother because they connectme to all ancestors who’ve crossed over.” How did the stories ofher family lead her to these revelations about herself? (MO: SS1,

SS2, SS3, SS4, SS5, SS6, CA1, CA6, CA7, FA3, FA5 IL: 4, 5, 14,

15, 16, 17, 18, 25, 27)

5If you were writing a play that was a collection ofstories—similar to Crowns—but one which revolvedaround African-American men, how would the play be

different? Would the central themes of the stories need to changein order to be of value to the central male figure (the male“Yolanda”)? Why or why not? If the themes of the stories wouldneed to be different, what would they be? (MO: SS1, SS2, SS4,

SS5, SS6, CA1, CA6, CA7, FA3, FA5 IL: 4, 5, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18,

25, 27)

6When Yolanda is sent to the South by her mother in orderto learn from her grandmother, she is undergoing a rite ofpassage: an event that allows her to grow as a person, and

one that others like her have experienced. What rites of passagehave you gone through in life regarding your school, family and

friends? What was challenging about these experiences? Do youview the events differently now than you did when you wereexperiencing them? Why or why not? (MO: SS2, SS4, SS5, SS6,

CA1, CA6, CA7, FA3, FA5 IL: 4, 5, 15, 16, 17, 18, 25, 27)

7Many of the stories in Crowns are abouttraditions handed down from onegeneration to the next. Create a list of

traditions that have been handed down inyour family and community. Do youbelieve these traditions to be valuable?Why or why not? If you believethese traditions are important,in what ways are they of value?(MO: SS2, SS4, SS5, SS6, CA1,

CA6, CA7, FA3, FA5 IL: 4, 5,

15, 16, 17, 18, 25, 27)

8There was one story inthe play that standsapart from the others;

rather than being aboutwearing hats, this story wasabout not wearing hats. Inthis particular story, whywas it important for thewomen to refrainfrom wearing hats?(MO: SS1, SS2,

SS4, SS5, SS6,

CA1, CA6, CA7,

FA3, FA5 IL: 4,

5, 14, 15, 16,

17, 18, 25, 27)

Crowns : Portraits of Black Women inChurch Hats by Michael Cunningham andCraig Marberry. Doubleday; 2000. This isthe bestselling book on which ReginaTaylor’s play was based.

This Far by Faith: African-American SpiritualJourneys. This six-part PBS series, available on VHS and DVD (at a discount to educators), explores the long, richhistory of African-American faith.

Crowning Achievements: African Arts ofDressing the Head by Mary Jo Arnoldi et al.University of California Los Angeles; 1995.This book investigates the African traditionof adorning the head.

African Religions and Philosophy by John S. Mbiti. Heinemann; 1992. This is a systematic study of the attitudes ofmind and belief that have evolved in themany societies of Africa.

To learn more about the history of African-American music, including gospel, blues,jazz, soul and others, visit the websitehttp://afgen.com/music.html.

The websitehttp://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/wpa/wpahome.htmlcontains an online anthology of slavenarratives. Other interesting African-American historical documents are availableat www.ourblackheritage.com.

For additional information about JosephCampbell and comparative mythology, visit the website of his foundation,www.jcf.org.

www.yoruba.org contains a wealth of information about Yoruba in Africa andthroughout the diaspora.

The best mythology site on the Internet is www.pantheon.org. The sitecontains information on hundreds of mythsand mythic gods.

McCarter Theatre, which premiered Crowns, has a wealth of information aboutthe production available on their website,www.mccarter.org/crowns.cfm.

The Rep would like to thank the McCarter Theatre, Guthrie Theatre, Alliance Theatre and Intiman Theatre for allowing us to usetheir educational materials in the creation of this Study Guide.

Read MoreAbout ItWe encourage you toexamine these topics in-depth by exploring thefollowing books, websitesand videos.