The Thaumaturgy Department

(It's dramaturgy, not thaumaturgy.)

Gavin
CENTERSTAGE
Baltimore
Maryland
USA

thaumaturg
Main Entry: thau·ma·turg
Pronunciation: \ˈthȯ-mə-ˌtərj\
Function: noun
Etymology: French, from New Latin thaumaturgus, from Greek thaumatourgos working miracles, from thaumat-, thauma miracle + ergon work — more at Theater, Work

2011-2012 Season:
The Second City: Charmed and Dangerous
The Rivals
American Buffalo
Jazz
A Skull in Connemara
Into the Woods
The Whipping Man
Play Labs
Cabarets

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The official blog of the Dramaturgy Department at Baltimore's CENTERSTAGE. For posts related to our current and upcoming shows, click the links to the right. Alternatively, you could begin at the beginning, and explore our posts in chronological order.

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May 10

“ The Great Poe Debate:
Now, that the 200th anniversary of his birth (Jan. 19, 2009) has passed, three cities – Boston, Baltimore and Philadelphia — are battling to claim him, not just with competing bicentennial events but with a spirited and mostly good-humored debate over who has the greatest right to his legacy. For a poet and short-story writer devoted to elegy and horror, a man whose great subject was death, such posthumous popularity is rich in irony. But the debate also raises some serious questions – about what constitutes a literary blood tie, and why claims of legacy should matter centuries later.

The Great Poe Debate - Obit Magazine

EAP mugshot

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April 22

"The Jewish Rebel" - Confederate Sec'y of War Judah P. Benjamin

“The Jewish Rebel” By TERRY L. JONES recalls Judah Benjamin in NYTimes Disunion series.

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April 20

“ Many pioneering artists have endured abuse from critics and naysayers. But once in a blue moon, time brings acceptance and acclaim, making those early detractors look silly to future generations. Check out how the following works—whose ‘classic’ status now seems self-evident—were once butchered by the Simon Cowells of yesteryear.

11 Early Scathing Reviews of Works Now Considered Masterpieces - Mental Floss

by Jon Seder - April 20, 2012

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“ After the general discussion, three of us—a middle-aged black woman, an older white woman, and a Jewish man—continued to talk about our experience of race, shared history, and the handing down of tradition. Where else in this wonderfully diverse city do such conversations occur? Thanks to all at Center Stage for a most memorable evening….

In response to our current production of The Whipping Man, we got this lovely, unsolicited email from a patron. Couldn’t ask for more:

Dear Everyone!

The play, the actors, the direction, the set, lighting were ever so much better than the review led me to expect. …the subplots and subsidiary detail enhanced our experience of the intricacies of relationships under the slave system.

The follow-up discussion engaged all of us in opening up the characters and plot lines as we talked about religion, politics, and race. I was so impressed that [the actor] stayed to hear and interact with the audience - and describe some of the directorial process. …I have to disagree on one point: We do talk about race in America - not frequently, not enough, but at Center Stage on a spring Sunday following a shared experience of artistic genius.

After the general discussion, three of us , a middle-aged black woman, an older white woman, and a Jewish man, continued to talk about our experience of race, shared history and the handing down of tradition. Where else in this wonderfully diverse city do such conversations occur? Thanks to all at Center Stage for a most memorable evening!

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April 12

Slavery’s Legacy in America: a post-performance discussion

Sunday, April 15, following the 7:30 pm performance of The Whipping Man at CENTERSTAGE:

Post-Show Discussion, The Head Theater.

Dr. Raymond A. Winbush, celebrated author and historian, will host a discussion focusing on the legacy of slavery in American: What are the historic and modern implications of slavery in our country? How does it continue to influence race relations and public policy?

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April 11

“Richmond Jews: A Curious Confederate History” By Janet Lubman Rathner

In what might seem to many as highly unusual, and a strange allegiance, Richmond, Va., is home to the Soldiers’ Section at Hebrew Cemetery, believed to be the only Jewish military cemetery in the world outside the state of Israel.

Jewish presence in Richmond predates its designation as a city and state capital, and, for that matter, Virginia’s designation as a state.

Jews were among the colonists who established Jamestown in 1607, and may well have been in the group of 120 men who left that enclave days later to sail up what is now known as the James River, in the first effort to settle an area that today is part of downtown Richmond.

At the time of Richmond’s founding in 1737, Jews were engaged in trade throughout the Virginia Territory. By 1790, approximately 100 of the 3,700 colonists calling Richmond home were Jews. On Shabbat, they gathered at the Orthodox Kahal Kadosh Beth Shalome, a synagogue that followed Sephardic ritual worship.

With the arrival of more Ashkenazi Jews, a second synagogue, Beth Ahabah, was established in 1841. Khal Kadosh Beth Shalome eventually merged with Beth Ahabah, which continues to this day as a Reform house of worship and is the sixth-oldest synagogue in the United States.

Acts of Inheritance

Throughout the production of The Whipping Man, CENTERSTAGE will be providing numerous opportunities for audiences to engage in discussion inspired by the themes of the show. Conversations will focus on the notion of inheritance— inherited faiths, political systems, racial struggles, and all of the inherited gifts and issues associated with our multifaceted identities. Prominent leaders of Baltimore’s African American and Jewish communities will participate, to encourage exploration of these two communities’ relationships over time. Theater scholars and artists will also contribute, offering historical and cultural expertise as well as behind-the-scenes insights to enhance audiences’ experiences of The Whipping Man and its rich subject matter. Click here for events, dates, times, locations, and guests.

This project was made possible by a grant from the Maryland Humanities Council, through support from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this programming do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities or the Maryland Humanities Council.

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"Edward and the Elephant:" Reflections on the Battle of Shiloh

from the NYTimes Opinionator series on the Civil War

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April 4

Richmond (VA) Slave Trail

Richmond Slave Trail is a walking trail that chronicles the history of the trade in enslaved Africans from Africa to Virginia until 1775, and away from Virginia, especially Richmond, to other locations in the Americas until 1865. […] It follows a route traveled by some of the thousands of Africans who made their journey south by crossing the James River chained together in a coffle, or by getting on ships to New Orleans. The trail then follows a route through the slave markets of Richmond….

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Resources on Slavery in Richmond, VA

from the site:

This online resource was created in 2009 as part of an ongoing initiative to help document the history of slavery in Richmond, Virginia. Its sponsors include the Richmond Slave Trail Commission, the public history program of VCU’s Department of History and the Special Collections and Archives department of the VCU Libraries.

This site will function as a learning resource and will help identify images, print sources, manuscript collections, and other online resources related to the history of slavery in Richmond. This project is also intended to identify, acquire, and organize for public access the archives of the Richmond Slave Trail Commission.

For more information about this project please contact Special Collections and Archives.

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April 2

Passover Meets Center Stage’s ‘Whipping Man’

Piece on the upcoming production, featuring here our wonderful production dramaturg, guesting in from University of Maryland, Faedra Chatard Carpenter. Read on!

faedra whip

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