Lorraine Hansberry Scene Study for Actors & Directors

Presented by Director/Casting Director Pat Golden

To be held online via Zoom: 

Lorraine Hansberry Scene Study for Actors & Directors focuses on script analysis, character development, character relationships, subtext, action and each play’s world by concentrating on specific scenes from Lorraine Hansberry’s canon. Scenes will be chosen from plays such as LES BLANCS, THE SIGN IN SIDNEY BRUSTEIN’S WINDOW, and one or two of her unproduced works. The class is for both actors and directors.

We delve into Ms. Hansberry’s life, explore issues prevalent during her time via videos and reading material to contrast that history with current, pressing issues of our times – BLM, LGBTQ, civil rights, racism, gender discrimination, government surveillance, etc.

Expected rehearsal time outside of class: 2-3 hours/week.

Directors: Directing work will include experimentation with the technical aspects of directing actors in a scene from stage plays that are filmed.

Actors: Lorraine Hansberry’s plays are particularly diverse and inclusive.  The stories in her plays always include points-of-view from her racially diverse characters she created. As such, please feel free to decide where you fit in based on the following short CHARACTER DESCRIPTIONS:

  • LES BLANCS, set in a fictional African country on the verge of independence, is Lorraine Hansberry’s answer to LES NEGRES (aka The Blacks) by Jean Genet, and has roles for 5 BLACK MALE, 1 BLACK FEMALE, 3 WHITE MALE and 2 WHITE FEMALE ACTORS ranging from 20-60 years old.
  • THE SIGN IN SIDNEY BRUSTEIN’S WINDOW, set in Greenwich Village in 1964, is about the nature of relationships and of one’s personal commitment to an ideal. 1 VERY LIGHT-SKINNED BLACK MALE, 1 LATINO MALE, 3 WHITE MALE and 3 WHITE FEMALE ACTORS ranging from 20-50 years old.
  • FLOWERS, the story of a hermit who returns to what’s left of civilization after twenty years in isolation, has a series of monologues for MALE ACTORS aged 40-plus of ANY ETHNICITY.
  • THE DRINKING GOURD, about a young man’s planned escape from enslavement just as the Civil War begins, has roles for 2 BLACK FEMALE, 3 BLACK MALE, 6 WHITE MALE and 2 WHITE FEMALE ACTORS ranging from 19-50 years old.

Sign up for either Part A or Part B independently (5 weeks each), or join both for the full 10 week term. You may join Part B without taking Part A: