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Activities | Books to Buy Make a Model StageLORRAINE HANSBERRY Growing up in Chicago, Lorraine Hansberry was eight when her parents bought a house in an all-white neighborhood. Her parents had to go to court to try and keep their new home. They lost and had to move, but took their case to the Supreme Court with the help of the NAACP. They won, and even though they had lost their house, Jim Crow laws began to change because of the Hansberry’s hard work. Lorraine grew up and attended the University of Wisconsin. In 1950, she moved to New York. Lorraine wrote for Freedom, Paul Robeson’s African American newspaper. She also gave speeches and helped raise money to support the Civil Rights Movement in America and the black struggle in Africa for freedom from white rule. In New York, Lorraine met Robert Nemiroff, a songwriter. They married. She spent a lot of her time writing about racial struggles, world peace, and political issues. As a playwright, Lorraine wrote about an African American family who dreamed of a better life. They planned to move out of Chicago’s ghetto, or poor neighborhood. The people already living in the new, all-white neighborhood didn’t want this family moving in, however. The play ended with the family standing up for their rights and moving into their new home. Lorraine named her play A Raisin in the Sun. She got this title from a poem written by a famous poet she knew and admired, Langston Hughes. A Raisin in the Sun was a huge success! Lorraine became the first black woman to have a play produced on Broadway. It won the New York Drama Critics Circle Award as Best Play of the Year. It became so famous, it was made into a movie. Lorraine wrote a second play, The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window. The performances ended sadly, however, when she passed away at the age of 34 from cancer. Because of Lorraine’s success, many doors began to open to African American writers and actors. Known as a pioneer, she inspired many African Americans to pursue a career in the theater. After her death, Robert Nemiroff published Lorraine’s writings. He produced some into plays such as To Be Young, Gifted, and Black. Her most famous play was made into a musical called Raisin. Quote: “Though it be a thrilling and marvelous thing to be merely young and gifted in such times, it is doubly so—doubly dynamic—to be young, gifted, and black.” -Lorraine Hansberry –from Janet Tripp, The Importance of Lorraine Hansberry, (San Diego, Lucent Books: 1998), p. 82. Important Highlights • 1930- Birth • 1950- Moved to New York City to write • 1959- A Raisin in the Sun produced as a play on Broadway • 1959- Awarded the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Play of the Year • 1961- A Raisin in the Sun produced as a movie • 1965- Death • 1969- To Be Young, Gifted, and Black produced as a play • 1972- Nemiroff published Les Blancs: The Collected Last Plays of Lorraine Hansberry • 1974- Raisin, the musical, won the Tony Award • 1975- Raisin won a Grammy for best musical MAKE A MODEL STAGE At the end of this classic play, the characters in A Raisin in the Sun move out of their Chicago apartment and into their new home. What do you think life was like for them living in an all-white neighborhood? Do you think they might have been forced to leave as Lorraine Hansberry’s family had been because of a ruling in the court that segregation laws must keep blacks in a separate neighborhood from whites? Or do you think they were able to stay with their new neighbors? If they stayed, do you think they could make friends, or would they have to stand guard with a gun to protect their house from people throwing bricks in their window and trying to scare them away? The action for the play A Raisin in the Sun takes place in a crowded ghetto apartment. Hansberry carefully designed the stage with furnishings in her characters’ apartment to give information about their personalities, struggles, hopes, and dreams. Write a new play about what you think life would be like for a family moving into a neighborhood where people didn’t accept them. Design a stage with furniture and other furnishings that explain what the inside of their new house looks like as well as show the audience what struggles and triumphs the family will have. To help you design, make a model stage where you can experiment with how you want your stage to look and the message you want it to give. MATERIALS Sturdy cardboard box White poster board Scissors Paints and brushes Old magazines and catalogs Glue Pencils, markers, and crayons Modeling clay 1/8-inch dowel rods Fabric Scraps Cut off one side of the box and lay it on its side to form the stage so that the front and the roof are open. Paint the inside of the box a solid color. Use the magazines and catalogs to cut out pictures of people and furniture that will be in your play. Glue these pictures to poster board or make your own designs by drawing on the poster board and cutting it out. Attach a piece of modeling clay to the bottom of each figure to help it stand. Place the furniture and people on the stage, moving the pieces around until you are satisfied with how it looks. Use the dowel rods and fabric to make curtains for the front of the stage, cutting slits in the cardboard stage to place the dowel rods across the top. Your model stage will help you plan your play and design the actual stage when you are ready to perform. |