Generating a new understanding of the past--as well as a vision for the future--this path-breaking volume contains essays written by playwrights, scholars, and critics that analyze African American theatre as it is practiced today. Even as they acknowledge that Black experience is not monolithic, these contributors argue provocatively and persuasively for a Black consciousness that creates a culturally specific theatre. This theatre, rooted in an African mythos, offers ritual rather than realism; it transcends the specifics of social relations, reaching toward revelation. The ritual performance that is intrinsic to Black theatre renews the community; in Paul Carter Harrison's words, it "reveals the Form of Things Unknown" in a way that "binds, cleanses, and heals." Author note: Paul Carter Harrison is playwright in residence at the Theatre Center, Columbia College, Chicago. He is the author of several books including, The Drama of Nommo and the editor of several play anthologies. His play, The Great MacDaddy, received an Obie Award for playwriting. Victor Leo Walker is Chief Executive Officer of the African Grove Institute for the Arts, Inc. and the author of The Cultural MatriX: Los Angeles Inner City Cultural Center, 1965 to 1998 (forthcoming). Gus Edwards teaches Film Studies and directs a multi-ethnic theatre program at Arizona State University. He has published two volumes of monologues from his plays including The Offering, Black Body Blues, and Louie & Ophelia. He is coeditor with Paul Carter Harrison of the anthology, Classic Plays from the Negro Ensemble Company.

What is a hero? How is one defined?

When Gus Edwards discovered that the majority of the young actors, playwrights, and teachers he encountered didn't know who Nat Turner was - nor many other key men and women in black history - he summoned the power of theatre to correct the situation. "Black Heroes in Monologues" brings these and other influential African Americans to life once again.

As he did with "Monologues on Black Life," Edwards offers black actors and actresses a host of new, original audition and performance pieces. Perfect for black history month or any moment that calls for a stirring performance, "Black Heroes in Monologues" features twenty-seven monologues in the voices of heroes from every walk of African American life. From Civil Rights-era leaders Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, and Malcolm X to freedom fighters Harriet Tubman and Joseph Cinque; from Hall of Fame sports figures Jackie Robinson and Joe Louis to influential artists Paul Robeson, Mahalia Jackson, Hattie McDaniel, and Oscar Micheaux. You'll find a wide variety of richly drawn portraits of people whose passion, resolve, and smarts will inspire your acting.

Heroes come from all walks of life. Some we recognize easily; others are unknown or forgotten. With "Black Heroes in Monologues," we can not only return them to our consciousness, but bring them to life for people of every color to cherish and enjoy.