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    Trouble in Mind
    Trouble in Mind
    Trouble in Mind
    Ebook120 pages1 hour

    Trouble in Mind

    By Alice Childress

    4.5/5

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    • Theater & Acting

    • Power Dynamics

    • Theater

    • Playwriting

    • Social Issues

    • Power of Art

    • Fish Out of Water

    • Struggling Artist

    • Self-Discovery

    • Power Struggle

    • Journey of Self-Discovery

    • Fear of the Unknown

    • Importance of Communication

    • Social Commentary

    • Communication Breakdown

    • Identity & Self-Expression

    • Communication & Understanding

    • Racism & Discrimination

    • African American Culture

    • Family Relationships

    About this ebook



    “A masterpiece . . . Trouble in Mind still contains astonishing power; it could have been written yesterday.” —Vulture

    Ahead of its time, Trouble in Mind, written in 1955, follows the rehearsal process of an anti-lynching play preparing for its Broadway debut. When Wiletta, a Black actress and veteran of the stage, challenges the play’s stereotypical portrayal of the Black characters, unsettling biases come to the forefront and reveal the ways so-called progressive art can be used to uphold racist attitudes. Scheduled to open on Broadway in 1957, Childress objected to the requested changes in the script that would “sanitize” the play for mainstream audiences, and the production was canceled as a result. Childress’s final script is published here with an essay by playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, editor of TCG Illuminations.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTheatre Communications Group
    Release dateJun 21, 2022
    ISBN9781636700168
    Trouble in Mind

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      Book preview

      Trouble in Mind - Alice Childress

      TROUBLE IN MIND

      A Comedy-Drama in Two Acts

      PRODUCTION HISTORY

      Trouble in Mind opened on Broadway at the American Airlines Theatre on November 18, 2021. It was produced by Roundabout Theatre Company (Todd Haimes, Artistic Director/ CEO; Julia C. Levy, Executive Director; Sydney Beers, Executive Producer; Steve Dow, Chief Administrative Officer). It was directed by Charles Randolph-Wright. The scenic design was by Arnulfo Maldonado, the costume design was by Emilio Sosa, the lighting design was by Kathy A. Perkins, the sound design was by Dan Moses Schreier, hair and wigs were by Cookie Jordan, makeup was by Kirk Cambridge-Del Pesche, and the original music was by Nona Hendryx. The stage manager was Alfredo Macias. The cast was:

      Trouble in Mind opened at the Greenwich Mews Theatre (Lily Turner, Artistic Director; Stella Holt, Administrative Coordinator) on November 4, 1955, in New York City, and ran for ninety-one performances. The play was directed by Clarice Taylor and Alice Childress. The scenic and lighting design were by Vincent Sorrentino. The stage manager was Howard Augusta. The cast was:

      CHARACTERS

      PLACE

      A Broadway theater in New York City, 1957.

      Act 1

      A Broadway theater in New York City. Ten o’clock Monday morning. Fall 1957. Blues music in, out after lights up.

      The stage of the theater. Stage left leads to the outside entrance. Stage right to upstairs dressing rooms.

      There are many props and leftovers from the last show: a plaster fountain with a cupid perched atop, garden furniture, tables, benches, a trellis, two white armchairs trimmed with gold gilt.

      Before the curtain rises we hear banging sounds from offstage left, the banging grows louder and louder.

      Curtain rises. Wiletta Mayer, a middle-aged actress, appears. She is attractive and expansive in personality. She carries a purse and a script. At the moment, she is in quite a huff.

      WILETTA: My Lord, I like to have wore my arm off bangin’ on that door! What you got it locked for?

      (Lights up brighter.)

      Had me standin’ out there in the cold, catchin’ my death of pneumonia!

      (Henry, the elderly doorman, enters.)

      HENRY: I didn’t hear a thing … I didn’t know …

      (Wiletta is suddenly moved by the sight of the theater. She holds up her hand for silence, looks out and up at the balcony. She loves the theater. She turns back to Henry.)

      WILETTA: A theater always makes me feel that way … gotta get still for a second.

      HENRY (Welcomes an old memory): You … you are Wiletta Mayer … more than twenty years ago, in the old Galy Theater … (Wiletta is pleased to be remembered) You was singin’ a number, with the lights changin’ color all around you … What was the name of that show?

      WILETTA: Brownskin Melody.

      HENRY: That’s it … and the lights …

      WILETTA: Was a doggone rainbow.

      HENRY: And you looked so pretty and sounded so fine, there’s no denyin’ it.

      WILETTA: Thank you, but I … I …

      (Wiletta hates to admit she doesn’t remember him.)

      HENRY: I’m Henry.

      WILETTA: Mmmmm, you don’t say.

      HENRY: I was the electrician. Rigged up all those lights and never missed a cue. I’m the doorman here now. I’ve been in show business over fifty years. I’m the doorman … Henry.

      WILETTA: That’s a nice name. I … I sure remember those lights.

      HENRY: Bet you can’t guess how old I am, I’ll betcha.

      WILETTA (Would rather not guess): Well … you’re sure lookin’ good.

      HENRY: Go ahead, take a guess.

      WILETTA (Being very kind): Ohhhhh, I’d say you’re in your … late fifties.

      HENRY (Laughs proudly): I fool ’em all! I’m seventy-eight years old! How’s that?

      WILETTA: Ohhhh, don’t be tellin’ it.

      (She places her script and purse on the table, removes her coat. Henry takes coat and hangs it on a rack.)

      HENRY: You singin’ in this new show?

      WILETTA: No, I’m actin’. I play the mother.

      HENRY (Hard of hearing): How’s that?

      WILETTA: I’m the mother!

      HENRY: Could I run next door and get you some coffee? I’m goin’ anyway, no bother.

      WILETTA: No, thank you just the same.

      HENRY: If you open here, don’t let ’em give you dressin’ room C. It’s small and it’s got no john in it … excuse me, I mean … no commode … Miss Mayer.

      WILETTA (Feeling like the star he’s made her): Thank you, I’ll watch out for that.

      (Henry reaches for a small chair, changes his mind and draws the gilt armchair to the table.)

      HENRY: Make yourself comfortable. The old Galy. Yessir, I’m seventy-eight years old.

      WILETTA: Well, I’m not gonna tell you my age. A woman that’ll tell her age will tell anything.

      HENRY (Laughs): Oh, that’s a good one! I’ll remember that! A woman that’ll tell her age … what else?

      WILETTA: Will tell anything.

      HENRY: Will tell. Well, I’ll see you a little later.

      (He exits stage left.)

      WILETTA (Saying goodbye to the kind of gentle treatment she seldom receives): So long.

      (She rises and walks downstage, strikes a pose from the old Galy, and sings a snatch of an old song.)

      Oh, honey babe

      Oh, honey babe …

      (She pushes the memory aside.)

      Yes, indeed!

      (John Nevins, a young Negro actor, enters. He tries to look self-assured, but it’s obvious that he is new to the theater and fighting hard to control his enthusiasm.)

      Good morning. Another early bird! I’m glad they hired you, you read so nice er … ah …

      JOHN: John, John Nevins.

      WILETTA: This is new for you, ain’t it?

      JOHN: Yes, ma’am.

      WILETTA: Yes, ma’am? I know you’re not a New Yorker, where’s your home?

      JOHN: Newport News, that’s in Virginia.

      WILETTA: HOT DOG. I shoulda known anyone as handsome and mannerly as you had to come from my home. Newport News! Think of that! Last name?

      JOHN: Nevins, John Nevins.

      WILETTA: Wait a minute … do you know Estelle Nevins, used to live out on Prairie Road … fine-built woman?

      JOHN: Guess I do, that’s my mother.

      WILETTA (Very touched): No, she ain’t!

      JOHN (Afraid of oncoming sentiment): Yes … ah … yes she is.

      WILETTA: What a day! I went to school with Estelle! She married a fella named Clarence! Used to play baseball. Last time I hit home she had a little baby in the carriage. How many children she got?

      JOHN: I’m the only one.

      WILETTA: You can’t be that little baby in the carriage! Stand up, let me look at you! Brings all of yesterday back to my mind! Tell me, John, is the drugstore still on the corner? Used to be run by a tall, strappin’ fella … got wavy, black hair … and, well, he’s kind of devilish … Eddie Bentley!

      JOHN: Oh yes, Mr. Bentley is still there …

      WILETTA: Fresh and sassy and …

      JOHN: But he’s gray-haired and very stern and businesslike.

      WILETTA (Very conscious of her

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