The play sparked debates about the abolition of slavery and the role of theatre in politics. It concerns the residents and slaves of a Louisiana plantation, Terrebonne. THE OCTOROON by Dion Boucicault Opened at The Winter Garden Theatre in NYC, 1859 A play adapted from the novel The Quadroon. She takes after the conventional ingnue victim of melodrama. The character was a beautiful young girl who was raised as a white child. The title character reflects the tragic mulatto figure common in early 19th century fiction. THE QUADROON by Thomas Mayne Reid Written in 1856 A novel telling the story of a quadroon slave (1/4th black) living on a plantation in Louisiana who falls in love with a white plantation owner. Which was adapted from the book The Quadroon by Thomas Mayne Reid Your students are going to love you for it! Anne HolmesДЄn Octoroon is a contemporary play by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins inspired by the play The Octoroon by Dion Boucicault Thanks again for agreeing to go on this ride with us. The In the Classroom section includes our suggestions for introducing the play with interactive lessons designed to engage students in discussion and get them making their own predictions about its content and themes. Weve included most of our favorite links to those interviews in the appendix, but I would leave these for after your students have already seen or read the play, so as not to clutter their experience of it with too much imposed meaning. With this play in particular, Lizzy Pecora and I both found ourselves repeatedly drawn back to the written, video and podcast interviews with Branden Jacobs-Jenkins because we really wanted to hear from the playwright himself as much as possible. BJJs character breakdown page as well as Boucicaults plot breakdown page should help with getting clarity on the basics. In this education guide we tried to focus on providing key historical background on Boucicault and his original melodrama, as well as introducing you to this astounding, two-time Obie Award Winning Playwright (Best New American Play for An Octoroon and Appropriate) Branden Jacobs-Jenkins. In many ways, An Octoroon is so suited to the classroom because it repeatedly eschews easy answers, all the way up through the final moments of the plays deliberate non-ending. There are moments when we cant help but laugh and yet were not sure if laughing is really okay. At times it feels like an irreverent romp, delighting in its own theatricality and celebrating the craftsmanship of the great 19th century melodramas. Beyond that, he never tells us what to think or feel, leaving us to navigate our own way through this unsettling play. What is it then about Branden Jacobs-Jenkins An Octoroon that makes it different, particularly given that the playwright has preserved so much of Boucicaults original text? The crucial difference is that Jacobs-Jenkins provides a meta-theatrical lens through which to view the play, forcing us to consider a contemporary critical perspective on what we are seeing and hearing. I believe those concerns have validity and ignoring them would be irresponsible. Similar questions have been raised about the value of reading Mark Twains The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in 2016. While Boucicault is still considered one of the great writers of the 19th century melodrama, there are so many cringe worthy moments throughout the play that it can feel like a minefield of political incorrectness. If the Wilma were producing Dion Boucicaults The Octoroon, the original 1859 melodrama upon which Branden Jacobs-Jenkins play is based, I would have a much tougher time arguing for its value in a high school classroom today. Director Joanna Settle adds a live seven-piece band, with an original score composed in the rehearsal room alongside the actors, and dynamic step infused choreography to create a theatrical event big enough to encompass such a play. Brandon Jacobs-Jenkins has written a smart, intricately layered text to propel these discussions. An Octoroon promises to be a powerful catalyst for discussions around race, identity and stereotypes if theres a more urgent conversation we should be having with young people at this moment, I dont know what that is. While on some level we all understand that the most extraordinary learning opportunities emerge when we venture outside our comfort zone, most of us still gravitate toward whats familiar and safe. I applaud your willingness to take a risk on this one. Thank you for choosing to bring your students to the Wilmas production of An Octoroon, by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins. Special thanks to Nell Bang-Jensen, An Octoroon Dramaturg This guide was created and compiled by the Wilma Education Department: Anne Holmes, Education Director Lizzy Pecora, Education Assistant PERFROMATIVE STEREOTYPES in CONTEMPORARY CULTURE.

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