AUG

SEP
2017
INTERACTIVE STUDY GUIDE

TEACHERS: PREP YOUR STUDENTS FOR THE SHOW

Book your pre- or post-show classroom workshop!
Contact the Director of Artistic Learning at 510.548.3422 x113.
 in this GUIDE black odyssey Index 2

Cal Shakes
Mission, Funders, and Partners ..................................................................... 3
Artistic Learning at Cal Shakes ...................................................................... 4

black odyssey | The Basics 5

Plot Summary ............................................................................................ 6
Whos WhoThe Characters......................................................................... 8
Whos WhoThe Cast................................................................................. 10

black odyssey | Teacher Section 11

Roots: music and ancestors in black odyssey................................................... 12
Buried Histories: Interview with Marcus Gardley.............................................. 19

black odyssey | Student Section 20

Historical Timeline ....................................................................................... 22
Seeing the Play: Before and After................................................................... 27
Youre the Critic: Cal Shakes Play Critique....................................................... 28

Behind the Scenes 29

Costumes ................................................................................................... 30
Set ............................................................................................................ 33

Resources 34
The Odyssey: adaptations in print/on film ...................................................... 35
black odyssey Music List...............................................................................36
GUIDE
CREDITS
Alicia
Coombes Stay Connected 37

Design
Director
Den
Legaspi

Welcome to our interactive study guide! Navigate through the book by clicking page numbers, title
headers and icons in table of contents, and return to the index using the icon next to Cal.Shakes
in lower left hand corner. Click on most images to see online articles and resources for more information!

CAL.SHAKES -2-
 Cal Shakes redefines the classical theater for the 21st Century, making works of
our mission
extraordinary artistry that engage with our contemporary moment so we might
learn about ourselves and each other in the fullness of our world.

We believe that art represents the best of what we can do, and that the making of it makes us better.

We forge community by dismantling barriers to participation.

We nurture a culture of learning where we are both teacher and student.

Artistic Learning programs are supported by generous contributions of numerous donors to

our annual Gala Make-a-Difference Fund, Art for Oakland Kids, the Dale Family Foundation,
Dean and Margaret Lesher Foundation, Dodge & Cox, Ida and William Rosenthal Foundation,
MCJ Amelior Foundation, and the Sam Mazza Foundation.

Cal Shakes 2017 Main Stage season is funded by the corporate sponsors below:
our funders & partners

PRESENTING PARTNERS

SEASON PARTNERS

PRODUCTION PARTNERS
NCE 1899
SI

MA .
TTRES S CO

SEASON UNDERWRITERS

California Shakespeare Theater 701 Heinz Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94710

510.548.3422 www.calshakes.org

CAL.SHAKES -3-
 ARTISTIC LEARNING
@ cal shakes
We want to help every young audience member become a thoughtful and engaged citizen.
Cal Shakes creates a culture of life-long learning, nourishing young imaginations in preparation
for the work of life. We offer a variety of theater programs taught by theater professionals
throughout the school year and summer.

IN-SCHOOL ARTIST RESIDENCIES

Shakespeare comes alive! Our teaching artists can work with classroom teachers in subjects like
English and History, or we can work with theater teachers to provide workshops like Acting or Stage
Combat. Appropriate for grades 4-12, our residencies consist of eight to ten hours of instruction
over several weeks.

STUDENT DISCOVERY MATINEES (Field trips)

Inspire appreciation for theater! We offer special student matinees of selected shows. A day of
performance at Cal Shakes includes an interactive Teachers Guide, lively pre-performance
engagement at the theater, and a post-show Q&A with the actors, all included in the price of a ticket.

AFTER-SCHOOL CLASSES
Short & sweet samplings of many aspects of theater including acting, physical comedy, improvisation,
as well as Shakespeare. First grade and up. Research shows: enhancing learning with art yields
powerful results in a short amount of time.

SUMMER SHAKESPEARE CONSERVATORIES

Build character and confidence! Summer Conservatory for young actors (ages 8-18) gives kids the
same rigorous training and exploration that actors use to create award-winning performances on
our Main Stage. A few of our Conservatory alumni have gone on to productions at the Bruns and
beyond, and many more continue to return to camp year after year to experience the joy of working
intensely on theater fundamentalsacting, improvisation, stage combat, and voice.

Eric Ting Clive Worsley Mary Cait Hogan

Artistic Director Director of Artistic Learning Artistic Learning Associate
Susie Falk Jacinta Sutphin
Managing Director Artistic Learning Coordinator

For more information or to register for any of our programs, please call Clive Worsley,
Director of Artistic Learning at 510.548.3422 x113, or email [email protected].

CAL.SHAKES -4-
overview

black odyssey:
The Basics

CAL.SHAKES -5-
 Homers Odyssey
plot summary

1 Ten years have passed since the fall of Troy, and the Greek hero Odysseus still has not returned to
his kingdom in Ithaca.

2 A large and rowdy mob of suitors have overrun Odysseuss palace, pillaged his land, and continue
to court his wife, Penelope. She has remained faithful to Odysseus. Prince Telemachus, Odysseuss
son, wants desperately to throw them out but does not have the confidence or experience to
fight them. One of the suitors, Antinous, plans to assassinate the young prince, eliminating the only
opposition to their dominion over the palace.

3 Unknown to the suitors, Odysseus is still alive.

4 The beautiful nymph Calypso, possessed by love, has imprisoned Odysseus on her island,
Ogygia. He longs to return to his wife and son, but he has no ship or crew to help him escape.

5 While the gods and goddesses of Mount Olympus debate Odysseuss future, Athena, Odysseuss
strongest supporter among the gods, resolves to help Telemachus. She convinces the prince to call
a meeting of the assembly, where he reproaches the suitors.

6 Athena also prepares him for a journey to Pylos and Sparta. There, he meets Odysseuss comrades
from the war, who inform him that his father is alive and trapped on Calypsos island.

7 Telemachus makes plans to return home, while, back in Ithaca, Antinous and the other suitors
prepare an ambush to kill him when he reaches port.

8 On Mount Olympus, Zeus sends Hermes to rescue Odysseus from Calypso. Hermes persuades
Calypso to let Odysseus build a ship and leave.

9 The homesick hero sets sail, but when Poseidon, god of the sea, finds him sailing home, he sends
a storm to wreck Odysseuss ship. Poseidon has harbored a bitter grudge against Odysseus since
the hero blinded his son, the Cyclops Polyphemus, earlier in his travels.

10 Athena intervenes to save Odysseus from Poseidons wrath, and the beleaguered king lands at
Scheria, home of the Phaeacians. Nausicaa, the Phaeacian princess, shows him to the royal
palace, and Odysseus receives a warm welcome from the king and queen.

11 When he identifies himself as Odysseus, his hosts, who have heard of his exploits at Troy, are
stunned. They promise to give him safe passage to Ithaca, but first they beg to hear the story of
his adventures.

CAL.SHAKES -6-
 Homers Odyssey
plot summary

12 Odysseus spends the night describing the fantastic chain of events leading up to his arrival
on Calypsos island. He recounts his trip to the Land of the Lotus Eaters, his battle with
Polyphemus the Cyclops, his love affair with the witch-goddess Circe, his temptation by the deadly
Sirens, his journey into Hades to consult the prophet Tiresias, and his fight with the sea monster
Scylla.

13 When he finishes his story, the Phaeacians return Odysseus to Ithaca, where he seeks out the
hut of his faithful swineherd, Eumaeus.

14 Though Athena has disguised Odysseus as a beggar, Eumaeus warmly receives and nourishes
him in the hut. He soon encounters Telemachus, who has returned from Pylos and Sparta
despite the suitors ambush, and reveals to him his true identity. Odysseus and Telemachus devise a
plan to massacre the suitors and regain control of Ithaca.

15 When Odysseus arrives at the palace the next day, still disguised as a beggar, he endures abuse
and insults from the suitors. The only person who recognizes him is his old nurse, Eurycleia,
but she swears not to disclose his secret.

16 Penelope takes an interest in this strange beggar, suspecting that he might be her long-lost
husband.

17 Quite crafty herself, Penelope organizes an archery contest the following day and promises to
marry any man who can string Odysseuss great bow and fire an arrow through a row of twelve
axesa feat that only Odysseus has ever been able to accomplish.

18 At the contest, each suitor tries to string the bow and fails. Odysseus steps up to the bow and,
with little effort, fires an arrow through all twelve axes. He then turns the bow on the suitors.
He and Telemachus, assisted by a few faithful servants, kill every last suitor.

19 Odysseus reveals himself to the entire palace and reunites with his loving Penelope. He
travels to the outskirts of Ithaca to see his aging father, Laertes. They come under attack from
the vengeful family members of the dead suitors, but Laertes, reinvigorated by his sons return,
successfully kills Antinouss father and puts a stop to the attack.

20 Zeus dispatches Athena to restore peace. With his power secure and his family reunited,
Odysseuss long ordeal comes to an end.

CAL.SHAKES -7-
 The CHARACTERS
whos who

Homers Odyssey black odyssey

(PARTIAL LIST)

ODYSSEUS: The protagonist of the Odyssey, ULYSSES LINCOLN: a veteran from the Gulf War,
who fought at Troy and now struggles to return struggling to return home to Oakland
to his kingdom in Ithaca

ATHENA: Daughter of Zeus and goddess of AUNT TINA: daughter of Deus and wise goddess of
wisdom, craft, and battle war

PENELOPE: Wife of Odysseus and mother of NELLA PELL: Wife of Ulysses and mother of
Telemachus. Malachai

TELEMACHUS: Odysseuss son. An infant when MALACHAI: Ulysses and Nellas son. Unborn when
Odysseus left for Troy, Telemachus is about Ulysses left for Afghanistan, Malachai is seventeen
twenty at the beginning of the story. years old when the story starts

POSEIDON: God of the sea. He despises PAW SIDIN: god of sea, king of fish. He
Odysseus for blinding his son, the Cyclops despises Ulysses for killing his son Polyfamous
Polyphemus, and constantly hampers his in Afghanistan and is intent on killing him
journey home

ZEUS: King of gods and men, who mediates the DEUS: god of gods, god of the sky. Father to Aunt
disputes of the gods on Mount Olympus. Tina, he and Paw Sidin play chess with mortals
lives, including his black knight Ulysses
SUITORS: Including the arrogant ANTINOUS,
manipulative and deceitful EURYMACHUS, and JOHN SUITOR: Nellas love interest, Paw Sidin in
the decent AMPHINOMUSall are killed when disguise
Odysseus returns

CALYPSO: A nymph who falls in love with CALYPSO: Ulysses ancestor

Odysseus and imprisons him for seven years on
her island home of Ogygia

CAL.SHAKES -8-
whos who The CHARACTERS
Homers Odyssey black odyssey
(PARTIAL LIST, CONTINUED)

POLYPHEMUS: A Cyclops (one-eyed giant) who POLYFAMOUS: A one-eyed Afghani boy, killed by
imprisons Odysseus and his crew on comes to Ulysses during the war.
soon after leaving Troy. Polyphemus imprisons
Odysseus and his crew and tries to eat them,
but Odysseus blinds him manages to escape. In
doing so, Odysseus angers Polyphemuss father,
Poseidon.

CIRCE: The beautiful witch-goddess who CIRCE: a conductor granting travelers passage to
transforms Odysseuss crew into swine when those seeking home who tempts Ulysses to stay with
he lands on her island. With Hermes help, her forever
Odysseus resists Circes powers and then
becomes her lover, living in luxury at her side
for a year.

TIRESIAS: A Theban prophet who inhabits the SUPER FLY TIRESIAS: a shagadelic prophet who
underworld. Tiresias meets Odysseus when introduces Ulysses to three Sirens and helps him on
Odysseus journeys to the underworld. his way.

ALCINOUS: King of the Phaeacians, who offers ARTEZ SABINE: Grand Marshall of a Second Line,
Odysseus hospitality in his island kingdom. Benevolences father.
Alcinous hears the story of Odysseuss
wanderings and provides him with safe
passage back to Ithaca.

ARETE: Queen of the Phaeacians, wife of ALSENDRA SABINE:

Alcinous, and mother of Nausicaa. Artez wife, Benevolences mother.

NAUSICAA: The daughter of King Alcinous BENEVOLENCE NAUSICCA SABINE:

and Queen Arete of the Phaeacians. Nausicaa Artez and Alsendras daughter.
discovers Odysseus on the beach at Scheria and,
out of budding affection for him, ensures his
warm reception at her parents palace.

CAL.SHAKES -9-
 CAST
whos who

Aldo Billingslea* Michael Curry Safiya Fredericks*

Great Grand Paw Malachai Benevolence
Sidin and others and others Nausicca Sabine

Margo Hall* Omoz Idehenre* J. Alphonse

Great Aunt Tina Nella Pell Nicholson*
and others Ulysses Lincoln

Michael Gene Lamont Thompson* Dawn L. Troupe*

Sullivan* Great Grand Alsendra Sabine
Artez Sabine and others Daddy Deus and others and others

*Member, Actors Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.

CAL.SHAKES - 10 -
teacher section

CAL.SHAKES - 11 -
 ROOTS:
Music and Ancestors in black odyssey
black odyssey is filled with fantastic music: powerful street percussion by J. Alphonse Nicholson (who
plays Ulysses) and blues, jazz, traditional songs and spirituals sung a capella by the cast and guided
by Vocal Composers Linda Tillery (Music Director) and Molly Holm (Vocal Ensemble Director). At the
very beginning of the rehearsal process about a month ago, director Eric Ting and the vocal composers
sat down for a Q&A discussion. The transcript below has been edited for clarity.

Eric Ting (ET): Can you talk about where you are in the process right now and what this journey
has been like so far? This is not your first time working with Marcus, right?

Molly Holm (MH): Its my third.

Linda Tillery (LT): This is my first collaboration with Marcus, but I have seen a couple of his
productions. I was reminded today that it was Jesus Moonwalks the Mississippi that really piqued
my interest in Marcus work, because I loved the integration of the music and the acting.

ET: Can you speak more about what you see in Marcus work that draws you to it?

MH: I just want to remind Linda that we brought her in as a consultant on This World in a
Womans Hands [at Shotgun Players in 2009] because

LT: What she said

MH: because he was asking for some roots music and I wanted to make sure it was

ET: This is the Richmond project, right?

MH: Right, so Linda came in and did workshops with the singers and we went through a bunch
of different songs, and then we picked

LT: Aint No More Cane

MH: gospel, spiritual songs.

LT: One of the things that I feel from Marcus work is that I connect with him as a child of
immigrants. And when I say immigrants, I mean Black parents that make their way from the
South to the West Coast. So theres certain ways that he expresses himself that seem very
familiar to me. And the fact that his father is a minister, and he himself seems to have a really
close relationship with this music. Hes not a visitor, hes very at home with this traditional stuff.
I like that. So theres an old soul that lives within him as well as this very avant-garde

CAL.SHAKES - 12 -
 Roots: Music and Ancestors in black odyssey
(continued)

contemporary writer. He has a great sense of humor: renaming Poseidon as Paw Sidin: I love
that about him.

ET: So when Marcus sits down and says Who I really want to work with on this play is Linda
Tillery and Molly Holm because theres this nut in this work that we havent cracked yet, and its
got to do with the music, with the role that this music plays in this play. How do you see music
living in this piece, in black odyssey?

MH: I just think its just there, you know? To me it was just a perfect place for you, Linda, to
really bring forth everything you know. All your musical knowledge and repertoire. Its like
someone just made the nicest garden plot with tons of compost and all the watering, its just
the perfect planting ground.

LT: Yeah, it is, but I also think that I see both of us contributing in our own ways tremendously
to this production. Because we know each other its so much easier to get to where we wanna
go. Were not fighting each other. We have conversations and discourse about what something
is, and maybe we have a difference of opinion, but were not fighting, were not working against
each other, which is really great. Its a breath of fresh air.

ET: For me, the music in this piece is really an expression of the spirit. Theres something about
how when I read this play and I think about it unfolding, the role of music is as much a thing
that unites all of these people together across time and across space. Thats just sort of in my
head, how the language of the music becomes representative of these ancestors that Ulysses
is calling forth at the very beginning. Theres something about music that is that, especially the
roots music that youve been introducing in this. Theres something about that thats a call to
community. Can you talk a bit about that?

LT: If you look at the music over time, were calling forth people from cotton fields, calling forth
people who may have bought their first car, how they got that car, because for me, Im using my
parents, their experience in this country is kind of a catalyst for how I move the songok, now
my mother told me that when she lived in Texas, things were this wayand so I think some
of the music reflects that. If you ask a person who is, say, in their 70s or 80s, did you have an
Uncle Bubba who had to go to jail because Mr. Charley did such and such? Pretty Black
Woman reflects that: bunch of guys who are in prison, theyre trying to pass the time of day.
They create these songs, often in this music, this prison music, the subject matter revolves
around a woman and her body: that seems to be what gets these men working. Then we get the
spirituals, thats the most enduring music, the spirituals in this play. Those are the songs that
are going to evoke the most emotion out of the audience. The Motown medley will be fun, but
the deep reflection is going to come from Didnt it Rain and Keep Your Eyes on the Prize.

ET: The music that came to us in the first draft is virtually unrecognizable now. The song
selection that Marcus originally introduced through the script, weve kind of just let go of. So
the process of selecting and curating the music for this: has there been some touchstone youve

CAL.SHAKES - 13 -
 Roots: Music and Ancestors in black odyssey
(continued)
been using, or has it been about responding to the what Marcus is describing as the moment so
that at some level the genre becomes part of that dialogue?

LT: Marcus is the catalyst. I just throw it out there, the couple of times hes been here, I throw
it out there and wait for his response. I think some things hit him harder than others. I kind of
watch his reactions. Sometimes hell be very vocal about what he wants, which is nice. But the
problem is we have enough music for 2 or 3 plays! And its all good music. Its hard to stop! Its
really hard to stop. Because for me, Im having certain visceral responses as we move through
this process, so theres the objective me, then theres the me that knows how important this
music is in my life, in my day-to-day existence and the day-to-day existence of many people. It
makes me want to be here.

ET: Can you talk about the importance of music in your life?

LT: Its just a thing that has helped me make my way through 68 years of life on the Planet
Earth. Most of the time joyfully, but you know, theres been some pain. But I cant see living
without music. Not only my own creativity, but I enjoy the creativity of other people. Im a good
audience. If Im sitting and Im listening to somebody and theyre doing something well, I get so
joyful. Its like, wow! Look at that! Listen to that! Its my soul food.

Marcus Gardley, Molly Holm, and Linda Tillery during Music Workshops for black odyssey; photo by Eric Ting.

CAL.SHAKES - 14 -
 Roots: Music and Ancestors in black odyssey
(continued)

ET: The act of making music, just in the time Ive been in the room with you and the actors, its
become so central to my understanding and experience of this play. Even though this idea that
the making of the music is somehow the journey. How does one build a chorus of singers, an
ensemble of makers in this sense?

MH: I think its this idea of real time. Being in the room, with the people, with the singers, with
the personalities, with the actorswe havent even seen them act except their audition tapes
and I already know how good theyre going to be. But just from the feeling in the room of who
they bring, just arriving to rehearse with them. Once we open our mouths together, no matter
what were singing, really, theres a musical persona that comes through. It comes through
everybody individually, but you put people together, and theyre singing together, and theres this
other thing kind of like the sum is bigger than the parts. What Ive learned over the years, in the
times Ive been around Marcus or the times Ive worked on his material, is theres this freedom
inside of what hes doing. Hes so poetic so theres this fluidity; hes not rigid about stuff. Hes
laying down some pretty heavy stuff but I just feel like every part he puts down, hes leaving
room for it to flower in whatever direction it takes itself, so he leaves that space. Just when we
have a phone conversation, any time we leave with him, hes always like I LOVE it! And I believe
him!

LT: HEs a good audience!

MH: I believe him! But part of that is a spirit that allows for an evolution of something. And we
mustve driven you crazy saying No, we gotta have everybody here, we gotta have everyone.
Because its the life of each person and the life that they bring that makes the whole. And
Linda and I know that, either from working together in groups or working separately in our
own ensembles, that there is a life that comes from an ensemble of singers. I feel so touched
to be here. The first time I worked with Marcus was Love is a Dreamhousecircle singing and
some chantsfor This World in a Womans Hands. I dont know how, but Marcus understood
how I worked for the music that I like to do. It comes out of a jazz tradition, it comes out of
working with Bobby McFerrin in Voicestra, the circle singing, it comes out of this whole spirit
of improvisation, you know, creating things on the spot, and so we had a year and a half of
workshops with the singers and Marcus coming in and saying what he wanted. And he hadnt
even written ithe was writing the piece as we went. So that was a marvelous thing, and I think
whats happened here, I think he liked all that, right? And I liked it

ET: And he asked you to do it in a month and a half!

MH: but he got introduced to Linda, too, and I just feel super privileged to be here, to work
with Linda, you, the company, the actors. I just want to remind people Im not Black and
[everyone laughs]

ET: Neither am I!

CAL.SHAKES - 15 -
 Roots: Music and Ancestors in black odyssey
(continued)
MH: Linda knows I say this a lot! But you know, I love the music. And we have crossover in the
music through jazz. I just so happen as a jazz vocalist to have a deep love of roots music. I
dont have the knowledge that Linda has but I have the love of it. Talking about roots music, by
the grace of God I got to learn North Indian Raga singing, I mean, I got to study it; I cant say
I learned it, but that has deep roots, we dont even know how much that connection is between
Africa and India, right?

LT: Right.

MH: John Santos was talking about that at SF Jazz, thats a whole ethnomusicology study in
itself, but the music itself has roots that come from different places. I think that improvisation
opens up those cross-cultural connections even more. And then you add into that if someone
has the spirit to embrace that or to allow it. Like the spirit you [Linda] had to be like, Marcus
wanted to do this, ok, lets just dive in and go for it. Thats a beautiful thing.

ET: Marcus has such a deep love for this community, for the Bay Area; I think thats one of the
things he was most excited about, on top of working with the two of you, it was about being
able to bring this play here, and to really set it in the milieu of the Oakland and the Oakland
Hills and the East Bay. What does it mean to be a Bay Area artist for you?

LT: Let me jump in there right away because I had an experience recently that was very eye-
opening for me. This past Sunday I performed at the San Francisco Jazz Festival, and the
stage was set up on Steiner Street. I grew up in that area in the Western Addition. And I hadnt
performed in SF in a long while and I just kind of looked around and was like, oh my god,
it was almost like the heavens opened up or something, it was a familiarity with place, and
there were people there who came up to say hello, whom Id known for 45 years, you cant beat
that. Now, my experience as an East Bay musician is that I found the funk over here. I learned
the blues in San Francisco, because of my parents and my aunts and uncles, they came from
Texas, they listened to the blues, they loved the blues, and so I love the blues too! You had to,
you couldnt live at my house if you didnt love the blues! So then I moved over here, and thats
where I learned funk and jazz, and my first ten years in the East Bay was spent hanging out
with the best East Bay jazz musicians there were, because I wanted to learn. One of the things I
wanted to learn was how to listen to that music. I never could figure it out. I remember listening
to Earl Garner, Concerts by the Sea, its a very famous recording, and when it got to the
improvisation Im like, what is he doing? Hes just going [she scats a few lines] So I wanted
to understand, oh, theres form, and no, hes playing over the form, hes just not playing the
melody, hes expressing himself. So this has been the place where for me, the greater amount
of development happened here in the East Bay. And also politically, I really grew into activism
living here in the East Bay. All kinds of stuff started here and flourished, and grew. In the early
days of the Panthers I used to play at rallies, things for librarians and gay rights, I mean, I never
knew any of that, I never experienced activism when I was growing up in San Francisco, because
I didnt come from a politically active household. Not in the way that we would understand it
now, but I think back on things that my mother said to me: she had a sense of activism, she just

CAL.SHAKES - 16 -
 Roots: Music and Ancestors in black odyssey
(continued)
didnt know that she did. But, for me, now, the music and how I live my life, and what I project in
the world are inseparable, were a package. We all come together. So thats what it means to me.

MH: For me, Ive always lived in the East Bay once I moved down here. But I grew up in Oregon,
and it was a little more conservative up there. But it just so happened that my mom loved jazz.
So my whole growing up in the living room, being played all the time, was Duke Ellington and
Count Basey, and Ella Fitzgerald and Johnny Hodges, and Goodbye Porkpie Hat, Lester Young,
Joe Williams, Wes Montgomery, Charles Mingus, that was just part of the living room set. So
here I was in this fairly white community but I had the Black music coming in, filling all of our
ears in my family. And then when I moved down here to go to school, I wasnt sure what I wanted
to do; I was out at Mills for a year and then I quit, and then I went down to Laney College. I went
to Alameda Community College and Laney College. And that turned me around. Thats when I
decided, ok, Im not going to be a doctor. [laughs] I wasnt doing well in chemistry. And down
there, Ed Kelly was teaching. And Id go by myself out to East Oakland and I go hear Ed Kelly
and Mr. Majors.

LT: Mr. Majors, yes.

MH: They bring guest artists to Laney, Mary Lou Williams, piano, Earl Father Hines, it was
amazing. One of the first times I went to Keystone Korner, I considered East Bay and San
Francisco tied together by the music, and Keystone Korner at that time they would book a group
from Tuesday through Sunday. So you could go over many nights if you loved the group. I heard
Art Ensemble Chicago when I was 18, and that just did me in. I was gone. I didnt even know
there was music like that. My mom was listening to more straight ahead jazz but when I heard
Art Ensemble Chicago, I just couldnt believe it. And then I spent the next 30 years trying to
figure out how could I do that vocally. Im still trying to figure it out!

ET: One last question: we talk a lot about roots music in the work that youre doing, and Marcus
talks a lot about the journey of Ulysses in this play as a journey through his blood and through
his ancestry, his roots. What does the idea of roots mean to you?

LT: Roots to me, right now, is Africa. If youre asking me what are the roots of all the music
I listen to, I would start in Africa with those roots going deep in the ground, and then theres
branches and theres leaves, and then theres seeds that drop down and new trees start to
grow, but you know roots: fundamental. Essential. And unfortunately we dont in this country,
acknowledge often enough what the roots of our western music is, what it is, where it comes
from, what its about. Its really quite simple. All the academics know this, and people talk about
it, pay it lip service, but because of money for music, things get kind of convoluted. For example
youll have Joe Cocker. All he did was copy Ray Charles. Thats exactly what he did but for a
certain group of people that was safe. That was safety for him, it was safer for THEM, safer than
acknowledging that Ray Charles inspired Joe Cocker and essentially made it possible for him to
earn a living. And it happens all the time. Its important not to get consumed with anger about
it, but to just move forward and keep telling your truth, keep trying to represent the music with

CAL.SHAKES - 17 -
 Roots: Music and Ancestors in black odyssey
(continued)

authenticity, and hope that there are some people out there who will appreciate it. Thats roots
to me.

MH: I concur. What I might add to it is when I think of roots I also think of history. And Linda
and I have had many conversations about this, that acknowledging the historyyou dont have
to be a historian but you certainly have to pay respect to where the music is coming from.
My experience has been, because getting a degree in music was so heavily western European
classical music. And theres some great music there. But when people are telling you thats the
only musicits hard. That was happening not long after I heard Art Ensemble Chicago. Dont
try to shove something down my throat and tell me that this is the only thing because thats
where people with money, where a certain elitism is happening. And dont even disrespect that
music, by elevating it so high, as if it werent open to the other music. Rosco Mitchell, who
teaches at Mills, he talks a lot about this. What do you call jazz, you call it free jazz, you call it
avant gardehe says, I call it music. Hes not gonna break it down. Its music. But politically,
and economically, it has been broken down, and its broken, and were trying to repair it. The
money has not followed the right people. Pay respect. Give credit where credit is due.

LT: Yeah, because no one group of people owns the music: once you release it into the air, its
there. But if youre gonna sing Hound Dog, dont give the credit to Elvis Presley, lets talk about
Willie Mae Thornton, because thats her tune.

MH: This can get very contentious, even as a jazz vocalist, I have had people say in front of me,
theyll refer to classical music as legitimate singing. Its like, Im not illegitimate, ok. I know
my business. Its a big thing that has to be interrupted, the issues have to be raised and talked
about, and when someone makes a comment like that, you have to interrupt it.

LT: I always say, you really wish you could sing soulfully! Thats one of the reasons you wanna
put this music down: you cant do it. However, I will say that Renee Fleming is breaking the
barriers these days! Shes put out a pop album and she sounds like a pop singer. Shes retired
from opera and shes focusing on pop music. And she listens to Kurt Elling, I heard her say that.
Now whether you like him or not, for a classical singer to say that she listens to a jazz singer,
Im like, wow. My respect for you has grown exponentially. And conversely, Ive had people who
consider themselves to be jazz aficionados really dump on R&B, Oh thats just R&B. No theres
no just anythingits either good or bad. Duke Ellington knew that, he said it, Whats wrong
with the rest of these eggheads. You do what you do, and you do what you do, thing is, do your
best, thats all I say.

CAL.SHAKES - 18 -
 Buried Histories:
Interview with Marcus Gardley
On a Thursday evening, black odyssey playwright
Marcus Gardley and dramaturg and Artistic Engagement
Associate Lisa Evans connected across time and space
(or in laymans terms: had a phone call) and talked about
recontextualizing texts, the tradition of oral history in
Black communities, and expanding understanding of
Black history.

Lisa Evans: Whats so beautiful about this play is

how youve taken this literary archetype of a heros
journey and portrayed it not through the traditional
mythology but through the lens of delving into this
buried history. What was the process like for you in
reframing this classical text and recontextualizing it?

Marcus Gardley: Thats a great question. Well, you

know Im obsessed with myths and legends and
[how] a group of people from a specific culture
explain creation. How do they explain divinity? How
do they explain why the sun revolves around the
earth; why theres a night time and a day? I think that
this act of contextualizing, of telling stories so that we have beliefs is the point of art.

What I tried to do with this play is that for one, wanted to retell a story because I feel like,
especially in the African-American oral tradition, the retelling is actually the point. My great-
grandmother always talks about this because shes considered the griot in our family. She really
talks about that the point of the story is the retelling of it. She says when I tell a story and you
re-tell it you can add your own point to it; you can add your own spin to it. Then you add a little
piece to it and you make it yours. This retelling allows for a certain generation and new way of
thinking to arise.

What I love about The Odyssey is that its the story of a man who is essentially lost and hes lost
not necessarily because he cant find his way but because he has inner turmoil. Its really [a
story about] a man whos a on a journey to self discovery. Meanwhile his wife and son are left
alone and have to fend for themselves and so its sort of a parallel story. I really love that sort
of structure in story telling where youre waiting the whole time to see the hero, if you will, and
his family reunite. For me this was sort of the perfect context to tell the story of the history of
African Americans in the United States. I feel like as a culture we are a group of people who
have had an immense amount of struggle [and] this ability to survive against all odds really
is remarkable and is unlike any other group of people in history. I wanted to write something

CAL.SHAKES - 19 -
 J. Alphonse Nicholson as Ulysses, Safiya Fredericks as Benevolence Nausicca Sabine,
and Dawn L. Troupe as Alsendra Sabine; photo by Kevin Berne.

Buried Histories: Interview with Marcus Gardley (continued)

that both celebrated but really gave audiences a chance to sit for two hours and look at the
breadth and width of this really dynamic culture because often times when people are exposed
to African-American culture they get a slice at a time; Frederick Douglass did this here, Harriet
Tubman did this here. But I really wanted people to sit through the whole breadth and width of
it.

The chorus asks you to step in [Ulysses] shoes because this being lost and being found
really reflects to me the central point of the culture. What makes African-American culture so
fascinating is that there is something greater than who we are that unites us and that always
allows us to get through the turmoil. We are always found, you know? We are always found when
we are lost.

CAL.SHAKES - 20 -
student section

CAL.SHAKES - 21 -
 Historical Timeline
Below is an annotated timeline of events that are relevant to the context of the play.

1619: Dutch ship arrives in the colonies (present day United States) bringing the first
indentured servants from Africa.

Mid 1600s: The institution of slavery becomes legalized through various laws and court cases
in the colonies.

1775: The American Revolutionary War begins.

1776: The United States of America is officially formed as a independent nation free from
British rule. The Declaration of Independence is signed.

1777: Due the inability to fill soldier quotas for the war with England, Washington lifts the
ban on enlistment of African Americans to allow both enslaved and free men to fight in the
Revolutionary War (exception, see 1812). Inspired by the Declaration of Independence, Vermont
becomes the first state to abolish slavery, however the implementation of abolition was not duly
enforced.

1780s-1850s: The Underground Railroad runs, aiding enslaved people who escaped the
Southern States move and settle North to free states and into Canada.

1783: End of the American Revolutionary War, Northern states more actively begin to abolish
slavery, advocating for emancipation of enslaved people. A number of African Americans that
served in the war are granted freedom, just as many are sent back to the South to enslavement.

1792: Creation of the Federal Militia Act which excludes African Americans from entering armed
service (exception see 1812), remaining in effect until the second year of the Civil War.

1793: Congress enacts the Fugitive Slave Law of 1793, authorizing local governments to
seize and return escaped slaves to their owners imposing penalties on anyone who aids in their
flight.

1808: Congress bans the importation of enslaved people from Africa.

(continued next page)

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 Historical Timeline (continued)
1812: War of 1812 ensues, pitting the U.S. Navy against British naval forces. Because of man-
power shortages, African Americans are recruited or forced (by their owners) into the U.S. Navy,
becoming the exception to the restrictions put upon African Americans to serve in military
capacity. Due to the physical nature of the vessels, the sailors are integrated, though black
sailors are kept in the lowest ranks and used for menial labor.

1815: End of the War of 1812 in February. Promised freedom for their service, many enslaved
African Americans who fought gained their freedom post-war. However, others did not, as
owners reneged on their promise.

1820: Missouri Territory petitions to join the Union, but as a slave state would upset the
balance. The Missouri Compromise is reached, granting Missouri statehood while also admitting
Maine as a free state, maintaining the balance, while also banning slavery in the remainder of
the Louisiana purchase, drawing a boundary between the North and the South.

1831: The Turner Rebellion becomes the largest and deadliest uprising of enslaved African
Americans in U.S. History. The backlash led to 56 state-sanctioned executions and over 120
murders of non-participant African Americans by white militias.Turner remained in hiding for
two months before being discovered and hanged for insurrection.

1849: Harriet Tubman escapes North, eventually becoming one of the most famous
conductors on the Underground Railroad.

1850: Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, adds further provisions and levied harsher punishments for
interfering in the capture of runaway enslaved people.

1861: Civil War begins April 12th pitting the Northern Union who proclaimed loyalty to the U.S.
Constitution against the Southern slave states that had declared their secession from the U.S. to
form the Confederate States of America.

1862: The Second Confiscation and Militia Act in enacted allowing African-American men to join
the Union army, ending the Federal Militia Act of 1792.

1863: The Emancipation Proclamation orders the freedom of all enslaved people in ten states,
changing the federal legal status of more than 3 million people.

(continued next page)

CAL.SHAKES - 23 -
 Historical Timeline (continued)
1864: Fugutive Slave Acts are repealed, ensuring that once enslaved people escaped the
Confederate government, they were free and would not be hunted down and returned to their
enslavement.

1865: Civil War ends in April; Lincoln is assassinated days later. The Ku Klux Klan (KKK) is
formed in May by ex-Confederate soldiers. In June, 250,000 slaves in Texas receive news that
the Civil War is ended. By December, the 13th Amendment prohibits slavery, but every southern
state has enacted laws restricting the rights of emancipated freedmen.

1866-1890s: Formation of Buffalo Soldiers, a segregrated African-American armed force

division, notably to fight in the Indian Wars, Spanish-American War, and the Phillippine-
American War.

1868: 14th Amendment defines citizenship as those born in the U.S., including formerly
enslaved people.

1890: Mississippi wrote a disenfranchisement (lack of ability to vote) section into its state
constitution. This is often considered the beginning of Jim Crow lawslegal restrictions on
African-American people.

1890s-1950s: During this time, over 1500 Confederate monuments are placed in public spaces
throughout the South, coinciding with the height of Jim Crow and the Civil Rights movement.

1914: Marcus Garvey establishes the Universal Negro Improvement Association

1915: The Great Migration of African Americans from the South to Northern cities begins.

1917: First major civil rights demonstration in the 20th century, with 10,000 people marching
in a silent parade in NYC. The U.S. enters World War I, African Americans are drafted into
segregated armed force units for the war effort (exception, U.S. Navy, see 1812).

1931: The Scottsboro Boys are indicted in Alabama, despite flimsy charges. Over 3 trials, 4
are acquitted, and 5 are sentenced to long prison terms.

1934: The Apollo Theater opens in Harlem.

(continued next page)

CAL.SHAKES - 24 -
 Historical Timeline (continued)
1941: U.S. enters World War II. Tuskegee Airmen are formed, becoming the first African-
American pilot unit, entering combat in 1943. Segregation in the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force is
still enforced (exception, U.S. Navy, see 1812).

1944: The G.I. Bill is introduced, providing a range of benefits to returning World War II
veterans.Though the law was deemed a political and economic success, there was one segment
of veterans who were denied many of the bills benefitsAfrican Americans.

1945: The WWII effort increases the Great Migration to unprecedented levels, transforming
American politics and laying the foundation for the Civil Rights movement in the coming decade.

1948: President Truman issued Executive Order 9981 establishing equality of treatment and
opportunity in the U.S. military regardless of race.

1952: Malcolm X becomes a minister with the Nation of Islam.

1954: Desegregration of U.S. Armed Forces is fully implemented, two years into the Korean War,
7 years after Executive Order 9981 is signed.

1955: (Aug) Emmett Till is murdered. (Dec) Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat on the
colored section of a Montgomery bus.

1958: Little Rock Nine desegregate Central High School by attending with intervention by
Federal troops and the National Guard.

1963: (Apr) Martin Luther King, Jr. is arrested and writes Letter from Birmingham Jail, which
advocated nonviolent civil disobedience. Later that year, during the March on Washington, he
delivers his I Have Dream speech. (Sep) The 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham,
Alabama, is bombed, killing four African-American girls and injuring many others.

1964: President Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act.

1965: Malcolm X is assassinated.

1966: The Black Panthers are founded in Oakland.

1968: Martin Luther King, Jr. is assassinated.

(continued next page)

CAL.SHAKES - 25 -
 Historical Timeline (continued)
1985: Gwendolyn Brooks is the first African American to be named U.S. Poet-Laureate.

1987: August Wilsons play, Fences, wins a Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award.

1992: A jury acquits three police officers accused of beating Rodney King, triggering a three-day
uprising in Los Angeles that results in over 50 people killed, 2,000 injured, and 8,000 arrested.

1996: California voters pass Proposition 209, outlawing affirmative action throughout the state.

1999: Serena Williams wins the U.S. Open Womens Singles Tennis Championship, the first
African-American woman to do so since Althea Gibsons win in 1958.

2001: Start of the U.S. in Afganistan War.

2005: Hurricane Katrina hits the Gulf Coast, taking an estimated 1,700 lives, the vast majority
of which are African-American people living in New Orleans.

2008: Barack Obama wins the Presidential Election to become the first African-American
president-elect of the United States.

2009: (New Years Day) An unarmed Oscar Grant is shot at Fruitvale Bart station in Oakland,
CA by a Bart police officer who is later acquitted. (Jan) President Obama assumes office as the
44th president.

2013: #BlackLivesMatter movement is founded following the indictment of a man who killed
unarmed teen Trayvon Martin.

2014: Michael Brown, an unarmed 18-year-old, is shot and killed by a police officer in Ferguson,
MO. The grand jury decision not to indict the officer sparks protests in cities across the U.S.,
including Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, and Boston. The protests continued as another officer
was not indicted for placing Eric Garner in a chokehold, leading to his death, and over the next
few years have intensified as case after case of African-American people murdered by vigilantes
and police officers come to light, with very few indictments

NOW: Ulysses Lincoln is coming home to Oakland in black odyssey.

CAL.SHAKES - 26 -
 Seeing the Play:
BEFORE & AFTER
BEFORE: what to watch for AFTER: what do you think?

Watch for the ways in which the gods play Describe the journey that Ulysses went on in
a role in the lives of the characters. How do this play. What about Nellas journey?
they affect Ulysses journey? Others?

Listen to the music of this play. What styles How do you think having music in this play
are you hearing? changed your experience? What emotions did
it make you feel?
Listen to the way Marcus Gardley uses
What do you think made Ulysses decide to
language in this play. What dialects do you leave home in the first place?
hear? When are the characters speaking in
verse, and why? How did Ulysses monologue at the begin-
ning of the second act make you feel? Can
Look for moments that Ulysses has to make you put what Ulysses was saying into your
choices along his journey, and pay attention own words?
to the choices he makes. Think about the
choices you might make in that situation. What do you think this play is saying about
our contemporary world? Did you learn
Watch for the ways that this play uses something, or think about the history of the
family and ancestry to connect characters. United States, especially for the Black
community, in a new way?
Why do you think knowing his own history
is so important for Ulysses? How may of your choices from the Historical
Timeline were reflected onstage? Go back
Pick 3-5 events from the Historical Timeline to the listcan you find a few more choices
to look for in the performance. represented?

Consider where some of these important historical events

coincide and intersect within the play:

Who are some of the figures or groups of people referred to?

activity
What moments in time are represented?

Who or what is symbolized; and in what ways?

CAL.SHAKES - 27 -
 YOURE THE CRITIC:
Cal Shakes Plays Critique
(Middle and High School)

Give this production a rating of one to five stars. (One star is the lowest rating and five stars is the highest.)
On a separate sheet of paper, write a paragraph describing why you gave it that rating. Give specific
examples to support your reasons. On the same sheet of paper, reflect on the following questions:

Star rating: ___ stars

1. Why could you imagine that the director chose this play to stage out of all the plays in the world? What
did you see in the show that seemed most important about it?

2. How is what you saw different from what you expected?

3. Which character did you sympathize with most? Why?

4. Do you think it is critical that a play resolve with all the storylines tied up neatly? Whether you answer yes
or no, say why you think that based on your experience of seeing this play.

5. Now, imagine you are the director of black odyssey, and use a new sheet of paper to create your own
imagined production.

Cast the characters of Paw Sidin, Dues, Aunt Tina, and Ulysses Lincoln with famous actorskeep in
mind the double-casting! Who did you choose, and why?

How about costumes? Imagine how the characters in your new production would be dressed that would
illustrate the kinds of characters they are and what setting you have put the play in.

CAL.SHAKES - 28 -
behind the scenes The Art
Onstage:
Costumes
& Set

CAL.SHAKES - 29 -
 Heres a sneak peek at how the scenic and costume designers have brought this play
alive on stage. The personalities of the characters should come through in their clothing
and the mood of the play should show in the scene design.

Aldo Billingslea as Paw Sidin, J. Alphonse Nicholson as Ulysses, Safiya Fredericks as Benevolence Nausicca Sabine,
Dawn L. Troupe as Alsendra Sabine, and Lamont Thompson as Deus; photo by Kevin Berne.

TEACHERS: ask students to make predictions about the

play just based on the images in this section (pages 28-32) activity

CAL.SHAKES - 30 -
 TOP Left: Lamont Thompson as Super Fly Tireseas. TOP Right: J. Alphonse Nicholson as Ulysses and Dawn L. Troupe as
Caribdis (a Siren). BOTTOM Left: Michael Gene Sullivan as Soul Siren. BOTTOM Right: J. Alphonse Nicholson as Ulysses,
Lamont Thompson as Super Fly Tireseas, and Margo Hall as Scylla (a Siren); photos by Jay Yamada. All costumes by Dede M. Ayite.

CAL.SHAKES - 31 -
 J. Alphonse Nicholson as Ulysses, Margo Hall as Calypso, and Safiya Fredericks as Benevolence Nausicca Sabine;
photo by Jay Yamada. Costume Design by Dede M. Ayite. Scenic design by Michael Locher.

CAL.SHAKES - 32 -
 Top: The cast of black odyssey on the final set; photo by Jay Yamada.
Bottom: Color elevation of pillars; rendering by Scenic Designer Michael Locher.

CAL.SHAKES - 33 -
film media books scripts

black
odyssey
RESOURCES

CAL.SHAKES - 34 -
 Some Adaptations
of The Odyssey
(many are very loose interpretations)
Here are some books and movies with plotlines that echo Homers Odyssey. Have you seen or read
any of them?

Books Films
Big Fish (1998) Big Fish (2003)
writer: Daniel Wallace director:Tim Burton
synopsis: A young man at the writers: Daniel Wallace (novel)
deathbed of his father tries to John August (screenplay)
reconcile his memories of his stars: Ewan McGregor, Albert
dad with the person he really Finney, Billy Crudup
is. He always saw his father synopsis: See book.
as an irresponsible liar, but
comes to understand his dads
exaggerations and their roots
in reality. Cold Mountain (2003)
director: Anthony Minghella
writers: Charles Frazier
Cold Mountain (1997) (novel), Anthony Minghella
writer: Charles Frazier (screenplay)
synopsis: Tells the story of W. stars: Jude Law, Nicole Kid-
P. Inman, a wounded deserter man, Rene Zellweger
from the Confederate army synopsis: See book.
near the end of the Ameri-
can Civil War who walks for
months to return to Ada Mon-
roe, the love of his life. O Brother, Where Art
Thou? (2000)
directors: Joel & Ethan Coen
The Penelopiad (2005) writers: Joel & Ethan Coen
writer: Margaret Atwood stars: George Clooney, John
synopsis: Penelope reminisces Turturro, Tim Blake Nelson
on the events of the Odyssey, synopsis: Ulysses Everett Mc-
life in Hades, Odysseus, Helen Gill (George Clooney) scams
of Troy, and her relationships his way off the chain gang
with her parents. with simple Delmar (Tim Blake
Nelson) and maladjusted Pete
Ulysses (1922) (John Turturro), then the trio
writer: James Joyce sets out to pursue freedom
synopsis:Ulysses is the and the promise of a fortune.
Latinised name of Odysseus, With nothing to lose and still
the hero of Homers poem in shackles, their hasty run
Odyssey. The novel establishes takes them on an incredible
a series of parallels between journey of awesome experienc-
its characters and events and es and colorful characters.
those of Homers Odyssey.

CAL.SHAKES - 35 -
 Music in black odyssey
(partial list)
Here are some of the songs used in Cal Shakes production of black odyssey. You can find a playlist of
some of these songs and others on Spotifysearch for the playlist black odyssey by user cal_shakes.

Orisha Oko (traditional Yoruba, Afro Cuban chant)

Deep River (traditional African-American spiritual)
All the Pretty Horses (traditional lullaby)
Agolona/Wade in the Water (traditional Afro-Cuban
and African-American Spirituals, additional lyrics by Linda
Tillery)
Didnt it Rain (traditional African-American spiritual)
Circes Blues (Lyrics by Marcus Gardley, Music by
Molly Holm)
Swing Low (traditional African-American spiritual
Home in-a-Dat Rock (traditional African-American
spiritual)
Nobody Knows (traditional African-American spiritual)
Black Woman (Prison Work Song, Parchment Prison
Farm)
Keep Yo Eyes On the Prize (traditional African-
American Spiritual and Civil Rights Anthem)
Hey Ms. Sweet Pea (original composition by Linda
Tillery)

CAL.SHAKES - 36 -
CAL.SHAKES - 37 -