Gordone, Charles - Author Commentary
AUTHOR COMMENTARY
Yes, I Am a Black Playwright, But … (1970)
SOURCE: "Yes, I Am a Black Playwright, But …" by Charles Gordone, in The New York Times, 25 January 1970, pp. D1, 11.
[In the following essay, Gordone examines the phenomenon of the "black theater" and his place in it.]
At the time I moved into acting seriously, here in New York, there were damned few jobs in this profession for anybody, black or white. I turned to writing out of expediency. I love the theater and I had to do something to stay in it. Like I had reached a point of no return. You know what I mean? My main reason for going into writing was creative desperation. In my opinion, there was absolutely nothing being written that I considered to be saying anything for myself or for other persons "of color."
Aside from the fact that I am a performer, I think it is much more creative to try to DO something for the theater—as it is with anything...
[The entire page is 5938 words long]
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