This week’s post prompt led me to August Wilson’s Century Cycle of plays (also known as the Pittsburgh Cycle). This is August Wilson’s 10-play journey through the African-American experience in the 20th century. Starting in the 1900s, there exists a play for each decade of the century and Wilson uses realism in the African-American vernacular/tone to tell these stories. The plays were not written in order – the first was Jitney (set in the 1970s) and it hit Broadway in January of 2017. Click HERE for a Playbill highlights video.
So where is the dark matter? It lies in a character that emerged about halfway through writing the cycle of plays – Aunt Ester. Aunt Ester was a centuries old (three+ centuries to be exact) former slave whom characters went to for wisdom and direction. She was often mentioned, though never seen until Gem of the Ocean, and told various characters to do things that would connect them with their inner strength. August Wilson himself came to refer to her as the “most significant persona of the cycle” and represented “the embodiment of African wisdom and tradition – the person who has been alive since 1619…and has remained with us.” So rather than being dark matter (no pun intended!!) that highlights hegemony or politics, Aunt Ester represented a social morality within the African-American community.
When you read or watch a Wilson play in which Aunt Ester is mentioned, the ambiguity that surrounds her is thick and yet her presence is undeniable. He writes her in such a way that leaves you wanting just a glimpse of this magnificently old sage. Well, as I alluded to, that actually happens in his play Gem of the Ocean. This is the only play in which Aunt Ester is an actual character on stage. This play is set in 1900 but was written in 2003, just two years before Wilson’s death. In his writings, Wilson talks about how influential Aunt Ester is and that he esteemed her so much because she is from whom all his characters came. 
Phylicia Rashad? Yes, yes and yes! Although I am unfamiliar with the works of August Wilson, I remember having a conversation with you about his cycle plays. We spoke about their operation and function in the world of African American theatre, and about how they expanded the notion of representation by existing through time and space. I found something that Phylicia said in this video quite intriguing; Aunt Ester says she will not talk about the water, and yet all she seems to be able to talk about is the water! Through the lens of my unfamiliarity, the very specific and brief appearance of Aunt Ester in Gem of The Ocean does not come across as an unwise choice. Just as dark matter is made evident by its effects on the physical body, Aunt Ester's wisdom and life force reverberate through these cycle plays.
ReplyDeleteHowever, even dark matter has been sighted up close and personal, and this does necessarily make it clear all of a sudden. It remains dark matter, and perhaps showing a glimpse of its swirling mass adds an extra layer to its mystery. I propose therefore, the possibility that Aunt Ester's appearance did not devalue her wisdom, but rather intensified the mysteries and narratives surrounding her existence. From the short monologue presented by Phylicia in the video, I gather that Aunt Esther does not speak plainly, but rather through parables. Her voice is low and measured, and her words are laden with meaning. Her eyes seem to peer into places that others would shy away from, and her hands move with the grace of pain and experience.
I cannot claim to know what August Wilson intended by adding her to the live action, but I am of the mind it was a calculated and measured move. He brought the dark matter as close to the planets of his cycle plays as possible and allowed its gravitational pull to tug them further off the beaten path of their circulations. From this one appearance, we may be able to glean more from his cycle than was possible before.