PR250
1931
T. S. Denison & Company, Denison's Blackface Plays
"A Black Recruit"
Minstrel shows or minstrelsy were an American form of entertainment developed in the early 19th century. In skits, song, and dance, white performers portrayed Black individuals in a stereotypical manner, such as dim-witted, lazy, buffoonish, superstitious, and "happy-go-lucky". In the 1840s, Blacks began to perform in minstrels. The first African Americans to perform on stage were William Henry Lane and Thomas Dilward. Blacks' first contribution to minstrels did little to diminish the stereotypes set forth by white writers; ironically, it reinforced them.
The TS Denison Company was founded in Chicago in 1868 by Thomas S. Denison. The company was one of the first to produce minstrel plays in the United States. The company specialized in producing and exhibiting minstrel shows and comic operas, including acts such as blackface performers, and tour and theater companies. The company was known for its lavish productions and was especially popular in the Mid-west and South.
At the height of their popularity in the 1840s, dozens of minstrel companies toured the United States and England, from frontier camps to the White House. Minstrel troupes toured in the same circuits as the opera companies, circuses, and European itinerant entertainers. The venues ranged from lavish opera theatres to makeshift tavern stages.
Minstrels consisted of a three-part structure developed by Edwin Christy. The first part consisted of the troupes dancing on stage and exchanging wisecracks and singing songs. The second part, called the olio, consisted of singers, dancers, comedians, other novelty acts, and stump speech. The stump speech was a long speech that would range from nonsense to important matters such as science, politics, and society. In these speeches, the performer would be dim-witted and try to speak eloquently, which would lead to countless malapropisms, jokes, and unintentional puns. The third act, called the afterpiece, consisted of skits in from the early days of minstrels set on Southern plantations; they usually included song and dance. It idealized the plantation lifestyle with happy slaves. In the later years of minstrel shows, troupes started to perform burlesque renditions of Shakespeare and other playwrights.
The TS Denison Company was founded in Chicago in 1868 by Thomas S. Denison. The company was one of the first to produce minstrel plays in the United States. The company specialized in producing and exhibiting minstrel shows and comic operas, including acts such as blackface performers, and tour and theater companies. The company was known for its lavish productions and was especially popular in the Mid-west and South.
At the height of their popularity in the 1840s, dozens of minstrel companies toured the United States and England, from frontier camps to the White House. Minstrel troupes toured in the same circuits as the opera companies, circuses, and European itinerant entertainers. The venues ranged from lavish opera theatres to makeshift tavern stages.
Minstrels consisted of a three-part structure developed by Edwin Christy. The first part consisted of the troupes dancing on stage and exchanging wisecracks and singing songs. The second part, called the olio, consisted of singers, dancers, comedians, other novelty acts, and stump speech. The stump speech was a long speech that would range from nonsense to important matters such as science, politics, and society. In these speeches, the performer would be dim-witted and try to speak eloquently, which would lead to countless malapropisms, jokes, and unintentional puns. The third act, called the afterpiece, consisted of skits in from the early days of minstrels set on Southern plantations; they usually included song and dance. It idealized the plantation lifestyle with happy slaves. In the later years of minstrel shows, troupes started to perform burlesque renditions of Shakespeare and other playwrights.
