Mr. TOL E. RAncE

Created in 2012
NY Premiere: April 2, 2013 - The Kitchen

Winner of a 2014 Bessie Award for Outstanding Production!

Inspired by Mel Watkins’ book, “On The Real Side: From Slavery to Chris Rock”, Spike Lee’s controversial movie, “Bamboozled”, and Dave Chappelle’s “dancing vs. shuffling” analogy, this evening-length dance theater work celebrates African-American humor, examines “the mask” of survival and the “double consciousness” (W.E.B. DuBois) of the black performer throughout history and the stereotypical roles dominating current popular Black culture.

Through comedy, animation, theater, soul-stirring live music by Scott Patterson (with original compositions from Jonathan Melville Pratt, Brandon McCune, Kurt “KC” Clayton and Scott Patterson) and poignantly retrospective dance vocabulary, Mr. TOL E. RAncE speaks to the issue of tolerance- how much Black performers had to tolerate, and addresses-forms of modern day minstrelsy we tolerate today. It is not a history lesson. Blending and contrasting the contemporary with the historic, the goal of this personal work is to engage, provoke, and move the conversation of race forward in a timely dialogue about where we have been, where we are and where we might want to be.

Click here to download the Mr. TOL E. RAncE Reference & Resource Guide PDF.

CREATIVE TEAM

LIVE ACCOMPANIMENT: Scott Patterson
COMPOSERS: Brandon McCune, Kurt “KC” Clayton, Jonathan Melville Pratt, and Scott Patterson
ANIMATION: Isabela Dos Santos
DRAMATURGS: Talvin Wilks and Kamilah Forbes
THEATER COACH: J. Michael Kinsey
TEXT: Camille A. Brown
LIGHTING DESIGN: Burke Wilmore
SET DESIGN: Philip Treviño
COSTUME DESIGN: Carolyn Meckha Cherry

SPECIAL THANKS

The creation and presentation of Mr. Tol E. RAncE is supported by the National Endowment for the Arts in cooperation with the New England Foundation for the Arts through the National Dance Project (NDP). Major support for NDP is provided by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, with additional support from the Community Connections Fund of the MetLife Foundation. Support from the NEA provides funding for choreographers in the early stages of their careers. This work was created, in part, during a Creative Development Residency at the Bates Dance Festival and Kingsborough Community College. This work was also funded by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.

Production residency for this work was supported by the National Dance Project of the New England Foundation for the Arts, with funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. This residency took place at The Grier School and Halbritter Center for the Performing Arts at Juniata College, Huntingdon, PA.

CHOREOGRAPHER’S NOTE

What is "the mask" of minstrelsy? What does it mean to "change the joke, slip the yoke?" How much of this am I doing in my life? Have things changed? How do we accept the perpetuation of stereotypes? Is it really possible to remove "the mask?" I find myself still asking questions and want to ask questions of the audience: Why do you laugh? Why are things funny?

Mel Watkins’ book, On the Real Side, shines light on the idea of the “inside” and “outside” perception of Blacks through the lens of humor, tracing Black American entertainment to the slave plantation--The Dozens, jive talk, etcetra--all coming from a place of pain and transformed into perseverance, humor, and joy. The pain still exists but has been disrupted by the ingenuity, humor, and joy of Black artists. It made me ask, what happens to the human spirit behind the mask?

I couldn’t stop thinking about the W.C. Fields quote about Bert Williams, “the funniest man I ever saw, and the saddest man I ever knew.” How could that be? The mask is real. Humor comes from pain.

In crafting this work I wanted to embody the humor and perseverance of Black performers as well as examine historic and current stereotypes. What does “outside” perception look like? The grotesqueness. Since this work was created we’ve learned that white people donning “Black face” is not a thing of the past. And since we first premiered Mr. TOL E. RAncE there have been many instances of Black people being killed because of these distorted perceptions that have deep and specific places of origin in our history.

This piece is about perception.

Honoring the complexity of our history, the work invites audiences to pose these questions to themselves. Since choreographing Mr. TOL E. RAncE, BLACK GIRL-Linguistic Play and ink have been created. BLACK GIRL and ink reclaim and celebrate Black narratives and culture, Mr. TOL E. RAncE examines what Paul Laurence Dunbar captured in verse, “We wear the mask that grins and lies, It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes.” The theme that floats through all of them is this: Black people continue to rise above and maneuver within the game, creating pathways for liberation, healing, and celebration.

PRESS

“Camille Brown’s knowledge of dance history connectivity was on strong display as she effectively juxtaposed tap dancing and Lindy hop quickness into cabrioles and modern day hip-hop step.” Read Full Article
— Jermaine Rowe, BroadwayWorld.com

“..magnificent…It dares to examine the external and internal challenges that Black artists continue to face.” Read Full Article
— Eva Yaa Asantewaa, InfinteBody

“Inside TOL, Camille fluidly reflects haunting past images of blackness; reminding us of how far we have gone, and where we may need to go, in order to craft authentic intercultural discussions on race, equity and social stereotyping.”
— Baraka de Soleil, D Underbelly Blog

“Mr. TOL E. RAncE” had it all – heart, mind, soul, passion, full-out dancing and introspective solos…Add high production values and a gifted cast, who gave it their all, and you have one heck of a show.” Read Full Article
— Susan Broili, The Herald Sun

“The work goes deep into its material and finds humor and beauty and frustration and ugliness and…and… and.”
Read Full Article
— Nim Wunnan, Oregon Arts Watch

“..incredible—dynamic, demanding, and emotive… live, virtuosic piano playing (Scott Patterson)… it sticks with you.”
Read Full Article
— Jenna Lechner, The Portland Mercury

“She knew when she began choreographing that the piece called for theatrical comedy. Sprinkled in, though, were definite moments of poignancy, thought-provoking and heartfelt…the audience held their breath.”
— Pittsburgh Gazette

“…the character of the show is much more complex than simply a protest piece. The work goes deep into its material and finds humor and beauty and frustration and ugliness and…and… and.”
— Oregon Arts Watch

“It is very rare in a lifetime to experience something new… The choreography was bursting with every form of dance I have ever seen but brought together in a way that has never been done before, a new language, a new choreography. It was an explosion of emotion and spirit and history and yearning and repression and suffering, and life – life in the face of death and despair.”
— Weil Pay It Forward

Mr. TOL E. RAncE FEEDBACK & REFLECTIONS

Click here to read the Mr. TOL E. RAncE Foreward by Khephra Burns. 
Click here to read audience feedback & reflections.