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The Electronic Nigger

Short Play, Dark Comedy  /  3w, 4m

Ed Bullins

A powerful one-act play from Ed Bullins, the celebrated and influential African American playwright and author.

The Electronic Nigger

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  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    3w, 4m
  • Duration
    Duration
    40 minutes
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult

Details

Summary

On the first day of Mr. Jones' creative writing class at a southern California junior college, a student named A.T. Carpentier continually interrupts the lesson with his anecdotes and speeches. A man in his late thirties, Carpentier challenges the instructor as the other students watch. Ultimately, Mr. Jones abandons his lesson and allows the students to leave the classroom. As they exit, some of the students gather around Carpentier, giving him their manuscripts and asking him questions.

Ed Bullins is a prolific playwright whose work emerged during the Black Arts Movement. His work received numerous accolades, including a Drama Desk Award, an Obie Award, and the Guggenheim Fellowship for playwrighting. In addition to his successful career as a playwright, he was the Minister of Culture for the Black Panthers.

History
The Electronic Nigger was first produced in 1968 at the American Place Theatre in New York City, NY.
Keywords
Performing Groups

MR. JONES – A light-skinned man, 30. Horn-rimmed glasses, crew cut and small, smart mustache. He speaks in a clipped manner when in control of himself but is more than self-conscious, even from the beginning. Whatever MR. JONES speaks is unlike the popular conception of how a Black man speaks. Not even the fallacious accent acquired by many "cultured" or highly-educated should be sought, but that general cross-fertilized dialect found on various Ivy League campuses and those of the University of California. He sports an ascot.
A.T. CARPENTIER – A large dark man in his late 30s. He speaks in blustering orations, many times mispronouncing words. His tone is stentorian, and his voice has an absurdly ridiculous affected accent.
BILL – 22, Black.
SUE – 20, White.
LEONARD – 21, White.
MISS MOSKOWITZ – Mid-30s. An aging professional student.
MARTHA – An attractive Black woman.
ANY NUMBER OF INTERRACIAL STUDENTS – To supply background, short of the point of discouraging a producer.

  • Time Period 1960s
  • Setting The classroom of a junior college in southern California. 1968.
  • Features Period Costumes
  • Duration 40 minutes

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: $65 per performance
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Authors

Ed Bullins

Ed Bullins

Ed Bullins (1935-2021) was an African American playwright and author whose professional playwriting career began in 1965 with the production of How Do You Do, Dialect Determinism (or The Rally), and Clara's Ole Man at the Firehouse Repertory Theatre in San Francisco. He later ...

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