Real The Whipping Man Study Guide - Kitchen Theatre … The Whipping Man Study...

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1 The Guide A Theatregoer’s Resource Written and edited by Emily Jackson and Zach Weg for the Audience Development and Community Services Department at Kitchen Theatre Company The Whipping Man by Matthew Lopez Directed by Jesse Bush Table of Contents To the Educators: .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 2 NY State Core Curriculum Standards .......................................................................................................................................................................... 2 About Kitchen Theatre Company ............................................................................................................................................................ 3 Our Mission.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 3 Meet the Playwright ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 3 The Creative Team........................................................................................................................................................................................ 4 The Actors ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 4 The Production Staff ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 4 Introduction to the Play.............................................................................................................................................................................. 5 Synopsis ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 5 Lopez and His Play ............................................................................................................................................................................................................ 5 The World of the Play .................................................................................................................................................................................. 6 Glossary ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 6 Timeline................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 7 The Civil War .................................................................................................................................................................................................. 8 Jewish Confederates..................................................................................................................................................................................... 8 The Passover Seder ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 9 Antebellum Slavery ................................................................................................................................................................................... 10 Faith and Family ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 11 Discussion Questions ................................................................................................................................................................................ 11 Works Cited ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 12 Up Next .......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 13 Notes: ............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 14

Transcript of Real The Whipping Man Study Guide - Kitchen Theatre … The Whipping Man Study...

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The  Guide  A  Theatregoer’s  Resource  Written  and  edited  by  Emily  Jackson    and  Zach  Weg  for  the  Audience  Development  and  Community  Services  Department    at  Kitchen  Theatre  Company  

 

The  Whipping  Man              by  Matthew  Lopez  

 Directed  by  

           Jesse  Bush  Table  of  Contents  To  the  Educators:  ..........................................................................................................................................................................................  2  

NY  State  Core  Curriculum  Standards  ..........................................................................................................................................................................  2  About  Kitchen  Theatre  Company  ............................................................................................................................................................  3  

Our  Mission  ..........................................................................................................................................................................................................................  3  Meet  the  Playwright  .....................................................................................................................................................................................  3  The  Creative  Team  ........................................................................................................................................................................................  4  

The  Actors  ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................  4  The  Production  Staff  .........................................................................................................................................................................................................  4  

Introduction  to  the  Play  ..............................................................................................................................................................................  5  Synopsis  ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................  5  Lopez  and  His  Play  ............................................................................................................................................................................................................  5  

The  World  of  the  Play  ..................................................................................................................................................................................  6  Glossary  ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................  6  Timeline  ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................  7  

The  Civil  War  ..................................................................................................................................................................................................  8  Jewish  Confederates  .....................................................................................................................................................................................  8  The  Passover  Seder  ......................................................................................................................................................................................  9  Antebellum  Slavery  ...................................................................................................................................................................................  10  Faith  and  Family  .........................................................................................................................................................................................  11  Discussion  Questions  ................................................................................................................................................................................  11  Works  Cited  .................................................................................................................................................................................................  12  Up  Next  ..........................................................................................................................................................................................................  13  Notes:  .............................................................................................................................................................................................................  14    

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To  the  Educators:    "Important  conversations  happen  in  the  Kitchen."    All  of  us  here  at  the  Kitchen  know  that  youth  who  are  exposed  to  arts  perform  better  on  tests,  obtain  better  grades  and  are  more  likely  to  attend  college  than  those  who  are  not.    The  National  Endowment  for  the  Arts  recently  reported  on  how  the  arts  affect  graduation  rates  (The  Arts  and  Achievement  in  At-­‐Risk  Youth:  Findings  from  Four  Longitudinal  Studies).    The  findings  revealed  that  young  adults  of  low  socioeconomic  status  who  had  a  history  of  in-­‐depth  arts  involvement  were  15%  more  likely  to  enroll  in  a  selective  four-­‐year  college  over  their  counterparts  who  had  low  arts  involvement.    As  educators,  you  have  the  incredibly  important  and  difficult  job  of  educating  our  children  and  often  do  not  have  the  resources  that  they  need.    We  applaud  you  in  your  decision  to  bring  the  arts  to  your  students!    Your  students  will  not  only  find  our  shows  entertaining,  but  it  is  our  hope  they  also  find  the  work  educational  and  enlightening.    Please  use  this  study  guide  as  a  springboard  to  engage  in  conversations  around  The  Whipping  Man  by  Matthew  Lopez.    We  hope  our  motto  and  these  lively  topics  will  fill  your  classroom  well  before  and  long  after  the  curtain  has  come  down.    Thank  you  for  supporting  the  Kitchen  Theatre  and  performing  arts  in  Ithaca!    Sincerely,    The  Staff  of  the  Kitchen  Theatre  Company    

NY  State  Core  Curriculum  Standards    

• CCSS.ELA-­‐Literacy.CCRA.R.2,  CCSS.ELA-­‐Literacy.RL.9-­‐10.2,  CCSS.ELA-­‐Literacy.RI.9-­‐10.2  ,  CCSS.ELA-­‐Literacy.RI.11-­‐12.2  Determine  central  ideas  or  themes  of  a  text  and  analyze  their  development;  summarize  the  key  supporting  details  and  ideas.  

• CCSS.ELA-­‐Literacy.CCRA.R.3,  CCSS.ELA-­‐Literacy.RL.9-­‐10.3,  CCSS.ELA-­‐Literacy.CCRA.R.5,  CCSS.ELA-­‐Literacy.RL.9-­‐10.5,  CCSS.ELA-­‐Literacy.RL.11-­‐12.3,  CCSS.ELA-­‐Literacy.RL.11-­‐12.5  ,  CCSS.ELA-­‐Literacy.RI.11-­‐12.3  Analyze  how  and  why  individuals,  events,  or  ideas  develop  and  interact  over  the  course  of  a  text.  Analyze  the  structure  of  texts,  including  how  specific  sentences,  paragraphs,  and  larger  portions  of  the  text  (e.g.,  a  section,  chapter,  scene,  or  stanza)  relate  to  each  other  and  the  whole.  

• CCSS.ELA-­‐Literacy.CCRA.R.7,  CCSS.ELA-­‐Literacy.CCRA.SL.2,  CCSS.ELA-­‐Literacy.SL.11-­‐12.2    Integrate  and  evaluate  information  presented  in  diverse  media  and  formats,  including  visually,  quantitatively,  and  orally.    

• CCSS.ELA-­‐Literacy.CCRA.SL.1,  CCSS.ELA-­‐Literacy.SL.9-­‐10.1,  CCSS.ELA-­‐Literacy.SL.11-­‐12.1    Prepare  for  and  participate  effectively  in  a  range  of  conversations  and  collaborations  with  diverse  partners,  building  on  others’  ideas  and  expressing  their  own  clearly  and  persuasively.  

• CCSS.ELA-­‐Literacy.RL.9-­‐10.1,  CCSS.ELA-­‐Literacy.RL.11-­‐12.1,  CCSS.ELA-­‐Literacy.RL.11-­‐12.6,  CCSS.ELA-­‐Lite  racy.RI.9-­‐10.1,  CCSS.ELA-­‐Literacy.RI.11-­‐12.1    Cite  strong  and  thorough  textual  evidence  to  support  analysis  of  what  the  text  says  explicitly  as  well  as  inferences  drawn  from  the  text,  including  determining  where  the  text  leaves  matters  uncertain.    

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About  Kitchen  Theatre  Company    The  Kitchen  Theatre  Company  burst  on  the  scene  in  1991.    It  was  the  dream  of  a  group  of  talented  and  determined  theatre  artists  to  create  a  place  where  they  could  work  together  and  hone  their  craft.    From  a  skeleton  staff  of  three,  the  Kitchen  Theatre  Company  now,  in  its  22nd  season,  has  a  six  person  artistic  staff,  five  professional  interns,  three  trainees  and  two  college  interns.  

Our  Mission    In  its  intimate  performance  space,  the  Kitchen  Theatre  Company  (KTC)  creates  professional  theatre  that  challenges  the  intellect,  excites  the  imagination,  informs  and  entertains.    KTC  nurtures  a  community  of  diverse  artists  and  brings  excellent  art  to  the  community  and  beyond  by:  

• Developing  and  producing  new  plays,  exploring  established  repertory  and  contributing  to  the  field  of  American  theatre;  

• Encouraging  collaboration  and  offering  a  safe  haven  for  experimentation;  • Providing  programming  that  inspires  young  people,  opens  the  door  to  newcomers,  and  speaks  to  

a  broad  cross-­‐section  of  our  community;  and  • Advancing  a  culture  of  theatre-­‐going.    

Meet  the  Playwright    Matthew  Lopez's  play  The  Whipping  Man  premiered  off-­‐Broadway  in  2011  at  Manhattan  Theatre  Club  in  a  production  directed  by  Doug  Hughes  and  starring  Andre  Braugher.    For  this  production,  Matthew  was  awarded  the  John  Gassner  Playwriting  Award  from  the  Outer  Critics  Circle.  Prior  to  New  York,  the  play  was  presented  at  Luna  Stage,  Penumbra  Theatre  Company,  Barrington  Stage  Company  and  the  Old  Globe  in  San  Diego,  where  he  is  currently  Artist-­‐in-­‐

Residence.    It  has  become  one  of  the  more  regularly  produced  new  American  plays  with  productions  scheduled  at  over  a  dozen  theatres  across  the  country  this  year.    His  play  Somewhere  received  its  world  premiere  production  last  autumn  at  the  Old  Globe,  directed  by  Giovanna  Sardelli  and  will  be  presented  at  TheatreWorks  in  Palo  Alto,  CA  next  year  with  Ms.  Sardelli  directing  again.    Other  plays  include  Reverberation,  Zoey's  Perfect  Wedding  and  The  Legend  of  Georgia  McBride.  His  short  play  The  Sentinels  was  included  in  Headlong  Theatre  Company's  Decade  project,  a  collection  of  plays  about  9/11,  which  ran  in  London  in  conjunction  with  the  tenth  anniversary  of  the  attacks.    In  addition  to  his  residency  at  the  Globe,  he  is  commissioned  by  Roundabout  Theatre  Company,  is  a  New  York  Theatre  Workshop  Usual  Suspect  and  is  a  recent  member  of  the  Ars  Nova  Play  Group.  

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The  Creative  Team    Theatre  is  a  collaborative  art  form  –  everyone  works  together  to  put  on  a  show.    In  the  theatre,  we  call  the  people  who  work  on  a  show  the  creative  team.    Audience  members,  too,  are  an  important  part  of  the  collaboration  –  there  would  be  no  show  without  an  audience!  Here  is  an  inside  look  at  the  creative  team  that  has  worked  on  The  Whipping  Man.      

The  Actors    

Dan  Berlingeri  is  playing  Caleb,    Darian  Dauchan  is  playing  John,  

and  Alexander  Thomas  is  playing  Simon          

                 The  Production  Staff    

Director:  Jesse  Bush  Scenic  Designer:  David  L.  Arsenault  Costume  Designer:  Lisa  Boquist  Lighting  Designer:  Tyler  M.  Perry  Sound  Designer:  Lesley  Greene  

Properties  Designer:  Megan  Gerber  Production  Stage  Manager:  Jennifer  Schilansky,  Member  of  Actors’  Equity      

Darian  and  Alexander  appear  courtesy  of  Actors’  Equity  Association,  the  labor  union  

representing  American  actors  and  stage  managers  in  the  theatre.  

 

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Introduction  to  the  Play    

Synopsis    It  is  Passover,  1865.    The  Civil  War  has  just  ended  and  the  annual  celebration  of  freedom  from  bondage  is  being  observed  in  Jewish  homes  across  the  country.  One  of  these  homes,  belonging  to  the  DeLeons  of  Virginia,  sits  in  ruins.    Confederate  officer  Caleb  DeLeon  has  returned  from  the  war  to  find  his  family  missing  and  only  two  former  slaves  remaining.    Caleb  is  badly  wounded  and  the  two  men,  Simon  and  John,  are  forced  to  care  for  him.    As  the  three  men  wait  for  the  family's  return,  they  wrestle  with  their  shared  past  as  master  and  slave,  digging  up  long-­‐buried  family  secrets  along  the  way  as  well  as  new  ones.    Slavery  and  war,  they  discover,  warp  even  good  men's  souls.    

Lopez  and  His  Play    Matthew  Lopez,  up-­‐and-­‐coming,  twenty-­‐something  playwright,  says  of  his  experience  writing  The  Whipping  Man,  “I  don’t  know  if  you  need  to  belong  to  a  certain  group  to  tell  a  story.    If  you  did,  I  would  only  write  about  gay  Puerto  Rican  guys  who  live  in  Park  Slope  and  have  an  obsession  with  stinky  cheese.”    Lopez  continues  by  describing  our  responsibility,  as  Americans  and  as  human  beings,  to  understand  where  we  come  from  –  the  good,  the  bad,  even  the  very  ugly.    Lopez’s  purpose  in  writing  The  Whipping  Man  is  more  focused,  though.    “What  I  originally  sought  to  do  was  to  write  about  how  life  returns  to  normal  after  a  calamity,”  says  the  playwright,  referring  to  things  bigger  than  natural  disasters  or  political  

scandals.    “I’ve  always  been  fascinated  by  those  moments  that  the  history  books  skip  over:  the  valleys  between  the  peaks  of  historical  events.    I  was  drawn  to  the  Civil  War  because  it  provided  two  calamities  in  one  event:    war  and  slavery.    How  do  you  go  from  being  a  slave  all  your  life  to  being  free?    What  are  the  psychological  mechanics  of  that?”    As  Mr.  Lopez  was  

researching  the  ideas  in  his  head,  the  parallels  between  Jews  and  African-­‐Americans  became  much  more  apparent.    Lopez  discovered  that  in  1865  the  Passover  observance  began  the  day  after  Robert  E.  Lee  surrendered  at  Appomattox.    “It  was  this  eureka  moment,”  Mr.  Lopez  says,  that  set  him  off.  “As  these  slaves  were  being  freed  in  the  American  South,  there  was  this  ancient  observance  of  the  Exodus  story.”    Matthew  Lopez  has  crafted  a  beautiful,  haunting  story  that  asks  hard  questions:    “What  do  I  do  now?”  and  “What  do  I  really  believe?”  and  “Who,  exactly,  is  my  family?”    These  are  questions  we  all  struggle  with,  whether  in  the  face  of  difficult  times  or  not.    The  Whipping  Man  may  not  have  all  the  answers,  but  as  art  often  does,  this  play  gives  us  the  opportunity  to  reflect  on  our  history,  our  present,  and  our  future.  

“WE  AS  AMERICANS  HAVE  TO  TAKE  RESPONSIBILITY  FOR  OUR  PAST,  EVEN  IF  MOST  OF  US  IN  THE  COUNTRY  TODAY  

ARE  NOT  DESCENDANTS  OF  SLAVEHOLDERS.”  

-­‐  MATTHEW  LOPEZ,  PLAYWRIGHT  

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The  World  of  the  Play  

 Glossary    AMPUTATION  Procedure  of  removing  a  body  part  due  to  a  threatening  injury  or  infection.  CHAROSET  Apples,  symbolizes  the  sweetness  of  the  exodus  from  Egypt.  CHIMBORAZO  Known  as  “the  hospital  on  the  hill;”  was  among  several  hospitals  that  were  built  in  Richmond,  VA.  CONFEDERATE  CAPTAIN  Person  in  charge  of  a  company  of  infantry  (about  100  men);  led  men  into  battle  and  gave  commands.  DESERTER  A  soldier  who  abandons  his  duties  during  a  war  without  permission.  EMANCIPATION  PROCLAMATION  President  Abraham  Lincoln’s  long-­‐awaited  statement  indicating  that,  within  the  rebellious  states,  “All  persons  held  as  slaves  are,  and  henceforward  shall  be  free.”      FREDERICK  DOUGLASS  A  former  slave  who  became  a  passionate  advocate  for  the  abolition  of  slavery.  GANGRENE  Disease  that  starts  in  open  wounds  with  dead  tissue;  without  treatment,  it  can  lead  to  fever,  rapid  pulse,  rapid  respirations,  and  ultimately,  death.    HAGGADAH  Book  of  songs  and  explanations  that  the  Jewish  people  read  during  Passover.  

 MATZAH  The  unleavened  bread  that  Jewish  people  eat  it  during  Passover  to  represent  the  food  they  took  with  them  when  they  left  Egypt;  they  did  not  have  time  to  let  their  bread  rise  before  the  Exodus.    NAT  TURNER  A  slave  who  had  visions,  but  was  hanged  for  leading  a  slave  rebellion  that  resulted  in  the  killing  of  55  white  people.  RABBI  A  religious  authority  on  Jewish  law  and  a  spiritual  leader.  RICHMOND,  VIRGINIA  The  capital  of  the  Confederate  States  during  the  Civil  War.  The  home  of  the  DeLeons.  SEDER  Meaning  order.  It  is  a  meal  during  Passover  when  Jews  commemorate  the  years  of  slavery  that  their  ancestors  endured.  SHABBAT  SHALOM  Meaning  peaceful  Sabbath;  refers  to  the  day  of  rest  in  Judaism.  TORAH  The  first  five  books  of  the  Jewish  Bible.  YANKS  Nickname  for  Union  soldiers  during  the  Civil  War.

SETTING    

THE  RUINS  OF  A  ONCE  GRAND  HOME  IN  RICHMOND,  VIRGINIA.  

THE  END  OF  THE  CIVIL  WAR.  

APRIL  13,  1865  –  APRIL  15,  1865  

CHARACTERS    

SIMON:  FIFTIES.  JEWISH.  A  FORMER  SLAVE  IN  THE  DELEON  HOUSEHOLD.  HE  IS  THE  ELDER  OF  THE  FAMILY  AND  HAS  A  WIFE  AND  DAUGHTER  WHO  ALSO  

WORKED  IN  THE  DELEON  HOUSEHOLD  SERVING  THE  WHITE  FAMILY.

CALEB:  TWENTIES.  JEWISH.  THE  ONLY  SON  OF  THE  DELEON  FAMILY.  A  

DEFECTED  CONFEDERATE  CAPTAIN.  

JOHN:  TWENTIES.  JEWISH.  A  FORMER  SLAVE  IN  THE  DELEON  HOUSEHOLD.  

CAN  READ  AND  WRITE.  

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Timeline    1787  The  United  States  Constitution  is  ratified;  slaves  enjoy  no  rights  of  citizenship.    1811  SIMON  IS  BORN.    1831  William  Lloyd  Garrison  begins  publication  of  radical  abolitionist  newspaper,  The  Liberator.    1831  55  whites  killed  in  Virginia  slave  revolt  led  by  Nat  Turner.    1842  CALEB  AND  JOHN  ARE  BORN.    1852  Harriet  Beecher  Stowe’s  Uncle  Tom’s  Cabin  exposes  the  evils  of  slavery.    1857  The  Supreme  Court  decides  that  a  slave,  Dred  Scott,  has  no  rights  a  white  man  is  bound  to  respect.    1860  Abraham  Lincoln  is  elected  President  of  the  United  States.    1861  February  The  Confederate  States  of  America  is  formed,  with  Jefferson  Davis  sworn  in  as  president.    March  4  Abraham  Lincoln  inaugurated  as  President  of  the  United  States.    April  12  Confederates  fire  on  Fort  Sumter  in  Charleston  Harbor,  South  Carolina.    April  14  Lincoln  calls  for  75,000  volunteers  to  put  down  the  insurrection.    July  21  Battle  of  First  Manassas  (Bull  Run)  in  Virginia;  4,878  casualties.    1862  June  25  The  Seven  Days  Campaign  for  Richmond,  Virginia;  36,000  casualties.    August  29-­‐30  The  Battle  of  Second  Manassas  in  Virginia  (also  known  as  Second  Bull  Run);  25,251  casualties.    Sept.  17  Battle  of  Antietam  Creek  near  Sharpsburg,  Maryland;  23,000  casualties  in  bloodiest  day  of  combat  in  American  history.      

Dec.  13  The  Battle  of  Fredericksburg  in  Virginia;  17,900  casualties.    1863  Jan.  1  Lincoln  signs  the  Emancipation  Proclamation.    July  1-­‐3  The  Battle  of  Gettysburg  in  Pennsylvania;  51,000  casualties.    July  4  The  End  of  the  Battle  of  Vicksburg  in  Mississippi;  50,000  casualties;  29,000  rebels  surrender.    Aug.  1  Jefferson  Davis  offers  amnesty  to  all  Confederate  deserters.    Nov.  19  Lincoln’s  Gettysburg  Address  dedicates  a  battlefield  cemetery  at  Gettysburg,  Pennsylvania.    1864  March  2  Ulysses  .S.  Grant  named  General-­‐in-­‐Chief  of  Union  armies.    Nov.  8  Lincoln  is  re-­‐elected  to  a  second  term.    1865  Feb.  3  Lincoln  meets  with  Confederate  Peace  Commission  at  Hampton  Roads,  Virginia.    March  3  Union  Congress  creates  the  Freedmen’s  Bureau.    March  13  The  Confederacy  authorizes  the  arming  of  slaves  as  soldiers.    March  25  –  April  2  The  Battle  of  Petersburg  in  Virginia;  17,000  casualties.    April  9  Lee  surrenders  at  Appomattox  Courthouse,  Virginia.    APRIL  10  PASSOVER  BEGINS    APRIL  13  CALEB  COMES  HOME    April  14  Abraham  Lincoln  is  assassinated.     THE  MEN  GATHER  THINGS  FOR  THEIR  SEDER    APRIL  15  SIMON,  CALEB  AND  JOHN  HAVE  THEIR  PASSOVER  SEDER

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The  Civil  War    The  American  Civil  War,  also  called  the  Second  American  Revolution,  the  War  Between  the  States,  and  the  Lost  Cause,  is  undeniably  one  of  the  most  important  events  in  American  

history.    Between  1861  and  1865,  more  than  3  million  men  fought,  and  over  600,000  died,  defending  their  beliefs  and  their  homeland.    What  began  as  a  bitter  dispute  over  Union  and  States'  Rights,  ended  as  a  struggle  over  the  meaning  of  freedom  in  America.    At  Gettysburg  in  1863,  Abraham  Lincoln  said  perhaps  more  than  he  knew;  the  war  was  about  a  "new  birth  of  freedom."    When  the  13th  Amendment  was  passed,  as  Abraham  Lincoln  issued  the  Emancipation  Proclamation,  effectively  50,000  slaves  in  the  South  became  free  men.    However,  it  would  be  another  year  and  a  half  of  battle  before  the  Confederate  army  surrendered  at  the  Appomattox  Courthouse  outside  of  Richmond,  Virginia.    At  the  end  of  the  war,  the  country  was  left  in  disrepair.    Life  as  they  knew  it  would  never  be  the  same  for  any  American,  but  progress  had  been  made.    In  Matthew  Lopez’s  play,  Caleb  describes  the  

horrors  of  war:  “I  am…siting  in  a  trench  just  outside  Petersburg,  up  to  my  waist  in  putrid  mixture  of  water,  excrement  and  blood.  I  am  frozen.  I  am  hungry.  I  am  achingly  weary.”  These  characters  have  lived  through  one  of  the  hardest  times  for  Americans,  and  have  survived.  Now  they  must  face  the  inevitable  changes  coming  toward  them.      

Jewish  Confederates    

From  Abraham  Lincoln’s  election  as  president  of  the  United  States  in  November  1860,  through  the  secession  winter  of  1860,  to  the  bombardment  of  Fort  Sumter  in  April  1861,  Jewish  Southerners  from  Virginia  to  Texas  weighed  their  devotion  to  the  Union  and  to  their  states.    "A  storm,  vast  and  terrible,  is  impending,"  Rabbi  James  K.  Gutheim  of  New  Orleans  told  his  congregation.    Some  were  the  sons  and  daughters—indeed,  the  grandsons  and  the  granddaughters—of  Southerners  born  and  bred  in  Dixie.  Some  were  slaveholders.      

-­‐  From  Robert  N.  Rosen’s  The  Jewish  Confederates  

Confederate  Soldiers  

“WAR  IS  NOT  PROOF  OF  GOD’S  ABSENCE.  IT’S  PROOF  OF  HIS  

ABSENCE  FROM  MEN’S  HEARTS.”  

SIMON  IN  THE  WHIPPING  MAN  

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 Leading  up  to  and  during  the  Civil  War,  Jewish  Southerners,  who  had  immigrated  from  Spain  and  Germany,  struggled  with  this  conflict  alongside  their  Christian  brothers.    Approximately  twelve  hundred  Jews  served  in  the  Confederacy,  including  twenty-­‐four  army  officers  and  eleven  navy  officers.    They  formed  such  a  significant  portion  of  General  Lee’s  force  that  he  could  not  afford  to  allow  high  holy  day  furloughs,  or  days  off  from  service,  to  “soldiers  of  the  Jewish  persuasion  in  the  Confederate  States  army.”  Southern  Jews  were  well  integrated  into  their  communities.  It  was  natural  that  they  would  be  loyal  to  the  Confederacy.        Matthew  Lopez  writes  of  his  primary  thematic  element  –  Southern  Jews  owning  slaves:  “It  illustrated  for  me  how  pernicious  and  unavoidable  slavery  was:  that  Jews,  with  their  own  history  of  enslavement  could  own  slaves  themselves.    It  seemed  to  me  the  most  regrettable  of  hypocrisies  and  one  that  might  resonate  with  a  modern  audience,  both  Jewish  and  non-­‐Jewish.    We  are  all  the  result  of  the  mistakes  and  the  hypocrisies  of  our  American  forbearers.”    The  fact  that  Southern  Jews  owned  slaves  and  fought  for  the  Confederacy  is  unavoidable.    However,  The  Whipping  Man  gives  us  a  chance  to  reconcile  our  present  views  with  our  historical  past.  

The  Passover  Seder    

In  Judaism,  the  holiday  commemorating  the  liberation  of  the  Hebrews  from  slavery  in  Egypt  is  called  Passover.    Before  sending  a  plague  to  destroy  the  firstborn  of  the  Egyptians,  God  instructed  Moses  to  tell  the  Israelites  to  place  a  special  mark  above  their  doors  as  a  signal  for  the  angel  of  death  to  pass  over,  or  spare  the  residents.    The  festival  of  Passover  begins  on  the  15th  and  ends  on  the  22nd  day  of  the  month  of  Nisan,  March  or  April.    There  are  many  rituals  during  Passover  to  symbolize  the  Hebrews'  suffering  in  

KAHAL  KADOSH  BETH  ELOHIM  SYNAGOGUE  

 A  NATIONAL  HISTORIC  LANDMARK  AND  THE  COUNTRY'S  SECOND  OLDEST  SYNAGOGUE,  THE  OLDEST  IN  CONTINUOUS  USE.    THE  CONGREGATION  OF  KAHAL  KADOSH  BETH  ELOHIM,  MEANING  HOLY  CONGREGATION  HOUSE  OF  GOD,  WAS  ESTABLISHED  IN  COLONIAL  CHARLESTON  IN  1749,  AND  IS  NOW  THE  NATION'S  

FOURTH  OLDEST  JEWISH  COMMUNITY.    THE  BUILDING  REFLECTS  THE  HISTORY  OF  JEWISH  WORSHIP  IN  CHARLESTON,  AS  WELL  AS  

THE  HIGH  DEGREE  OF  RELIGIOUS  TOLERANCE  WITHIN  THE  CAROLINA  COLONY.  

President  Obama  hosts  a  Passover  Seder  at  the  White  House  

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bondage  and  the  haste  with  which  they  left  Egypt.    Matthew  Lopez  uses  a  seder,  or  a  ritualized  meal,  to  draw  connections  between  the  Hebrew  people  being  set  free,  and  the  slaves  being  set  free  at  the  end  of  the  Civil  War.      Matthew  Lopez  first  imagined  that  the  seder  in  his  play,  like  a  showstopper  in  a  musical,  would  “be  so  extraordinarily  uplifting,  ecstatic  and  jubilant  that  it  would  lift  off  the  stage.”  But,  in  the  end,  the  seder  scene  in  The  Whipping  Man  is  a  much  more  solemn  event.  The  characters  in  his  play,  like  the  country  that  will  take  many  generations  to  be  healed  from  its  fractured  past,  still  have  a  “long  and  painful  journey  ahead.    When  you’re  taking  on  such  big  themes,  there’s  no  tidy  end,  but  instead  a  lot  of  frayed  edges  and  unfinished  business.”  

Antebellum  Slavery    By  1830  slavery  was  primarily  located  in  the  South,  where  it  existed  in  many  different  forms.  In  the  lower  South  the  majority  of  slaves  lived  and  worked  on  cotton  plantations.    However,  some  slaves  were  owned  by  families  living  in  large  cities,  like  John  and  Simon  in  The  Whipping  Man  who  live  in  Richmond,  

Virginia  with  the  DeLeons.  These  people  worked  as  domestics,  providing  services  for  the  master's  families.    They  were  designated  as  "house  servants,"  and  though  their  work  appeared  to  be  easier  than  that  of  the  "field  slaves,"  in  some  ways  it  was  not.    Though  slavery  had  such  a  wide  variety  of  faces,  the  underlying  concepts  were  always  the  same.    Slaves  were  considered  property,  and  they  were  

property  because  they  were  black.    Their  status  as  property  was  enforced  by  violence  –  actual  or  threatened.  

Scars  on  a  slave’s  back  from  whippings  

THE  WHIPPING  MAN    WHIPPING  WAS  DONE  AT  THESE  MARKETS,  OR  TRADER'S  YARDS,  ALL  THE  TIME.  PEOPLE  WHO  LIVED  IN  THE  CITY  OF  RICHMOND  WOULD  SEND  THEIR  SLAVES  HERE  FOR  PUNISHMENT.    WHEN  ANY  ONE  WANTED  A  SLAVE  WHIPPED  HE  WOULD  SEND  A  NOTE  TO  THAT  EFFECT  WITH  THE  SERVANT  TO  THE  TRADER.    ANY  PETTY  OFFENSE  ON  THE  PART  OF  A  SLAVE  WAS  SUFFICIENT  TO  SUBJECT  THE  OFFENDER  TO  THIS  BRUTAL  TREATMENT.    OWNERS  WHO  AFFECTED  CULTURE  AND  REFINEMENT  PREFERRED  TO  SEND  A  SERVANT  TO  THE  YARD  FOR  PUNISHMENT  TO  INFLICTING  IT  THEMSELVES.    IT  SAVED  THEM  TROUBLE,  THEY  SAID,  AND  POSSIBLY  A  SLIGHT  WEAR  AND  TEAR  OF  FEELING.    FOR  THIS  SERVICE  THE  OWNER  WAS  CHARGED  A  CERTAIN  SUM  FOR  EACH  SLAVE,  AND  THE  EARNINGS  OF  THE  TRADERS  FROM  THIS  SOURCE  FORMED  A  VERY  LARGE  PART  OF  THE  PROFITS  OF  HIS  BUSINESS.    THE  YARD  I  WAS  IN  HAD  A  REGULAR  WHIPPING  POST  TO  WHICH  THEY  TIED  THE  SLAVE,  AND  GAVE  HIM  "NINE-­‐AND-­‐THIRTY,"  AS  IT  WAS  CALLED,  MEANING  THIRTY-­‐NINE  LASHES  AS  HARD  AS  THEY  COULD  LAY  IT  ON.    MEN  WERE  STRIPPED  OF  THEIR  SHIRTS  IN  PREPARATION  FOR  THE  WHIPPING,  AND  WOMEN  HAD  TO  TAKE  OFF  THEIR  DRESSES  FROM  THE  SHOULDERS  TO  THE  WAIST.    THESE  WHIPPINGS  WERE  NOT  SO  SEVERE  AS  WHEN  THE  SLAVES  WERE  STRIPPED  ENTIRELY  OF  THEIR  CLOTHES,  AS  WAS  GENERALLY  THE  CASE  ON  THE  PLANTATIONS  WHERE  SLAVES  WERE  OWNED  BY  THE  DOZEN.    I  SAW  MANY  CASES  OF  WHIPPING  WHILE  I  WAS  IN  THE  YARD.    SOMETIMES  I  WAS  SO  FRIGHTENED  THAT  I  TREMBLED  VIOLENTLY,  FOR  I  HAD  NEVER  SEEN  ANYTHING  LIKE  IT  BEFORE.  

-­‐  FROM  LOUIS  HUGHS’  THIRTY  YEARS  SLAVE  

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Faith  and  Family    Because  they  lived  and  worked  in  such  close  proximity,  house  servants  and  their  owners  tended  to  form  more  complex  relationships.    Black  and  white  children  were  especially  in  a  position  to  form  bonds  with  each  other.    Matthew  Lopez  illustrates  this  beautifully  in  his  play.    Caleb  and  John  are  raised  as  brothers,  until  the  inevitable  happens:  Caleb  is  expected  to  take  on  the  role  of  master.    Lopez  takes  this  thematic  issue  further  by  incorporating  the  question  of  religion  within  a  family  unit.    It  is  well  

documented  that  slaves  owned  by  Christian  families  were  Christian  as  well.    Matthew  Lopez  uses  this  knowledge  to  infer  that  slaves  owned  by  Jewish  families  might  have  taken  up  Judaism  as  well.    This  creative  fiction  in  The  Whipping  Man  forces  audiences  to  question,  along  with  the  characters  in  the  play,  “What  does  my  faith  mean?”  and  “Could  these  people  really  be  my  family?”  and  “What  are  my  responsibilities  to  them  if  we  are  family?”    It  is  interesting,  also,  to  consider  that  a  central  element  of  Judaism  is  to  question  existence  and  God  and  the  meaning  of  life.    The  Whipping  Man  by  Matthew  Lopez  draws  together  these  big  questions  of  faith  and  family  and  creates  

characters  who  struggle  with  them,  just  as  we  do  in  real  life.    

Discussion  Questions      

• Passover  is  a  holiday  of  remembrance  filled  with  symbolism  and  storytelling.  What  symbols  are  used  and  what  stories  are  told  over  and  over  again  on  holidays  that  you  celebrate?  What  is  the  importance  of  these  traditions?  

• What  are  some  similarities  and  differences  between  the  enslavement  of  Jews  and  the  enslavement  of  African-­‐Americans?  

• What  are  some  secrets  the  characters  in  The  Whipping  Man  conceal?  Why  do  you  think  they  keep  these  things  to  themselves?  

• Why  might  a  play  like  The  Whipping  Man  be  important  and  relevant  for  contemporary  society?    

Master  and  slave  

“ALREADY  BEFORE  SHE  STARTED  TO  TEACH  ME,  I  WAS  ASKING  

QUESTIONS.  LIKE  WHEN  WAS  GOD  GOING  TO  SET  US  FREE  LIKE  HE  DID  THE  SLAVES  IN  EGYPT.  OR  

WHETHER  NAT  TURNER  WAS  OUR  NEW  MOSES.  THAT’S  WHEN  OUR  LESSONS  ENDED.  BUT  I  KEPT  READING.  I  POURED  OVER  THE  BOOKS  OF  THE  TORAH.  AND  I  

KEPT  ASKING  QUESTIONS,  IF  ONLY  TO  MYSELF.”  

JOHN  FROM  THE  WHIPPING  MAN  

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Works  Cited    About  the  Theatre  http://www.kitchentheatre.org    About  the  Play  and  Playwright    Lopez,  Matthew.  The  Whipping  Man.  New  York:  Samuel  French,  2009.  Print.    http://www.matthewlopez.com/index.html  http://www.matthewlopez.com/plays/whippingman.html  http://berkshireonstage.com/2010/05/11/interview-­‐matthew-­‐lopez-­‐explains-­‐his-­‐new-­‐play-­‐the-­‐whipping-­‐man/  http://theater.nytimes.com/2011/01/28/theater/28lopez.html?pagewanted=all    The  Civil  War    http://www.pbs.org/civilwar/classroom/timeline.html  http://www.pbs.org/civilwar/war/    Jewish  Tradition    Brownfeld,  Peter  E.  "American  Jews  and  the  Civil  War:  Leadership  and  Military  Service."  The  American  Council  

for  Judaism  Winter  (2001).  Print.  Rosen,  Robert  N.  The  Jewish  Confederates.  Columbia:  University  of  South  Carolina,  2000.  Print.    http://www.thejewishweek.com/arts/theater/matthew_lopezs_ambivalent_seder  http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/travel/charleston/kah.htm  http://www.merriam-­‐webster.com/concise/passover    Slavery  During  the  Civil  War    Boulton,  Alexander  O.  "Beyond  the  Big  House:  The  Architecture  of  Slavery."  American  Quarterly  (2006).  Print.  Hughes,  Louis.  Thirty  Years  a  Slave:  From  Bondage  to  Freedom:  The  Autobiography  of  Louis  Hughes.  

Montgomery,  AL:  NewSouth,  2002.  Print.    http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p2956.html      NY  State  Core  Curriculum  Standards    http://www.corestandards.org/the-­‐standards        

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Up  Next      

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

14-­‐year-­‐old  Laney  and  her  recently  divorced  mom  have  moved  back  to  Oxford,  Mississippi.    Laney  doesn’t  easily  fit  into  her  new  school,  but  another  teen  misfit  befriends  her,  and  together  they  start  to  figure  things  out.    An  insightfully  written  coming-­‐of-­‐age  story  with  an  intense  mother-­‐daughter  relationship  at  the  core.    

Directed  by  Rachel  Lampert  

Contact  Emily  Jackson,  Artistic  Intern,  for  more  information  about  interactive    

lectures  and  group  sales  at:  [email protected]  

(607)  2727-­‐0403      

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Notes:      

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