Venus By Suzan-Lori Parks
The Venus facing stage right.
She revovles. Counter-clockwise. 270 degrees.
She faces upstage.
8 males and 4 females roles
Venus, a play based on the life of Saartjie Baartman.http://www.enotes.com/drama-criticism/parks-suzan-loriRun
Running time: is approximately 2 hours and includes an
intermission.www.themilltheatre.org/pressroom/VenusPressRelease.doc
Running time: 2 hours, 10 min.http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117905213.html?categoryid=31&cs=1
Genre
Diana Taylor has argued that as a genre, tragedy produces "percepticide," "a form of ..... Suzan-Lori Parks, Venus. http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/theatre_journal/v060/60.2.warner.html
Suzan-Lori Parks's Venus. ..... genre—for example, by showing how the threat of rape, so pervasive in romances.http://theater.dukejournals.org/cgi/reprint/32/2/27.pdf
poetry and comedy, as well as drama .http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/biblio?inkey=62-1559361352-0
Playwright Bio
Parks, who was writing stories at age five, had a peripatetic childhood as the daughter of a military officer. She attended Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, Massachusetts (B.A. [cum laude], 1985), where James Baldwin, who taught a writing class there, encouraged her to try playwriting. She wrote her first play, The Sinner’s Place (produced 1984), while still in school. She won Obie Awards for her third play, Imperceptible Mutabilities in the Third Kingdom (produced 1989), and for her eighth, Venus (produced 1996), about a South African Khoisan woman taken to England as a sideshow attraction.
Publication
available for purchase at http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Venus/Suzan-Lori-Parks/e/9781559361354/?itm=7
available for purchase at http://www.powells.com/biblio/1-9780822215677-2
Rights
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Nonprofessional :Book/Item: VENUSPrice: $7.50ISBN/Code: 978-0-8222-1567-7
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Characters
a South African washerwoman exported to Victorian London for an ostensible dancing gig. Instead she is featured in freak shows, alongside a bearded lady and a man with a penis sprouting from his forehead. Baartman becomes the "Venus Hottentot," Dubbed the Hottentot Venus, Baartman became a popular spectacle for white audiences who were fascinated and revolted by her appearance. After her death, Baartman's sexual organs and buttocks were preserved and housed in the Musée de l'Homme in Paris until the late twentieth century.
Ultimately, she is sold off to the salacious Baron-Docteur. who falls in love with Venus but also assures his colleagues that he intends to make her the object of scientific study.
The chorus, which variously represents side-show audiences, scientists and the other members of the traveling freak show.
As the play opens, Venus is a popular attraction in Mother Showman's traveling show of Nine Human Wonders in London. Because slavery has been outlawed in England, Mother Showman's captivity of Venus sparks a debate about whether such exhibitions constitute slavery.
The Negro Resurrectionist, is standing guard over the encaged venus.
The Grade-School Chum, he offers gold to the Negro Resurrectionist for providing him with the body of Venus once she dies.
Players of ' for the love of the Venus', The chorus of the 8 Human Wonders are an assembly of human freaks and oddities: bearded woman, fire eating man , a spotted (black & white) boy, a fat man , siamese twins.Within Venus are scenes from For The Love Of The Venus, a Drama in Three Acts.
Exegesis
The Negro Resurrectionist "she looks like she's fresh off the boat"
Fresh off the boat (or "F.O.B.") is a phrase used to describe immigrants that have arrived from a foreign nation have not yet assimilated to the host nation's culture, language, and behavior. It can also be used to describe the behavior or the ways of new immigrants. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fresh_off_the_boat
The Negro Resurrectionist "Her ears were much like those found in monkeys: Small, weakly formed at the tragus, and vanishing behind almost completely"
The tragus is that little nub of cartilage that lies just in front of the ear canal. Although you may not immediately consider this a prime piercing spot, adventurous souls are always looking for fresh spots to practice their passion for body modification. The tragus offers a few more millimeters of precious canvas. http://tattoos.lovetoknow.com/Tragus_Piercing.
The Venus "Et maintenant, le livre est sur mon e`paule!"
and now, the book is on my shoulder! http://babelfish.yahoo.com/translate_txt
The Father. " Marry yr girl, Boy and then Unclell take ya to Timbuktu if Timbuktus yr yen"
In many cultures, Timbuktu is used in phrases to express great distance and to suggest something beyond a person's experience. Popular sayings such as "I'll knock you clear to Timbuktu" suggest that, for many people, Timbuktu has existed more as an idea of the remote and mysterious than as an actual place.Timbuktu was founded around 1100 C.E. as a camp for its proximity to the Niger River. Caravans quickly began to haul salt from mines in the Sahara Desert to trade for gold and slaves brought along the river from the south. By 1330, Timbuktu was part of the powerful Mali Empire, which controlled the lucrative gold-salt trade routes in the region. Two centuries later, Timbuktu reached its grandeur under the Songhay Empire, becoming a haven for scholars. http://www.history.com/classroom/unesco/timbuktu.html
Wonders #5 and #6. "Mano a Mano lip tuh lip".
Mano-a-mano is a Spanish and Italian construction meaning "hand to hand". It was used originally for bullfights where two matadors alternate competing for the admiration of the audience. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mano-a-mano
The Chrous Of 8 Human Wonders. Jawohl jawohl. "Step up my Wandering Wunderfuls and show how Nature takes her toll".
German-English translations for "ja, jawohl": yup (yes). http://odge.info/german-english/ja,+jawohl.htmle/.
The Baron Docteur. " In regards to the formation of her buttocks we make the following remarks: The fatty cushion, a.k.a. Steatopygia was 9 inches deep. Her buttocks"
Steatopygia is a high degree of fat accumulation in and around the buttocks. The deposit of fat is not confined to the buttock regions, but extends to the outside and front of the thighs, forming a thick layer reaching sometimes to the knee.This is a widespread genetic trait of the Khoisan (more commonly known as Bushmen). It is specially a female feature, but it occurs in a lesser degree at men too (in most genetic variations of Homo sapiens, females tend to exhibit a greater propensity to fat tissue accumulation in the buttock region as compared with males). This trait is also found amongst the Pygmies of Central Africa or from Andaman Islands (Southeast Asia). Khoisan see this as a beauty sign: it begins in infancy and is fully developed by the time of the first pregnancy. http://news.softpedia.com/news/What-is-Steatopygia-51231.shtml. 
The Venus. Whats "maceration".
Maceration refers to soaking or steeping a substance so that it softens. In cooking, maceration is used to refresh dehydrated foods, to flavor various ingredients, and in winemaking, when grapes are fermented in their own freshly pressed juice. A wide range of recipes call for maceration, ranging from fruit sauces for desserts to savory sauces for main course dishes. Maceration liquids can also be used for food preservation, as is the case with maraschino cherries, which are macerated in the liquid used to package them. http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-maceration.htm.
The Man. " Damn, it slips my mind nope Ive got it now: A Menageria, Gods Entire Kingdom All Under one roof"
Menagerie is the term for a historical form of keeping calm and exotic animals in human captivity and therefore a predecessor of the modern zoological garden. The term was foremost used in seventeenth century France originally for the management of the household or domestic stock, but later primarily for an aristocratic or royal animal collection. The French-language "Methodical Encyclopaedia" of 1782 defines a menagerie as an "establishment of luxury and curiosity." Later on the term referred also to travelling animal collections that exhibited wild animals at fairs across Europe and the Americas.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menagerie.
The Bride-to-be. " My Love for you is artifical, fabricated much like this epistle"
letter: a long formal letter, often intended to provide instruction ( formal ).
book in letter form: a literary work in the form of a letter.http://encarta.msn.com/dictionary_1861608876/epistle.html
The Mother. " Have you tried Canasta"
Canasta (Spanish for "basket"; in English) is a card game originating in Uruguay, where players attempt to make melds of 7 cards of the same rank ...en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canasta.
Fable
The Venus Hottentot, an African bushwoman of the early 1800s whose given name was Sartje Baartman.
A servant girl, who’s worked as a menial worker to help to support her family, was sent by her masters to London, because of her amazingly voluptuous buttocks and eventually will be exploited in a horrible freak show.
The money hungry Mother Showman, who’s the owner of a freak show, named Amazing Human Wonders.
The first day of the show, Venus is horrified to meet the people she will be working with. There are unexplained things she has never seen on people like a phallus-nosed man and even "The Elephant Man," she finds it strange that one of the freaks wears a sack over his head.
Venus becomes a celebrity overnight because of her huge voluptuous butt. She shows off her money maker with pride, which brings in enormous crowds and tons of money for her and the owner.
For 2yrs she sticks with the side show, but eventually she decides to leave to become more famous on her own. She soon finds out, that people are not excepting as they were, when she was a part of the Amazing Human Wonders.
The married Baron Docteur, who is a white male, pursued Venus Hottentot, who’s more than fascinated with her curvy body and beauty. He decides to approach her about a medical study he is doing in Paris, but really he is mostly obsessed with her big bottom, so he sends her off to Paris for medical study.
Soon he begins to have a relationship with her and keeps her as his mistress until rumors start spreading about his relationship with Venus. He soon has to make a choice with his medical career or the feelings he has for Venus , but instead he chose his medical career. He decides to kill her and then anatomize her body for his medical study. She was deceived and macerated by someone she truly cared for. She died at the age of 24.
Plot Summary
In 1810, The Venus Hottentot (as she is dubbed)-a young black woman with an enormous posterior-is lured away from her menial job in South Africa to tour the world and make lots of money. Once in England, however, she is sold to a freak show and becomes a star. She shows off her attribute, bringing in crowds and raking in money for the side show owners. Quickly becoming adept at showing herself, and figuring out what the people want, she even tries to break out on her own, but can't quite master that in those social times. Eventually, she is procured by a white doctor who is more than fascinated with her. He falls in love with her and keeps her as his mistress until he is in danger of losing his medical reputation and social standing. Venus, who journeyed to Europe with high hopes, at the end of her short life, was dissected by the man she loved. http://www.doollee.com/PlaywrightsP/parks-suzan-lori.html
Statement: "Characters and Casting"
The history of theatre goes as far back as 150 years ago, when western form of theatre vs. traditional forms. Progress in theatre and play writes in our country since 1908 has focused on historical themes on political subjects. In the 1930s-40s, melodramas and domestic comedies were used within play formats.
Theatre involves documentaries to narratives as well as short features to long features. During the period of 1810 when Venus Hottentots left South Africa she envisioned her life to be enhanced by making lots of money and becoming famous. Instead, she learns the public views her as a freak of nature which berated her to the view of an animal. After realizing side show owners and the public were finding her posterior as something abnormal, Venus decided to make it on her own.
This story could be viewed as a documentary or short feature narrative. During the 1810’s silent movies and documentaries were used as a form of Theatre entertainment. While Venus life story is amazing and entertaining, it probably would not be shown on a theatre stage; however, it would create a great documentary. Venus story could have been shown with an independent touring company that travels and shows different theatres in each city.
The branch of the performing arts defined by “Bernard Beckerman” (when one or more persons isolated in time and space) most likely would have considered Venus under the genre of both drama and tragedy.
Non-traditional casting may not be applied to this story due to the fact; it could be viewed as a documentary, independent theatre piece or a short story. Casting for this story would involve someone who can relive what Venus lived during the times of her feeling inadequate and used by the public. Casting would require an actor to live and think within the mind of Venus. I would cast a person or persons that closely fit the look, sound and imagination of the doctor, the side show owners and Venus. The setting would begin with an African background and eventually develop into a science lab where the doctor would dissect Venus body for personal satisfaction and fear. The doctor would eventually be portrayed as a mad scientist in fear of the world about to take his beloved Venus away from him. In his mind the only way to save her would be to dissect her body and discard it in a respectful place.
This piece would not be considered traditional because this is simply not a traditional story. I could also cast it as a love story filled with a cast of the public, Venus, the doctor, the side show owners and people of color. While I could also select it to be a drama, tragedy or comedy, somehow I find it to be a lost lonely soul who finds the love of her life but doesn’t live happily ever after but instead in solitude. This would be a very interesting piece of work because there is so many directions a writer or director to take this story.
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