love i awethu further by a.k. payne is a play about love, control, freedom, and flight. This digital study guide aims to explore the themes, characters, mood, and experience of this play.
a.k. payne (she/they), is a playwright, artist-theorist, and theater creator originating from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Their theatrical works delve into and celebrate Black experiences and languages, transcending conventional timelines to unearth and preserve narratives that have the potential to foster collective liberation. Payne holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and African-American Studies from Yale College and recently graduated in May of 2023 with a Master of Fine Arts in Playwriting under the mentorship of Tarell Alvin McCraney from what was formerly known as Yale School of Drama. Their artistic endeavors have garnered recognition, being named a finalist for prestigious awards such as the L. Arnold Weissberger New Play Award and the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize. Their artistic endeavors have garnered recognition, including winning the David Mark Cohen National Playwriting Award and being named a semifinalist three times for the O'Neill National Playwriting Conference. Payne is presently a recipient of the Kemp Powers Commission Fund for Black Playwrights and the Atlantic Theater Company's Judith Champion Launch Commission. Their creative journey has seen development through platforms like the New Harmony Project, Great Plains Theater Conference, and Manhattan Theatre Club's "Groundworks Lab." They graduated from Pittsburgh Public Schools and are connected to the legacy of the Great Migration. Their lineage includes a music teacher and a carpenter, both active participants in Pittsburgh’s Labor Day parade alongside their respective unions. As a queer and non-binary abolitionist, they are intimately engaged with community struggles influenced by the impact of the ‘New Jim Crow’. Additionally, they draw inspiration from a rich lineage of Black women storytellers and family archivists, a background that profoundly shapes and enhances their work as a playwright, community organizer, and creator of inclusive spaces.
Before we go Further, i love awethu at a glance
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The play's use of poetic forms and non-linear storytelling serves to disrupt the traditional narrative flow, creating a space where time, memory, and prophecy intertwine.
This method of storytelling is reflective of Saidiya Hartman's concept of "critical fabulation," where history is both a site of critique and a canvas for imagining alternate futures.
The ritualistic aspects of the play, including the use of song, dance, and the enactment of rebellion, draw on African diasporic traditions, emphasizing the play's roots in both historical struggle and cultural resilience.
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The play is a dramatic work that incorporates magical realism, allowing for a more profound exploration of its themes and characters. This genre blend facilitates a unique way to address historical injustices and personal transformations.
love i awethu further situates its narrative within a specific historical context while also transcending time and place to speak to universal themes of struggle and resilience. By grounding the story in the antebellum South but imbuing it with timeless elements, the play reflects on the ongoing nature of resistance against systemic oppression. This serves as a reminder that the fight for freedom and justice is continuous, echoing the struggles of the past while pointing towards future possibilities of liberation and self-definition.
love i awethu further by a.k. payne is a profound and multilayered play that delves into themes of freedom, identity, resistance, and the complexities of love against the backdrop of slavery. Set in a plantation environment that is both specific in its antebellum Virginia setting and timeless in its exploration of power dynamics, the play interweaves the lives of its characters through acts of rebellion, personal discovery, and the envisioning of a world beyond their immediate confines.
The narrative centers around several Black characters, including Callie, Beneatha, Awethu, Portia, and Cinna, who are all enslaved, and Mistress Catherine and Antoinette/Amandla, who represent the “white” ownership class. The characters are depicted with depth, showcasing a range of emotions, desires, and plans for liberation. Notably, the play emphasizes the importance of naming and identity, as seen in the transformation of Antoinette to Amandla, signifying a reclaiming of self and power.
The plot unfolds with the conspirators — Callie, Beneatha, Cinna, and Awethu — planning to kill the Mistress as an act of rebellion and a step towards their freedom. This act is not just about the physical liberation from slavery but also represents a metaphysical journey towards self-actualization and community building. The play cleverly uses the act of rebellion as a pivot to explore broader themes of what freedom means, how it is conceptualized, and what sacrifices are necessary to achieve it.
At the heart of the play is Awethu, a character who symbolizes the spirit of rebellion and embodies the multifaceted journey towards freedom. Alongside Awethu are Callie and Beneatha, characters whose intertwined stories of struggle and personal revelation underscore the play's themes of solidarity and the transformative power of collective action. Antoinette/Amandla's struggle with loyalty, identity, and love highlights the complexities of navigating oppressive systems while seeking authentic self-expression.
love i awethu further transcends time and place, drawing parallels between historical acts of resistance and contemporary struggles for rights and recognition. It celebrates the resilience of communities that have faced systemic oppression, honoring the legacy of those who have fought for liberation while inspiring a new generation to envision and enact change.
This play is an invitation to journey through stories of pain, joy, resistance, and liberation. It challenges us to question, to dream, and to act, reminding us that the path to freedom is both a collective struggle and a deeply personal voyage. Through its poetic language, dynamic characters, and evocative themes, love i awethu further offers a powerful commentary on the human condition and the unending pursuit of justice and equality.
Throughout the play, the characters engage in deep philosophical discussions about the nature of freedom, love, and the future they envision for themselves and their community. These conversations challenge the audience to consider the complexity of the human condition under oppressive systems and the lengths to which individuals will go to reclaim their agency.
The use of ritual, song, and dance throughout the play serves as a powerful means of storytelling, connecting the characters to their African heritage and serving as acts of resistance against their erasure and oppression. The play's structure, with its emphasis on ensemble casting and the fluidity of roles, further underscores the themes of community and collective struggle.
In a climactic moment, the characters confront the realities of their rebellion, grappling with the potential consequences of their actions and the moral complexities of justice and revenge. The play ends on a note of hopeful ambiguity, suggesting that the struggle for freedom and the quest for a better world is an ongoing process that transcends time and place.
love i awethu further is a powerful testament to the resilience of the human spirit, the complexity of human relationships, and the unending quest for freedom. It challenges audiences to reflect on the past, consider the present, and imagine the possibilities of a future built on the principles of equality, dignity, and love.