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Sandra Seaton

SANDRA SEATON

  
Nationality:    African American
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Sandra Seaton was born in Columbia, Tennessee and grew up in Chicago. Seaton is a playwright and librettist. Her libretto for the song cycle FROM the DIARY OF SALLY HEMINGS, a collaboration with Pulitzer Prize-winning composer William Bolcom, has been performed by mezzo-soprano Florence Quivar at the Coolidge Auditorium of the Library of Congress, the Kennedy Center, the Herbst Theatre in San Francisco, the University Musical Society in Ann Arbor, the Rialto Performing Arts Center in Atlanta and other venues. Seaton's one-woman Drama SALLY premiered at the New York State Writers Institute at the State University of New York in Albany in 2003 under the direction of Langdon Brown with Zabryna Guevara as Sally Hemings. Seaton's play the BRIDGE PARTY was a winner of the 1989 theodore Ward Prize for African American Playwrights. the play has been performed in 1998 at the New Federal Theater and at the University of Michigan, in 2000 at Michigan State University and in 2005 at Cleveland's Karamu Theatre. the BRIDGE PARTY has been anthologized in STRANGE FRUIT: PLAYS ON LYNCHING BY AmericaN WOMEN (1998) edited by Judy Stephens and Kathy Perkins. Seaton's other plays include the WILL and the trilogy: ROOM AND BOARD, DO YOU LIKE PHILIP ROTH? and RESERVATIONS. In January 2005 her spoken word piece, KING: A REFLECTION ON the LIFE OF DR. MARTIN LUtheR KING, JR. premiered at the Michigan State University Children's Choir Black History Month Concert in the Great Hall of the Wharton Center for the Performing Arts. In July 2005 Seaton taught a playwriting workshop at the Prague Summer Program in the Czech Republic. Her most recent full-length play, A BED MADE IN HEAVEN, was given a staged reading at Central Michigan University in February 2007. Until 2004, she was a professor in the English Department at Central Michigan University, where she taught fiction writing, playwriting and African American literature. She lives in East Lansing, Michigan.

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below is a list of Sandra Seaton's plays - click on a Play Title for more information

         Bed Made In Heaven, A         Bridge Party, The         Chance Meeting, A         Do You Like Philip Roth?"         Estate Sale         Fall of the Kingdom, Rise of the Foot Soldier         From the Diary of Sally Hemings         King: A Spoken Word Reflection on the Life of Martin Luther King, Jr         Martha Stewart Slept Here         Music History         Ogden Avenue         Room and Board         Sally         Will, The

Bed Made In Heaven, A

Synopsis:
A BED MADE IN HEAVEN explores the relationship between Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings. Set in 1801 during Jefferson's first presidency, the play is an imaginative recreation of a complex, vital Sally Hemings who refuses to be identified merely as a mistress and a conflicted Jefferson forced to decide how to deal with a scandal threatening his presidency. All scenes take place at Monticello. the play Dramatizes the reactions of the Monticello household-Jefferson himself, his married daughter Patsy Jefferson Randolph, Sally Hemings, and her mother Betty Hemings--to the scandal caused by James Callender's public revelation of a sexual relationship between Jefferson and Sally Hemings. This story raises fundamental questions about American politics and private life, a story two centuries old whose fascination seems only to grow in the twenty-first century.

Notes:
A Bed Made In Heaven received A staged reading At Central Michigan University, Mt. Pleasant, Michigan in February, 2007 with David Daoust As Jefferson, Eric Dawe As Narrator, Callender, And Denby, Sharriese Hamilton As Sally, Kenneth Ray Nelson Jr. As James Hemings, And Regina E. Riddle As Betty Hemings.

1st Produced:
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Organisations:
-

1st Published:
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Music:
-

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Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  4            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Bridge Party, The

Bridge Party, The
the setting of the Bridge Party is the meeting of an African American women's bridge club in the South of the 1940's. A group of women have gathered for their weekly bridge party hosted by the daughters of Emma Edwards, theodora, Leona and Marietta. the play Dramatizes the ways in which these women deal with the racism of their era while still maintaining their dignity and sense of self. At the same time, the women are faced with their own personal dilEmmas. We learn that Cordie Cheek, a young black man, has been acquitted of the charge of molesting a white woman. Leona, pregnant and separated from her husband, must confront her mother-in-law Mary Jane Barnes. At the beginning of the second act, Marietta reports that Cordie Cheek has been tortured and lynched on a bridge outside town. the women, still struggling with family issues, are confronted by newly-deputized white officers going house-to-house through the black area looking for guns to confiscate. Using "mother wit," Emma Edwards thwarts the renewed attempt of the deputies to seize the guns in the house. the play ends with Marietta's speculations about the possibility of race war and the ultimate achievement of justice.

Notes:
the Bridge Party was published As A single play book in 2000 by Puck Press under the title the Bridge Party. Ruby Dee, Adilah Barnes, Michele Shay, Kim Staunton And Lynda Gravatt Appeared under the direction of Glenda Dickerson in the Bridge Party At the University of Michigan in 1998. Mizan Nunes Appeared under the direction of C.C. Antoinette in the Bridge Party At the New Federal theater in 1998.

1st Produced:
Columbia College, Chicago, Illinois     1989

Organisations:
theodore Ward Prize Staged Reading

1st Published:
Indiana University Press, Strange Fruit, An Anthology, 1998   978-0253211637

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Chance Meeting, A

Synopsis:
Two African-American ex-employees of a white family meet. They both have different memories of their time with the family

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Arthur Miller Theater, University Of Michigan     2013

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Great Lakes Review, available on Amazon.com   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
One Act Play

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Do You Like Philip Roth?"

Synopsis:
DO YOU LIKE PHILIP ROTH is a one-act play about African-American college students at a Midwestern university during the civil-rights movement of the 1960s. Walter and Etta meet at Walter's apartment. Walter, intellectual, hip, newly returned from a dangerous summer voting rights campaign in Mississippi, is struggling to readjust to life on campus. Etta, an independent free spirit, tries to gain Walter's trust.

Notes:
Rehearsed reading with Ken Nelson, Jr., Brandi Walker, And Lamont Clegg in May, 2001 At the Annual conference of the Society for the Study of Midwestern Literature in East Lansing, Michigan.

1st Produced:
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Organisations:
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1st Published:
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Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama One Act

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Estate Sale

Synopsis:
A racially mixed couple - who are also mixed politically - he ultra conservative, she is ultra liberal. A crooked developer. An oversexed estate agent. All at an estate sale

Notes:
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1st Produced:
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Organisations:
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1st Published:
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Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Drama

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Fall of the Kingdom, Rise of the Foot Soldier

Fall of the Kingdom, Rise of the Foot Soldier
a racially-motivated attack on a student forces her teacher to confront the uncomfortable truth lurking beneath the community.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
RSC

1st Published:
Oberon Books (2016) >>>    978-1786820075

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
One Act

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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From the Diary of Sally Hemings

Synopsis:
From the Diary of Sally Hemings, a song cycle for voice and piano with libretto by Sandra Seaton and music by composer William Bolcom, was written at the request of mezzo soprano Florence Quivar. the work recreates the thoughts and feelings of Sally Hemings throughout her long relationship with Thomas Jefferson by means of fictional diary entries. the 18 songs in this imaginary journal provide a surprising yet persuasive interpretation of the relationship between Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings, officially a slave but also the half-sister of Jefferson's wife, Martha Wayles Jefferson. the songs trace the life of Sally Hemings from her earliest memory, Martha Jefferson dying from complications following childbirth, to her sojourn in Paris with Jefferson and finally her life with Jefferson at Monticello until his death.

Notes:
the score is Available from theodore Presser Company: 1-800-854-6764, ext. 230. From the Diary of Sally Hemings was funded by Music Accord, Inc. A consortium of music presenters, including the Boston Symphony At Tanglewood; the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center; the Fortas Chamber Music Series of the Kennedy Center; the Krannert Center; the Library of Congress; the Ravinia Festival; San Francisco Performances And the University Musical Society.

1st Produced:
Coolidge Auditorium At The Library Of Congress's Thomas Jefferson Building     2001

Organisations:
the Library of Congress

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
song cycle libretto

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  1-mezzo soprano, pianist

Further Reference:
-

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King: A Spoken Word Reflection on the Life of Martin Luther King, Jr

Synopsis:
KING is a spoken word piece about the journey of Martin Luther King Jr. as he struggled to bring civil rights to the United States. the piece, a mixture of poetry and brief reflections, remembers Rev. King as an individual with human limitations who answered the call to leadership in service to humanity. His life serves as a model for those, especially the young, who might feel that any imperfection disqualifies them from leadership.

Notes:
In January 2005, this piece was performed As A spoken word piece Accompanied by three choirs: the Michigan State University Children's Choir, the Ann Arbor Youth Chorale, And the Detroit Renaissance High Children's Choir.

1st Produced:
Great Hall Of The Wharton Center For The Performing Arts, East Lansing, Michigan     2005

Organisations:
MSU Children's Choir

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
Spoken word performance text

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  One speaker and choir

Further Reference:
-

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Martha Stewart Slept Here

Synopsis:
the scene in this short one-act is the Dixieland Trailer Park in Ferndale, Indiana. Soriana and Emil, a Latvian couple, frightened by a news report about the presence of a "fiend" in the vicinity of the trailer park, come to spend the night with their African American neighbors, Homer and Mattie.

Notes:
Rehearsed reading with Eric Dawe, Sharriese Hamilton, Ken Nelson, Jr., Keith Williams, And Blair Wojcik in May, 2007 At the Annual conference of the Society for the Study of Midwestern Literature in East Lansing, Michigan.

1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Comedy

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Music History

Synopsis:
about African American college students during the Civil Rights era

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Arena Theater At Michigan State University     2013

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
full length play

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Ogden Avenue

Synopsis:
1950s. There is racial tension amoungst High Schoolers on the West Side of Chicago

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Mica Gallery, Michigan     18 Aug 2016

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
Youth musical

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Room and Board

Synopsis:
A one-act play about a group of young African American women at a sorority house on a Midwestern campus in the sixties. Etta, the main character, unwilling to follow the rules of the sorority, decides to leave the house but faces racial prejudice in the outside world.

Notes:
Rehearsed reading At the Annual conference of the Society for the Study of Midwestern Literature in East Lansing, Michigan in May, 2002.

1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama One Act

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  6            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Sally

Synopsis:
Sally is a one-woman Drama set at Monticello in the days before Thomas Jefferson's death on July 4, 1826. the play explores the thoughts and feelings of a mature Sally Hemings as she reflects on her life with Thomas Jefferson. In Jefferson's final days, Sally Hemings is determined to insure that his long-ago promise to free all their children at the age of 21 will be kept after his death.

Notes:
At the New York State Writers Institute in 2003, Zabryna Guevara Appeared in the role of Sally Hemings under the direction of Langdon Brown.

1st Produced:
New York State Writers Institute, Albany, New York     2003

Organisations:
New York State Writers Institute

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Will, The

Will, The
the play is set in Tennessee at the home of Cyrus and Eliza Webster during Reconstruction. Cyrus, whose will is the source of the title, acquired considerable property as a free black before the end of the Civil War. Cyrus is determined to pass on not only his worldly possessions but also his spiritual convictions and his wisdom to his descendants. A man of peace who has survived both war and racism, Cyrus will do whatever is necessary to see that his family endures and their inheritance is passed on to future generations. Despite the setbacks of Reconstruction efforts to achieve true equality, he has faith that eventually equality will be achieved. Cyrus's son Israel, just back from the Civil War, does not share his father's faith. His demand to be treated with the respect due a returning soldier puts his own life at risk and endangers all that Cyrus has achieved. When the newly-constituted Ku Klux Klan comes to the house looking for Israel, Eliza, Cyrus's wife, refuses to disclose his whereabouts and successfully hides Israel. the rebellion of Israel against racial injustice forces Cyrus to act to protect his inheritance in all its dimensions.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Riverwalk Theatre, Lansing, Michigan     1999

Organisations:
Riverwalk Theatre

1st Published:
East End, Michigan 2015   978-0996815222

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  8            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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