PLAY GUIDE

Nov. 14–Dec. 10, 2017

SKELETON CREW

by Dominique Morisseaudirected by Steve H. Broadnax III

IN THIS PLAY GUIDE

SKELETON CREW

PLOT SUMMARY

CHARACTERS / SETTING

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

GLOSSARY

WRITING PORTFOLIO

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

ABOUT THIS PLAY GUIDEThis play guide is a resource designed to enhance your theatre experience. Its goal is twofold: to nurture the teaching and learning of theatre arts, and to encourage essential questions that lead to an enduring understanding of the play’s meaning and relevance. Inside you will find information about the plot and characters within the play, as well as articles that contextualize the play and its production at Actors Theatre of Louisville. Oral discussion and writing prompts encourage your students to reflect upon their impressions, analyze key ideas, and relate them to their personal experiences and the world around them. These prompts can easily be adapted to fit most writing objectives. We encourage you to adapt and extend the material in any way that best fits the needs of your community of learners. Please feel free to make copies of this guide, or you may download it from our website at actorstheatre.org. We hope this material, combined with our pre-show workshops, will give you the tools to make your time at Actors Theatre a valuable learning experience.

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If you have any questions or suggestions regarding our play guides, please contact Jane B. Jones, Education Director, at 502.584.1265 x3045.

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COMMON CORE STATE STANDARDS

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.W.1 Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.W.2 Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.W.3 Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details and well-structured event sequences.CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.5 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.6 Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.7 Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media and formats, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words.CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.SL.2 Integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.

NATIONAL CORE ARTS STANDARDS

TH.Re7.1 Perceive and analyze artistic work. TH.Re8.1 Interpret intent and meaning in artistic work.TH.Re9.1 Apply criteria to evaluate artistic work.TH.Cn10.1 Synthesize and relate knowledge and personal experiences to make art. TH.Cn11.1 Relate artistic ideas and works with societal, cultural and historical context to deepen understanding.

SKELETON CREW STUDENT MATINEES AND THIS PLAY GUIDE ADDRESS SPECIFIC EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES:

316 West Main StreetLouisville, KY 40202-4218

ARTISTIC DIRECTORLes Waters

MANAGING DIRECTORKevin E. Moore

EDUCATION DIRECTORJane B. Jones

EDUCATION MANAGER Betsy Anne Huggins

EDUCATION ASSOCIATELexy Leuszler

RESIDENT TEACHING ARTISTSLiz FentressKeith McGillTalleri McRaeLetitia Usher

EDUCATION/TEACHING ARTIST APPRENTICESAbigail Miskowiec Zoe Rosenfeld

PLAY GUIDE BYL e x y L eu s z ler

GRAPHIC DESIGNJen Williams

SKELETON CREW PLOT SUMMARYFaye, Dez, and Shanita are a tight-knit trio of auto workers who always look out for each other. When rumors fly about their factory’s closing, all three face tough decisions about the future. Meanwhile, their foreman Reggie, torn between his team and his career, has to decide where his loyalties lie. As the Great Recession hits Detroit, is it time for all of them to start looking out for themselves? With compassion and insight, acclaimed playwright Dominique Morisseau takes a timely, compelling look at blue-collar America.

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THE CHARACTERS

FAYE: A black woman in her mid-to-late fifties. Working-class woman. Tough and a lifetime of dirt beneath her nails. She is an employee of the stamping plant. Somewhere within her, there is deep compassion.

DEZ: A black man in his mid-to-late twenties. Working-class young man. Young hustler, playful, street-savvy, and flirtatious. He is an employee of the stamping plant. Somewhere within him, he is deeply sensitive.

SHANITA: A black woman in her mid-to-late twenties. Working-class young woman. Pretty but not ruled by it. She’s hard-working and believes in the work she does. She’s also pregnant. She is an employee of the stamping plant. Somewhere within her, she is a beautiful dreamer.

REGGIE: A black man in his late thirties. White-collar man. He is studious, dedicated and compassionate. He is the Foreman of the stamping plant. Somewhere within him, a fire brims.

A section of the Detroit Industry Mural, painted by Diego Rivera in 1932, depicting the Ford Motor Company.

THE SETTING

Workers on the manufacturing line at a stamping plant in Warren, Michigan.

A stamping plant in Detroit, Michigan. The play takes place during winter, somewhere around the year 2008.

A stamping plant is an automotive factory where sheet metal is pressed by powerful hydraulic machines into specific shapes and forms such as the hood or door of a car. These pieces will then transfer to a larger plant for assembly.

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ABOUT THE AUTHORDominique Morisseau is an alumna of The Public Theater’s Emerging Writers Group, Women’s Project Lab and Lark Playwrights’ Workshop. Credits Include: Skeleton Crew with Sundance Institute Theatre Lab, Lark BareBones Studio and Scott Rudin Productions at Atlantic Theater Company; Detroit ’67 with The Public Theater, The Classical Theatre of Harlem and National Black Theatre; Sunset Baby with Gate Theatre and Labyrinth Theater Company; and Follow Me to Nellie’s with the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center and Premiere Stages. Morisseau has produced other original works with the Hip-Hop Theater Festival, Penn State University, American Theatre of Harlem and The New Group. Her three-play cycle, entitled The Detroit Project, includes Detroit ’67, Paradise Blue and Skeleton Crew. Paradise Blue premiered at the

Williamstown Theatre Festival in July 2015, starring Blair Underwood and directed by Ruben Santiago-Hudson. Morisseau is currently the Story Editor on the Showtime series Shameless. Awards: Jane Chambers Playwriting Award, two-time NAACP Image Award, Primus Prize commendation, Stavis Playwright Award, The Spirit of Detroit Award, University of Manitoba Emerging Leader Award, L. Arnold Weissberger Award, the PoNY Fellowship, Sky Cooper New American Play Prize, the Graham F. Smith Peace Foundation Award, the Edward M. Kennedy Prize for Drama and the Obie Collaboration Award.

THE SETTING THE DETROIT PROJECTSkeleton Crew is part three of a trilogy of plays focused on the city of Detroit. Inspired by August Wilson’s Century Cycle, which features 10 plays that highlight the black experience in Pittsburgh, PA and Chicago, IL, Morisseau wanted to highlight the citizens of her home city. The first play, Detroit ‘67, is set in a black

neighborhood at the epicenter of the 1967 Detroit riots. The second play, Paradise Blue, is set in 1949 in a thriving black community referred to as “Paradise Valley” for jazz performers. The third play, Skeleton Crew, is set circa 2008 in an automobile plant in Detroit that faces closure due to economic recession.

Paradise Blue, Williamstown Theatre Festival. Detroit ‘67, Detroit Public Theatre.

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AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY CRISIS OF 2008: Due to many external factors, including an international oil shortage, the collapse of credit markets in the United States and massive decline in auto sales, the “Big Three” car manufacturers in Detroit (Ford, Chrysler and General Motors) faced bankruptcy. To help prevent layoffs, unions such as the UAW renegotiated their contracts with companies, sometimes lowering wages or suspending benefits packages. Despite renegotiations, many workers were laid off as mismanaged U.S. auto plants were forced to close or downsize. This disproportionately affected Detroit’s black residents, who composed the majority of employees at these plants.

BLUE-COLLAR WORKER: An employee, like Faye, Dez or Shanita, who works in a non-agricultural field that utilizes physical labor, such as manufacturing, construction, mining, etc. Often workers are paid hourly or in “wage labor” terms, meaning companies exchange money (wages) for hours employees spend at work (labor).

BONES: A slang term for dominoes.

BRASS FITTINGS: Fasteners used in construction and manufacturing made of brass. Brass is a valuable metal, and large quantities of it can be sold to scrapyards for upwards of $15 per pound.

DEVIL’S NIGHT:A name for the night before Halloween (October 30th) when typically, youths play pranks or vandalize houses. In Detroit, Devil’s Night is a popular night to commit arson, or burn down abandoned buildings in crowded inner-city and suburban neighborhoods.

SKELETON CREW: A phrase referring to the minimum number of employees needed to operate or maintain a business that is facing an emergency or a potential shutdown.

WHITE-COLLAR WORKER: An employee who works in a professional, managerial or administrative setting at a company, such as Reggie. These positions do not often require physical labor and workers are “salaried,” meaning employees are paid a yearly sum, divided into monthly or weekly payments regardless of the hours they have worked.

WRITE-UP: A written warning issued to employees, usually by a supervisor or the Human Resources Department, advising them to cease a behavior that is not approved by the company or violates a company rule. After a specific number of write-ups are given to a single employee, they may be fired or have benefits docked by their employer.

UAW: The acronym for United Automobile Workers, a union for automobile plant workers founded in Detroit in 1935. Labor unions such as the UAW protect the rights of workers in large industries and bargain with business owners to raise wages for workers, protect retirement benefits and ensure workplaces are safe for all employees. In 2008, due to the automotive industry crisis, the UAW suspended many benefits afforded to laid-off and terminated workers. .

GLOSSARY

Artist’s map of Detroit in 1939.

Various brass fittings for automotive parts.

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WRITING PORTFOLIO

NARRATIVE: CCRA.W.3Dominique Morisseau has said that she wrote Skeleton Crew and her Detroit Project “to contribute a different narrative about Detroit than what is out there right now,” because she doesn’t believe the media accurately portrays the real people and soul of her home city. Consider how Louisville or your neighborhood is portrayed by local and national news and media outlets. Do you agree with their portrayal of your hometown? Are there people or parts of your city that aren’t showcased to the nation? If you were to write a fictional play or short story, what people or settings would you use to highlight the soul and people of your city on a national level? What do you want other people to know about Louisville or your neighborhood? Write a short scene that contains characters and a location that you think reflects your hometown. Is there specific music playing in the background? Are the characters discussing a local issue that pertains to their neighborhood? Consider how your characters sound, dress and move in your scene to reflect your city.

ARGUMENTATIVE: CCRA.W.1In an interview, Morisseau states that she chose 2008 as the backdrop for Skeleton Crew because “it is an era that is transformative in Detroit’s history.” From the creation of the first auto plants in 1904 to the automotive industry crisis at the center of the play, Detroit’s blue-collar workers and their livelihoods have been the focus of much national debate about union worker rights and the responsibility of a government to its citizens. There are many factors that have contributed to the highs and lows of the Detroit auto industry, and many of these points are explored in “Anatomy of Detroit’s Decline,” a 2013 New York Times article by Amy Padnani. After reading the article and conducting your own research into the automotive industry of Detroit, consider Reggie’s position as a representative of the plant. The automotive industry is vital to the economy of Detroit and responsible for

the livelihoods of many of the city’s citizens. Should auto plants continue to pay the agreed-upon wages and benefits to employees, even if it means they might eventually go out of business? Or should workers like Faye sacrifice wages and benefits to help ensure the future of the city and the plant? Write an essay detailing who should sacrifice what and why in order to help ensure the future of the city of Detroit.

INFORMATIVE: CCRA.W.2Write a review of the performance of Skeleton Crew that you saw at Actors Theatre of Louisville. What parts of the play (the actors’ performances, the set, props, costumes, lighting and sound design, etc.) were your favorites, and why? How effective were these elements in telling the story? Back up your claims with evidence and details from your experience of watching the performance. Then, make a copy and send it to the education department at:

Actors Theatre of Louisville c/o Jane B. Jones316 West Main StreetLouisville, Kentucky 40202

We will share your thoughts with the creative team.

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DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

PRE-SHOW QUESTIONS1. Skeleton Crew is set in the break room of an

automotive manufacturing plant and doesn’t feature physical pieces of manufacturing machinery. For a play that discusses a very specific type of physical work, why do you think Dominique Morisseau chose to set her play in a break room? If you were the director of the play, what artistic choices could you make to remind audience members that the jobs performed by the characters are physically demanding and specific?

2. Dominique Morisseau frequently features specific songs or musical artists in her plays, and Skeleton Crew is no exception. Morisseau suggests specific artists and songs to mix with possible plant machinery noises. Listen to the music of Detroit rapper J-Dilla or the rap group Slum Village. Do their lyrics and music give you any clues about the atmosphere of Detroit or a manufacturing plant? What do they tell you about the world and attitude of the characters you are about to meet?

POST-SHOW QUESTIONS 1. Do you agree with Reggie’s choices throughout the

play as plant foreman? Do you think he should have come down harder on Faye or Dez for their workplace violations? Or do you think he had a personal obligation to take care of Faye?

2. The closing of the plant causes each character to protect and fight for his or her goals, and for each character that means something different: for Faye, it’s ensuring her physical and financial survival; for Dez, it’s ensuring the future of his garage; for Shanita, it’s ensuring the future of her child and her workplace happiness; and for Reggie, it’s ensuring the future of his career and the smooth operation of the plant. What do you think is the most important thing to protect? Your family, your career, your personal happiness or the rule and order of authority? How do you choose when your goals may be in conflict with people who are important to you?

Detroit rap artist J-Dilla.

Detroit rap group Slum Village.