THE
BEAT
1
One poet and a dancer are on the stage. The dancer is dancing to the beat of the drums and
the poet is reciting a monologue.
SCENE 1
LIGHTS UP....(amber)right stage(Poet 1)
SCENE 2
LIGHTS UP....(blue wash)center stage(dancer)#1
MUSIC: DRUMS(Africa)CD 1....#1
POET 1
The Beat! Everybody loves the beat whether you black, brown, red, white, purple, blind,
deaf or dumb. The Beat! Yeah! It makes you wanna move your feet, shake your body! Yeah! That’s what I’m talking about. The Beat! Dancing, prancing, trancing, stepping to the sound of the Beat. There is no music without The beat relax! Where did it come from? Check it out! LIGHTS FADE
LIGHTS UP........(blue wash)center stage(dancer)#2MUSIC: DRUMS(Africa)CD 1....#2 LIGHTS FADE LIGHTS UP....(amber)right stage(poet 2) SCENE 3 POET 2 God gave us a Beat that rang through out the universe and it truly was a treat
LIGHTS FADEthrough hard and trying times. It told stories without words whether in a night club listening to the juke box, a church or just sitting around with family enjoying the sounds of The Beat. Back in the day, it was like a contagious disease passed on to other generations. The Beat! The Beat! Smooth and slick as my black leather jacket.....Can you feel me? The piano(ragtime). My great grandfather could sure play that Ragtime Beat.....Even though my great grandmother called it the devil’s music...... Songs like Possum And Taters, I Got The Blues and The Ragtime Dance by Scott Joplin............ And that old time religion in the church is still alive. The Beat! Old Man River...... Dry Bones In The Valley! Old Negro Spirituals had The Beat......From that, they shouted and praised the lord. I call it the Spiritual Beat! Come on with it now! Give it up Church! Oh yeah! The Beat was in the church too with the clap of the hands, praising God with the Beat! Hallelujah! ...........Listen......... SCENE 4 LIGHTS UP......(blue wash)left stage(choir) MUSIC: CHOIR OR (that’s enough)gospel....CD1..#3 LIGHTS FADE SCENE 5 2 LIGHTS UP......(amber)right stage(Poet 4) POET 4 At the break of dawn to the setting of the sun, The Beat has always been there in happy and trouble times, a therapy for the burning soul, medication for the tired body that labored throughout the day. The Beat, giving life to words that mingle in melodies, bobbing and weaving for a place in harmony with each other. Musicians tuning up their horns and voices to be in time with the Beat. It is said that Charlie Parker would listen to the sound of the birds and capture their Beats with his alto saxophone.. That’s why they called him the Bird. The Beat! Where did it come from? I wondered when I hear the sound of the skins......... LIGHTS FADE SCENE 6 LIGHTS UP......(blue wash)center stage(dancer)#3 MUSIC........DRUMS...(Africa)CD 1...#1 MUSIC.....REGGAE(jimmy cliff)CD 1...#4 LIGHTS FADE SCENE 7 LIGHTS UP......(amber)right stage(poet 5) POET 5 The Beat! Chills travel through my shaking
body like a running river......I’m out of
control.
My 206 bones are vibrating like a run -away machine. My fingers begin to snap.....My head begin to sway from side to side......My shoulders begins to move with the sound of the Beat...... I’m like an addict fixed with chemical solutions. I can’t help it. I was born with this thing they called The Beat....I can detect it anywhere and it makes me do unexpected creative moves........ Yeah! God gave this to me! The Beat...I can hear Marvin Gaye getting down with the beat. My grandpa told me that Marvin Gaye used to throw his caps and hats into the crowd after he finished his tunes.....I know he’s singing somewhere above the clouds......He left a certain kind of beat that’s gonna last forever...Motown!
LIGHTS FADE
SCENE 8 LIGHTS UP....(blue wash)center stage(dancer) MUSIC: MARVIN GAYE(I WANT YOU)CD 1....#5 LIGHTS UP...(amber)right stage(poet 6) Now Luther had another kind of Beat that
swept females off their feet, his words
EVERYBODYtune in with The Beat......and created a romantic illusion going on......and many CONTD(POET6) 3 times when his voice and The Beat got together, romance embraced the room with opening of champagne, wining & dining, silk and satin sheets, turn out the lights and the touching of......Yes! And if you were young, married and energetic, your parenthood started a year later. Do I need to explain any farther!........ LIGHTS FADE SCENE 9 LIGHTS UP....(blue wash)left stage(dancer) MUSIC: LUTHER (think)CD 1...#6 LIGHTS FADE SCENE 10 LIGHTS UP...(amber)left stage(3 people) Two girls and a boy are trying to harmonize a song without the Beat. They are frustrated. Hey! Hey! Stop! Something is missing.........The Beat!.......We better hurry up and get it because black folks gonna laugh us right off the stage when they don‘t hear the right beat, people! Back to the drawing room! Wait! TWO GIRLS Hey! Sticks! Didn’t your grandfather play drums for a band during the big band era back in the day?....... STICKS (snaps his finger) That’s right! Grandpa Willie! Better known as Sticks! That’s where I got my nickname from.......He’s still playing them drums........ EVERYBODY Well! What are we waiting for?......He’s the man! (Everybody hurries offstage) LIGHTS FADE....ORIGINALS(THE BELLS)CD 2...#1 SCENE 11 LIGHTS UP....(amber)right stage(poet 7) POET 7 Check it out! Everybody is after that Beat to be elite. Something special about this beat Let me tell you something.....you carry a beat around with you everyday, every second......Listen to your heart beat......Listen to the beat that brings joy to your day. Next time you take a bath, submerge your ears under water and listen to the rhythm of your heart.....The Beat is connected to you.......But you have to listen to get in step. Talk about Black History, the beat was a live wire that made us forget our situation......Amazing! And we still have it! LIGHTS FADES SCENE 12 LIGHTS UP......(amber)center stage(dancer) MUSIC: STAPLE SINGERS(LET‘S DO IT AGAIN)CD 2...#2 LIGHTS FADE 4 SCENE 13 LIGHTS UP....(amber)right stage(poet 8) POET 8 (laughs) I had this old Uncle. He was a player in his days. Everything he did was smooth. Even when he drank water, it was like a ritual as it smoothly trickled down his throat. The women loved him because he was a good dancer. He always told me that if you can hear the Beat, you can move like an antelope......Uncle was something else....... Don’t get me wrong, he was a hard working man, he just loved women. You know what I’m saying? He told me that when he took a woman to his crib, he put a little Barry White on and the night was like heaven, man! He told me that women loved Barry White......His sounds and beats just flowed right along with his voice....“Nephew, this is history“.....Then Uncle would play me a little sample of the big man............ LIGHTS FADE LIGHTS UP...(blue wash)center stage(dancers) MUSIC: BARRY WHITE....(can’t get enough)CD 2....#3 LIGHTS FADE SCENE 14 LIGHTS UP..(amber)left stage(poet 9)girl POET 9 Now I know what you’re talking about because I had a partying Aunt......She told me them night club stories, even threw in some secrets....But it was crunk....I’ve always been a good listener.....And she loved her some Budweiser......When a certain beat came on, she would throw her hands up in the air, snap her fingers and make some moves. But she loved the singer they called “The Teddy Bear.” She said that when she heard that man’s voice mixed with his back ground beat, she said, “child, if I was alone with a man, I hurried up and vacated the premises because that voice was gonna make me do something I didn’t wanna do, if you get my drift.” Yeah! My Aunt loved her some Teddy Pendagras. They called him The “Teddy Bear for a reason I guess. ” Don’t ask me why? But one thing I do know is that we do love Teddy Bears....... LIGHTS FADE SCENE 15 LIGHTS UP....(blue wash)center stage(dancer) MUSIC: TEDDY PEDERGRASS (close the door)CD 2...#4 LIGHTS FADE SCENE 16 LIGHTS UP.....(amber)right stage(poet 10) POET 10 Yeah! I heard about The Teddy Bear, Barry White and how they were match makers with that smooth style blending in with that slow jam beat! Lights down low listening, you and your girl relaxing, slow dragging to the voice and beat of CONTD 5 The Teddy Bear and Barry White. You talk about chillin, their songs put you on ice for a second. You know what I’m saying? Yeah! The Beat! Girls, boys, men and women, they all have some special songs that carries soul to their body......Like when my lady and I broke tides.. She explained to me all the reasons why, while the sound of the sax played in the background. I was speechless. Couldn’t deny a word.
LIGHTS FADE
SCENE 19SCENE 17 LIGHTS UP....(blue wash)left stage(a boy & girl sitting in chairs)miming MUSIC: ALPHONZO....CD 2...#5 LIGHTS FADE SCENE 18 LIGHTS UP....(blue wash)right stage(dancer) MUSIC: CHI-LITES(HAVE YOU SEEN HER)CD 2..#6 POET 11(girl) The Beat! Rhyme, beat, rhythm and harmony, all mixed together to make sound pleasing to the ears. To us, it’s a apart of our history, a certain kind of beat, rhyme, rhythm and harmony. When you get that beat and rhythm going, your body goes into another mode, naturally. We can’t explain where it comes from, it just exist within us.....Before the word entertainment came along, my grandmother told me we were entertaining long before......And it saved some lives because everybody protects the entertainer even the Haters. Hate just leaves for a moment..... It’s a part of the human race......Folks gotta be entertained......and my grandpa always told me that......He used to own a jute-joint back in the day........Little groups used to stop by and entertain.......Some were Doo-Wop singers, Blues singers and jazz groups........ Yeah! They had plenty of fun!........Check out The Beat!
LIGHTS FADE
SCENE 20 LIGHTS UP....(blue wash)left stage(singers)miming song(three persons)doo-wop MUSIC: DOO-wop(one summer night)CD 2...#7 LIGHTS FADE SCENE 21 LIGHTS UP.....(blue wash)right stage(dancers)jitter bug(girl & boy)swing out MUSIC: LOUIE, LOUIE....CD 3...#1 LIGHTS FADE SCENE 22 LIGHTS UP....(blue wash)left stage(girl poet & boy sitting in chair) MUSIC: ALPHONZO(I MISS YOU)...CD 3...#2 POET 12(girl) 6 I used to watch you and wondered, why you looked so blue,
I used to watch you, but you never gave me a clue. I wanted to speak, but your eyes never blinked, I used to watch you with your stylish hair and bright brown eyes, always wondered about your other side, then one day you smiled and looked my way my heart skipped a beat as I had to take a seat,
you stopped in your tracks and asked me my name,
from then on things weren’t the same, we talked, we laughed and became lovers for several months, then something happened that revealed everything in our little trunk, the joy, the laughs and fun we had in the Jamaican sun were soon forgotten and our strong relationship went for a dip and was as soft as cotton, we thought we knew each other, but not so, things we found out about one another just didn’t flow, so we went our own way, wasting the good that made us friends, never giving our happy times a chance to blend, I used to watch you and wondered why you looked so blue, you gave me the clue, and it was my mind you really blew! LIGHTS FADE SCENE 23 LIGHTS UP....(blue wash)right stage(dancer)
MUSIC: DOO-WOP(COASTERS)young blood...CD 3...#3 LIGHTS FADE SCENE 24 LIGHTS UP....(blue wash)left stage(poet 13) POET 13 You see, The Beat goes on in
music, in life, in relationships when everybody’s
mind have flipped a little. You must take it to another level. It’s not about males and females. It’s about listening to that right beat that put you into a trance and make you wanna dance even if you can’t. Yeah! That’s how my forefathers survived, singing in the fields, dancing in their minds, stepping to the right beat! It’s a God given talent that gave them balance and it still goes on.......Like an artist that imagine a painting with the beat of a brush slowly dancing gracefully across the canvas. Yeah! An artist! That’s how I see God! Check out the universe....... Sometimes I can hear the universe dancing to their beats.....Yeah! God must be an artist.......
LIGHTS FADE
MUSIC: COOKE....HEAVEN...CD 3...#4 SCENE 25 LIGHTS UP...(amber)right stage(poet 14)girl
POET
14
7
<><> an artist is one who believes In himself, <> an artist is one who believes In herself, <> with the strokes of their creative Energies, <> creating, creating something for the human <> eyes to see and the heart to feel how <> Life be, <> inspiration gives them courage to step way <> beyond desperation as their souls have <> become one, <> and will always live on after they are <> long gone, <> an actress on the stage who puts the <> audience in a rage with her dramatic scenes <> will be remembered in the back of minds <> on that day and time, a writer who tries <> desperately to create a picture with stories <> so others can see, <> staying up late nights, picking his or her <> imagination until the right words appear, <> singing like a bird, <> an artist is one who believes In himself, <> an artist is one who believes In herself, <> they didn’t ask to be who they are, <> and some think their minds are away and far, <> and sometimes they wonder while Feeling <> creation all the way to their soul that <> God has to be an artist, because God’s creation <> is so bold, <> an artist is one who believes in Himself, <> an artist is one who believes in Herself <> and their whole life is dedicated <> to the spirit of creation, and in the end their <> strokes are left behind <> for other folks to boast... <> This is what our forefathers left, the beat, rhythm, <> and a mix of melody and harmony. They were natural artists. <> God given talent without scripts and notes. Just The Beat.. <> LIGHTS FADE <> SCENE 2 MUSIC: That’s Heaven To Me(Cooke)repeat CD 3.....#4 LIGHTS FADE SCENE 27 8 LIGHTS UP....(amber)left stage(poet 15)girls POET 15 Back in the day, words without a beat,
the sound was dead. You know what
I’m saying? My grandmother told me that boys and girls formed their own little groups on the corner, on the porches singing Doo-wop, blues, jazz and spirituals all over 5th Ward, 3rd Ward, 4th Ward and Sunnyside. Through the week at some churches, the sounds of traveling Quartet gospel groups could be heard in the neighborhoods. The Beat was in all areas of soul, jazz, blues and gospel music. She told me that on Saturday nights, in 3rd Ward, there was a night club called the El Dorado Ball Room, right off of Elgin street. Of course, black folks gave it a nick name, “Upstairs.” You can use your own imagination on that. She said that black folks danced out of their shoes in that place. Everybody was good dancers........Yeah! The Beat is always present in our soul......Yeah!.........
LIGHTS FADE
POET 16SCENE 28 LIGHTS UP....(blue wash)left stage(dancers) MUSIC: T. DAVIS(turn back the hands of time)CD 3...#5 LIGHTS FADE SCENE 29 LIGHTS UP....(amber)right stage(poet 16)girl
Sometimes I wondered about entertainment life during
my grandparents days.
MUSIC: LITTLE WILLIE JOHN(fever)CD
3....#6
Our talent had to come from somewhere.....Sometimes we forget that they were once young and talented too....Check it out! My grandparents told me the entertainment was the best, in neighborhoods like 3rd Ward and 5th Ward....... In 3rd Ward they had the most elite and finest night clubs and restaurants......My grandfather told me the first time he saw Lou Rawls was at a night club in 3rd Ward called The Ebony.......before he got famous......He said Lou Rawls drove up to The Ebony in an old Fish Tail Cadillac.........Bobby Bland, the blues singer performed at a popular club that was once a bowling alley on Scott....Entertainers came from everywhere in the country to perform at The Palladium on Southmore street in 3rd Ward, own by an African American named Don Robey. Don Robey was the first black recording producer this side of the Mississippi. The name of his recording label was Peacock Recordings in the heart of 5th Ward...... He signed on great blues singers like Bobby Blue Bland, Johnny Guitar Watson and many others. He brought in name artists like Otis Redding, Dinah Washington, James Brown, Little Willie John, jazz artist, Horace Silver and many others at the Palladium. Black folks didn’t have to go outside their communities for entertainment back in the day. Living History was among black folks from gospel, jazz to Doo-Wop and the blues. LIGHTS FADE SCENE 30 LIGHTS UP....(blue wash)left stage(dancer) MUSIC: BOBBY BLAND...lights out...CD 4...#1 9 LIGHTS FADE MUSIC: CD 4....#2 SCENE 31 LIGHTS UP.....(amber)right stage(poet 17)girl POET 17 There was always music in the air, but it was that
special beat that woke them up
in the mornings. My grandparents told me that they had several pretty good radio disc jockeys and two black radio stations......Kyok and Kcoh......She said that they were hilarious! .......Check out the names of the disc jockeys: Hotsy Tottsy, King B and Dizzy Lizzy........Man! Just to hear them names make you wanna tune in.........My grandfather told me that Don Robey’s Recording studio in 5th Ward was across the street from a popular beer joint that sold beer, two bottles for a quarter. He told me that it was called ‘Pecos.’ Many times he saw Bobby Blue Bland, B.B. King, Clifton Chenier pull up in their cars to the recording studio. Clifton Chenier was a Zydeco musician, back in the day and they played with old washing rub boards..... Chenier station wagon was full to the top with home made instruments. But it was one group out of 5th Ward that recorded a song called ‘Tighten Up.’ I was impressed when Grandpa played it for me.. Yeah! Archie Bell And The Drells! Right from the neighborhood. I just felt like dancing. The Beat goes on! LIGHTS FADE MUSIC: BARRY WHITE (dancing)CD4...#3 LIGHTS FADE SCENE 32 LIGHTS UP...(blue wash)left stage(dancer) MUSIC: GLADYS KNIGHT (ME)CD 4...#4
LIGHTS FADE
POET 18SCENE 33 LIGHTS UP.....(blue wash)right stage(dancer) MUSIC: BROOK (RAINY NIGHT IN GEORGIA)CD 4...#5 LIGHTS FADE SCENE 34 LIGHTS UP.....(blue wash)right stage(dancer) MUSIC: JACKIE WILSON....(baby work out)CD 4...#6 LIGHTS FADE SCENE 35 LIGHTS UP (amber)rightstage(poet18)
Now, that sound was Jackie Wilson! Women was
crazy about Jackie Wilson, even
CONTD
10the white women......But he just didn’t like performing before a segregated audience. He had this little trick he did toward the end of his performance......He
would jump off into the crowd......His sponsors and
staff warned him that it was
dangerous. But when Jackie performed, he didn’t care about all that. So one night he was performing before a white audience and the city said that it was against their law to jump into the crowd of people, but he did it anyway and got fined for his action......You see, when someone get that beat, nothing else matter. It has power.......Yeah! May your souls rest in peace, my brothers and sisters, where ever you are......Your beats are forever.......
LIGHTS FADE
SCENE 36 LIGHTS UP...(blue wash)left stage(dancer) MUSIC: JACKIE WILSON(TALK)CD 5....#1 LIGHT FADE SCENE 37 LIGHTS UP....(amber)left stage(poet 19)girl POET 19(girl)
It is hard to believe that all this music was going
on back in the day. All I read
POET
20
about in our history is slavery, civil rights......political stuff....until I talked with my elders......Sometimes they would mention about how they were treated, but they went on pass that to talk about all the talent that cropped up every year....... There was one woman my old great aunt talked about......I believe her name was Mahalia Jackson. She still had her music stored away in an old foot locker. She reached down in that foot locker and pulled out an album that still looked brand new. Black folks back in the day took care of their valuables especially music...... She walked over to her old shiny antique stereo player and played a song by Mahalia Jackson.......The voice froze me for a moment....... LIGHTS FADE SCENE 38 LIGHTS UP...(blue wash)right stage(dancer)gospel MUSIC: MAHALIA JACKSON(HIGHER)CD 5....#2 LIGHTS FADE SCENE 39 LIGHTS UP...(blue wash)left stage(poet 20)girl Sam Cooke changed over from gospel to R
& B. Black folks were so
angry, they were exhaling fire. “How could a person stop singing for the Lord and start singing for the devil?” they whispered. But with a voice mixed in with the right beat, even the church folks started listening tohis R & B sounds like Cupid, Sweet Sixteen, Working On The Chain Gang.......And Having A Party...... Yeah! Sam Cooke is somewhere in heaven, even God wouldn't let a voice like that go to waste........
LIGHTS FADE
SCENE 40 LIGHTS UP...(blue wash)right stage(dancer) MUSIC: SAM COOKE( HAVING A PARTY)CD 5...#3 LIGHTS FADE 11 SCENE 41 LIGHTS UP....(blue wash)left stage(dancer) MUSIC: SAM COOKE(twisting)CD 5...#4 LIGHTS FADE SCENE 42 LIGHTS UP...(amber)left stage(poet 21) POET 21(girl)
Now, Aretha Franklin is another story. She
sprouted right up from the church.
Her father was a Baptist preacher. He disliked the idea of Aretha changing from gospel to R & B. The change broke up a father and daughter relationship for years. But Aretha had to take the church rhythm and beat into R & B. She had to go for it. Can you imagine standing next to Aretha singing in a church choir. She would blow you away.....You see, in the old days, black folks couldn’t do both gospel and R& B without being scorn by others. Even though all that rhythm came from the church, black folks just couldn’t accept that as the truth. They were in denial. You know what I’m saying? But Aretha went on to fame, carrying that church rhythm and beat with her along the way. She was known as The Queen of Soul and her history will be among us for many years to come.....Can you imagine Aretha Franklin and Patti Labelle performing on the same stage together......Each out performing each other.....It would be a disaster to the sound systems. They would explode from the sound of two powerful and beautiful voices. Yeah! Live forever Aretha with your bad self! I’ve already written you down in my history books...... LIGHTS FADE
SCENE
43
LIGHTS UP...(blue wash)right stage(dancer) MUSIC: ARETHA(RESPECT)CD 5....#5 LIGHTS FADE SCENE 44 LIGHTS UP....(blue wash)left stage(dancer) MUSIC: TEMPTATIONS....(MY GIRL)...CD 5....#6 MUSIC: ARCHIE BELL(TIGHTEN UP)CD 6...#1 SCENE 45 LIGHTS UP...(amber)left stage(poet 22)girl POET 22
Yeah! The Beat goes on! Where did it
come from? Only God knows.....But most
CONTD
12Black folks believe they inherited it from nature or from the beat of a drum that was embedded in them like a computer chip. You know what I’m saying? Amazing......In them, the beat isn’t program......Most of it started from birth, in the mother’s womb.....Sound crazy, doesn’t it......It’s called a natural rhythm that takes over the body....without hesitation. When the spirit moves in the church! The Beat is there in movement....It attracts others outside of the circle....Yes! We
are good entertainers and there is a reason and
natural explanation......Check it out!
Another beat has arrived from the other beat......The beat is like an energetic bunny..... Just keep on going.....Check out this emerging beat that has taken the country and the world by surprise.........Charlie Parker played Be-Bop, but this beat is called hip-hop...... Yeah! We are still rolling as the beat goes on....Can’t stop! Can’t stop! With The Beat, black history is always in the making. It’s not going to be enough books to hold all the contributions that African Americans have made to the entertainment world. Even through hardships and pain, another portion of good prevailed. Maybe this was one of God’s plan for us on earth...Every race has a purpose here on earth, The Beat is a part of the African American and it all started way back from the drums. Listen up! Can’t stop it! There are new kids on the block carrying The Beat to another level......I wondered if our forefathers above are listening........ LIGHTS FADE
SCENE 44
LIGHTS UP....(blue wash)right stage(dancer) MUSIC.....DESTINY CHILD(survival)CD 6..#2 LIGHTS FADE SCENE 45 LIGHTS UP....(blue wash)left stage(dancer) MUSIC: CIARRA(MY GOODIES).......CD 6.....#3 LIGHTS FADE SCENE 46 LIGHTS UP....(blue wash)left stage(dancer) MUSIC: HIP HOP.......CD 6....#4 LIGHTS FADE SCENE 47 LIGHTS UP...(amber)center stage(three poets) THREE POETS The Beat!(clap hands 2 times).....Black folks always(clap hands 2 times)
got a story to tell!(clap hands 2 times)The Beat! (clap hands 2 times)....Black folks always(clap hands 2 times) got a story to tell(clap hands 2 times).......... Well!(clap hands 2 times)It‘s The Beat(clap hands 2 times) (poets walk off stage reciting the words) CD 6.. The Beat(clap hands 2 times)....Black folks always (clap hands 2 times)got a story to tell. LIGHTS FADE SCENE 48 LIGHTS UP....(blue wash)right stage(dancer) MUSIC: DRUMS....CD 6....#5 LIGHTS FADE HOUSE LIGHTS UP CURTAIN CALL MUSIC: (LORD I BELIEVE)WINANS.....#6 |