FENCES:
THE FACTS OF THE PLAY
Fences was written in 1983, by August Wilson
Fences premiered on Broadway at the 46th Street Theatre on March 26, 1987
Translated in English
2 Acts – 9 total scenes
1st - Act 4 Scenes
2nd - Act 5 Scenes
7 cast members: 5 men, 2 females
Running Time: 2 Hours 30 Minutes
Fences is a full length drama according to Samuel French
Licensing and Rights Info – Samuel French
http://www.samuelfrench.com/store/product_info.php/products_id/1107Characters
- Troy Maxson
- The main character of the play. Married to Rose. Has three children: Lyons, Cory, and, later in the story, Raynell. He cheated on his wife of 18 years and impregnates Alberta to father Raynell.
- Jim Bono
- Troy's best friend and obvious "follower" in their friendship, but is very committed to him.
- Rose Maxson
- Troy's wife of 18 years, and the mother of Troy's second son, Cory. She is also very faithful and puts much trust in Troy.
- Cory Maxson
- Troy's son who, against his father's wishes, plays football and temporarily leaves his job during the football season, infuriating his father, who eventually kicks him out of the Maxson home.
- Gabriel
- Troy's brother who received a substantial head wound in World War II from shrapnel. He is now insane, believing himself to be the archangel Gabriel. Gabriel receives remuneration from the Army, money which Troy takes and uses to build his house. Gabe is significant in the end when he tries to play his trumpet, fails, then dances thereby opening up the gates of heaven.
- Lyons
- Troy's first son who was not mothered by Rose. Troy always has the impression that Lyons only comes around for money.
- Alberta
- A never-seen woman Troy desires. He cheats on Rose with Alberta because it gets him away from his responsibilities. She dies giving birth to Raynell.
- Raynell
- Troy and Alberta's daughter. Rose accepts the duty of being Raynell's mother when Alberta dies in childbirth. Raynell is seen at the end of the play as a happy seven-year-old sowing her seeds prior to the funeral of Troy.
Bio: August Wilson
Pulitzer Prize winning playwright August Wilson (April 27, 1945 - October 2, 2005) is one of the most influential writers in American theater. He is best known for his unprecedented cycle of 10 plays, often called the Pittsburgh Cycle because all but one play is set in the Pittsburgh neighborhood where August Wilson grew up. The series of plays chronicle the tragedies and aspirations of African Americans during each decade of the 20th century. The son of a white father and a black mother, August Wilson was born Frederick August Kittel on April 27, 1945 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His early work failed to gain much attention, but his third play, "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" (1982), about a group of black musicians discussing their experiences in racist America, won August Wilson wide recognition as a dramatist and interpreter of the African American experience.
Exegesis
1. Congruence: (pg. 1157)
a. Agreement, harmony, conformity, or correspondence.
2. Illuminating: (pg. 1158)
1. To provide or brighten with light.
2. To decorate or hang with lights.
3. To make understandable; clarify: "Cleverly made attacks can . . . serve to illuminate important differences between candidates" (New Republic).
4. To enlighten intellectually or spiritually; enable to understand.
5. To endow with fame or splendor; celebrate.
6. To adorn (a page of a book, for example) with ornamental designs, miniatures, or lettering in brilliant colors or precious metals.
7. To expose to or reveal by radiation.
3. Provocative: (pg. 1157) as in the provocative 1960’s
1. | provocative - serving or tending to provoke, excite, or stimulate; stimulating discussion or exciting controversy; "a provocative remark"; "a provocative smile"; "provocative Irish tunes which...compel the hearers to dance"- Anthony Trollope exciting - creating or arousing excitement; "an exciting account of her trip" 2. provocative - exciting sexual desire; "her gestures and postures became more wanton and provocative" sexy - marked by or tending to arouse sexual desire or interest; "feeling sexy"; "sexy clothes"; "sexy poses"; "a sexy book"; "sexy jokes" | |
4. "The white man ain't gonna let you get nowhere with that football noway."(pg. 1165): Troy telling Corey that the white man will not let him play on the football team just because of his skin color
5. Vigilance: (pg. 1160) keeping watch as in drinking only so much on Friday nights
5. Vigilance: (pg. 1160) keeping watch as in drinking only so much on Friday nights
Synonyms: alert, alertness, attentiveness, qui vive, red alert, watch, watchfulness
6. The Man: (pg 1158) white man or men
7. A & P: (pg. 1159) chain grocery store - www.apfreshonline.com/
8. “Death ain’t nothing but a fastball on the outside corner”….. (pg. 1159)
9. “Remus in your blood”: (pg. 1160) know you got some Uncle Remus in your blood. You got more stories than the devil got sinners.
10. Hellhounds: (pg. 1163)
1. A devilish person; a fiend.
2. Greek Mythology Cerberus, the watchdog of Hades
11. “You got to take the crooked with the straights.” (pg. 1166)
12. “putting up with them crackers every day”: (pg. 1166) white people are crackers
13. “day late and a dollar short”: never enough money and never enough at the right time
14. “you can’t visit the sins of the father upon the child.”: (pg. 1176) you can’t blame a child for what the father did wrong or blame a child because the father had an affair resulting in the child
15. “Atavistic signature and ritual”: (pg. 1181)
of or relating to reversion to a former or more primitive type
Characters and Casting
There are seven black characters in Fences by August Wilson. Four of the original Wilson characters are men, one is a male teenager, one is a woman, and the last is a small girl who is seven years old. Due to the content of racism in this play, this cast must remain traditional to August Wilson’s script. The male characters relate to each other in terms such as “nigger.” This term would be inappropriate for other races to use on stage and, therefore; I believe this cast should remain totally Black and even somewhat urban Black in nature. I don’t think the time or setting should change either as I believe this play to represent historically how many Black Americans felt during the late 50’s and ‘60’s about their inability to help themselves improve their lives. If we were to cast to show at SHSU next season with seeing all of the ethnic folks in the theater I still would not cast anyone other than a solid black person for any of these roles.
I would cast the young girl character as older due to the sexual innuendos and language presented in the script. She should perhaps be an early teen rather than seven years old. Also, this would allow for a realistic college-age student to play the part in the Sam Houston State University Theatre production of Fences.
The woman, named Rose, in the play should be a Black woman of about 45 years old. She should be a housewife who is simply dressed and is plain, not as in ugly, but as in down to earth plain. She sings about Jesus in the play and a decent singer should be cast to play her part. Her character is that of a wise and religious woman, though not too religious, and her character should be soft and strong at the same time.
The main character appears to be Troy, Rose’s husband, who should be a Black man of approximately 55-60 years old. He is a garbage collector and was a baseball athlete early in his life. He should be cast as a strong, large, athletic male with a boisterous opinion on everything. Troy’s personality spews his anger and his own racism toward whites. His costuming would be slacks and white beater undershirt during some of the scenes in his home.
Cory is Rose and Troy’s 18 year old son. He should be athletic and large since he plays football. He is good-looking and excited about his future opportunity to play college football at the University of North Carolina (UNC). Cory is strong and athletic, but should not be as large as his father physically due to a fight scene Troy wins. At the very least, they could be equal in size.
Gabriel is Troy’s mentally disabled war veteran brother. He should be in his late forties to fifties in age. He would be a thin Black male with some frailty in his make-up and hairstyling as he is ill and not eating correctly. He would wear a trumpet and play it as he speaks of Heaven. He should be cast as a strong dancer because of his need to dance a ritualistic dance at the end of the play. He also would need to be able to move as one with a head injury might move on stage. This character adds some comedic relief in the drama and must be one capable of being funny to the audience without overshadowing the drama of the play.
Bono is Troy’s friend who would be about the same age, but not as athletic. He would also be Black and possibly be athletic in build, but should not be bigger than Troy. Baseball and sex are the subjects he talks about with Troy. The person cast in this part should be a little familiar with baseball terminology and baseball players in the ‘40s-60’s.
Lyons is the final character in this play and is Troy’s oldest son. He is a musician and a manipulator and should be a Black male of approximately 35 years old. He should be cast as handsome and smooth with his speech. He could actually play an instrument in the play, so casting someone who plays a sax should be considered for this part.
Fable:
Fences by August Wilson is about a black man and his thoughts on the white folks and his troubles with “Fences” that separate the two groups. Troy has a conflict with his work as he asked a question about him driving a truck. Now his thinking is they are going to fire him just because he asked a simple question also because of his skin color. Troy’s friend Bono is in this conversation also and is disagreeing with Troy saying they are not going to fire him just because a simple little question and if they do then its racism.
His Son then comes by to ask for some money and he seems to always come on the day his father Troy gets paid. So Troy and Lyons gets into discussion about Lyons always coming over and asking for money when he can easily go get a job and start making his own money. Troy’s Wife keeps telling him to hush up and just give Lyons the money. Troy does end up giving the money to Lyons.
Later on in the show Gabriel comes in and starts talking about his name and how is a watcher of the gate into heaven and that whenever he blows the horn someone is entering the gate. Troy just laughs it off and he goes into a talk about death and how he has fought it off with a sickness that he has. Troy keeps bringing up a baseball saying of “the outside corner” always mentioning that is where the best pitch is to be if you want to “knock it out of the park.”
Corey comes into the show at one point and gets into a major fight with Troy and Troy pretty much sais to Corey to get out and not to come back ever.
After Corey leaves he goes away for seven years. And towards the end of the show Corey returns for Troy’s Funeral but refuses to go to the actual burial and Rose tells him that it is not an option and that he has to go to Troy’s Funeral. We then see Gabriel doing some kind of dance and starts to blow his trumpet to allow Troy to enter into heaven.
Corey is then introduced to Raynel l Troy’s Daughter who is 7 years old. And Rose takes her under her arm because the birth mother dies during childbirth. Corey and Raynell start singing a song that Coreys father sang to him as a child.
Plot Summary:
Fences is divided into two acts. Act One is comprised of four scenes and Act Two has five. The play begins on a Friday, Troy and Bono's payday. Troy and Bono go to Troy's house for their weekly ritual of drinking and talking. Troy has asked Mr. Rand, their boss, why the black employees aren't allowed to drive the garbage trucks, only to lift the garbage. Bono thinks Troy is cheating on his wife, Rose. Troy and Rose's son, Cory, has been recruited by a college football team. Troy was in the Negro Leagues but never got a chance to play in the Major Leagues because he got too old to play just as the Major Leagues began accepting black players. Troy goes into a long epic story about his struggle in July of 1943 with death. Lyons shows up at the house because he knows it is Troy's payday. Rose reminds Troy about the fence she's asked him to finish building. Cory and Troy work on the fence. Cory breaks the news to Troy that he has given away his job at the local grocery store, the A&P, during the football season. Cory begs Troy to let him play because a coach from North Carolina is coming all the way to Pittsburgh to see Cory play. Troy refuses and demands Cory to get his job back.
Act One, scene four takes place on Friday and mirrors scene one. Troy has won his case and has been assigned as the first colored garbage truck driver in the city. Bono and Troy remember their fathers and their childhood experiences of leaving home in the south and moving north. Cory comes home enraged after finding out that Troy told the football coach that Cory may not play on the team. Troy warns Cory that his insubordinance is "strike one," against him.
Troy bails his brother Gabriel out of jail. Bono and Troy work on the fence. Bono explains to Troy and Cory that Rose wants the fence because she loves her family and wants to keep close to her love. Troy admits to Bono that he is having an affair with Alberta. Bono bets Troy that if he finishes building the fence for Rose, Bono will buy his wife, Lucille the refrigerator he has promised her for a long time. Troy tells Rose about a hearing in three weeks to determine whether or not Gabriel should be recommitted to an asylum. Troy tells Rose about his affair. Rose accuses Troy of taking and not giving. Troy grabs Rose's arm. Cory grabs Troy from behind. They fight and Troy wins. Troy calls "strike two" on Cory.
Six months later, Troy says he is going over to the hospital to see Alberta who went into labor early. Rose tells Troy that Gabriel has been taken away to the asylum because Troy couldn't read the papers and signed him away. Alberta had a baby girl but died during childbirth. Troy challenges Death to come and get him after he builds a fence. Troy brings home his baby, Raynell. Rose takes in Raynell as her own child, but refuses to be dutiful as Troy's wife.
On Troy's payday, Bono shows up unexpectedly. Troy and Bono acknowledge how each man made good on his bet about the fence and the refrigerator. Troy insists that Cory leave the house and provide for himself. Cory brings up Troy's recent failings with Rose. Cory points out that the house and property, from which Troy is throwing Cory out, should actually be owned by Gabriel whose government checks paid for most of the mortgage payments. Troy physically attacks Cory. Troy kicks Cory out of the house for good. Cory leaves. Troy swings the baseball bat in the air, taunting Death.
Eight years later, Raynell plays in her newly planted garden. Troy has died from a heart attack. Cory returns home from the Marines to attend Troy's funeral. Lyons and Bono join Rose too. Cory refuses to attend. Rose teaches Cory that not attending Troy's funeral does not make Cory a man. Raynell and Cory sing one of Troy's father's blues songs. Gabriel turns up, released or escaped from the mental hospital. Gabe blows his trumpet but no sound comes out. He tries again but the trumpet will not play. Disappointed and hurt, Gabriel dances. He makes a cry and the Heavens open wide. He says, "That's the way that goes," and the play ends.
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