Biography

Born in Thibodaux, Louisiana, on September 15, 1902, Ward left Louisiana at the age of thirteen, shortly after his mother's death. Earning his living as a bootblack, porter, or bellhop, Ward wandered about the United States during his teens. He began formal literary study at the University of Utah in the late 1920s. In 1931 a scholarship allowed Ward to study creative writing at the University of Wisconsin where he remained until 1935. Moving to Chicago, Ward's ideological life took shape when he joined a John Reed Club and began working for the Works Progress Administration (WPA). His one-act play Sick and Tiahd won second prize in a contest sponsored by the labor movement. This success prompted the playwright to join the Federal Theater Project. In 1938 Big White Fog was produced by the Theater Project in Chicago. In 1940 the playwright formed the Negro Playwrights Company to produce Big White Fog in New York. Over the next thirty-five years other plays followed: Deliver the Goods (1942); Our Lan' (first produced in 1946); John Brown (1950); Candle in the Wind (1967); and The Daubers (1953). In 1976 Ward received a Rockefeller Foundation grant to produce Our Lan' with the Free Southern Theater in New Orleans. He assisted the company again when it produced his Candle in the Wind as its final production in 1978. Ward died in Chicago in May 1983. (Full Bio)

Plays

SICK AND TIAHD (1937)

In Ward's 1937 historical drama in one act, entitled Sick and Tiahd, a black man goes to a commissary where a white man tries to cheat him and a scuffle follows; the white man falls on a plow and is killed. The black man refuses to run because he is sick and 'tiahd' of white folks. (Source)

Cast Requirement: 7 (3f, 4m)

Characters: Bill Barker, Rebecca, Bill Jr., Hazel, Lilly, Saul Davis, Paul Crutchlow, A Voice

Publication: Sick and Tiahd. Alexander Street Press, 2004. (Link)*

BIG WHITE FOG (1938)

Lester Mason is twenty years old and the future is his until he is denied a scholarship because of the color of his skin. He cries out, “seems like the world ain’t nothing but a big white fog, and we can’t see no light nowhere.” The year is 1922 and racism is rampant in the United States of America. Despite the challenges, Lester’s father Victor has a dream. He is a Garveyite, and he wants to move his family to Africa, where his forebears originated. Not everyone in his family, however, wants to leave America. Nonetheless, Victor persists, pursuing his dream with a single mindedness that, combined with the Great Depression and the racism of the time, drives his family to a tragic fate. With drama and poignancy, Theodore Ward’s Big White Fog challenges our preconceptions of what it means to live the American Dream. (Source)

Cast Requirement: 18+ (8f, 10m)

Characters: Victor Mason, Ella Mason, Laster Mason, Wanda Mason, Caroline Mason, Phillip Mason, Daniel Rogers, Juanita Rogers, Martha Brooks, Percy Mason, Claudine, Nathan Piszer, Marx, Count Strawder, Count Cotton, Brother Harper, Black Cross Nurses, Bailiffs, Policemen, White and Negro Workers, Ambulance Attendants

Publication: Black Theatre USA: Plays by African Americans The Early Period 1847 to 1938. Edited by James V. Hatch and Ted Shine. Free Press, 1996. (Link)

Big White Fog. Nick Hern Books, 2012. (Link)

EVEN THE DEAD ARISE (1938)

This "Historical Mythic Drama One Act" by Theodore Ward follows the black revolutionaries of the past who refuse to lie quietly in their graves until justice is done. (Source)

Cast Requirement: 14+ (4f, 10m)

Characters: Toussaint L’Ouverture, Frederick Douglass, Denmark Vesey, Gabriel Prosser, Nat Turner, Gulla Jack, Jack Bowler, Peter Poyas, Uriah, Mary Turner, Ghost I, Ghost II, Ghost III, White Ghost I, White Ghost II, Other Ghosts

Publication: Even the Dead Rise. Alexander Street Press, 2004. (Link)*

FALCON OF ADOWA (1938)

This 1938 drama by Ward is set during the Italian invasion of Ethiopia. Within the play, Gugsa, a collaborator, is executed by the Italians when he defects and calls for Abyssinian unity and loyalty to Haile Selassie. (Source)

Cast Requirement: 34+

Characters: Ras Haile Selassie Gugsa, Makeda, Lidj Fedwa, Tanta, Ras Seyoum, Shumen, Lidj Leon, Ato Yousef, Neanta, Ato Gojjam, Zenda, Lidj Solomon, Bethesda, Veronta, Ato Yoto, Ato Valtek, Ato Mathi, Ato Roush, Lidj Jonathan Fetwa, Ras Iran Imru, Lidj Imru, General Ayelu, Ras Kassa, Colonel Goya, Captain Hedi, Lieutenant Swanti, Father Hailu, Father Kassan, Count Rizzoni, Colonel Frank Ponzi, Mugesa, Shum Batu, Yosiri, Rambu, Shums, Priests, Gun-bearers, Warriors, Merchants, Dancers, Soldiers

Publication: Falcon of Adowa. Alexander Street Press, 2004. (Link)*

SHOUT HALLELUJAH! (1941)

In this three-act tragedy, Young Sammy, a talented musician, stands a chance to escape West Virginia mines, but discovers that his mother is a prostitute and kills himself. (Source)

Cast Requirement: 18 (5f, 13m)

Characters: Cleo Ellis, Bill Dyer, Sammy, Baby Doll, Mag Susky, Addie Turner, Tina Rhodes, “Big Stick” Harper, “Maybird” Williams, Phillip Lee, “Blue” Gates, “Piggie” McDaniels, Skeets, “Sport in Charlie” Clark, Ed Frye, Frog, Stanley Turner, Fudge, Holt, The Rev. McFarland, “Red” Lang, Dusty, Tommy, Dr. Wilson, “Sharp” Harrison, Workers, Town Women

Publication: Shout Hallelujah!. Alexander Street Press, 2004. (Link)*

DELIVER THE GOODS (1941)

First National Defense Play for World War II defense effort. It shows the struggle of longshoremen against fascists and corrupt bosses while trying to support the army overseas. (Source)

Cast Requirement: 26 (6f, 20m)

Characters: Timothy Gurley, Nancy, Mattie, Maureen, Willie, Kit, Margaret, Sally, Speck Morelli, Mrs. Morelli, Gordon, Mitch, Spike, Harry, Butch, Lem, Conelly, Longshormen, Negro Longshormen, Italian Longshoremen, Sailor of the S.S. Selox, Jimmie “The Dove,” Goon I, Goon II, Horgarthy, Wally, Hatchboss II, Super, Spanish Longshoremen

Publication: Deliver the Goods. Alexander Street Press, 2004. (Link)*

OUR LAN’ (1946)

A band of freed slaves receives a Georgia island from General William Tecumseh Sherman to raise crops, build a school and community; they are later told by the federal government to leave; they refuse. (Source)

Cast Requirement: 27+ (8f, 19m)

Characters: Edgar Price, Gabe Peltier, Emanuel Price, Patsy Ross, Joe Ross, Charlie Setlow, Ellen, James, Daddy Sykes, Roxanna, Delphine, Beulah, Ruth, Tom Taggert, Sarah, Joshua Tain, Georgana, Dosia, Ollie Webster, Lem, Chester, Hank Saunders, Captain Bryant, Libeth, Arbarbanel, Oliver Webster, Yank Sergeant

Publication: Black Drama in America: An Anthology. Edited by Darwin T. Turner. Howard University Press, 1994. (Link)

WHOLE HOG OR NOTHING (1949)

In this one act drama, a group of black American servicemen fighting in World War II fight white racism in New Guinea as well and win. (Source)

Cast Requirement: 16 (16m)

Characters: Aikens, Cobbs, Greer, Sergeant Shore, Tex, Roy, Co tes, Lonighan, Burlak, Sergeant Hurd, Lieutenant Green, Lee, Sykes, Taylor, Ensign Hunter, Boatswain, Voice of Captain Swade

Publication: Whole Hog or Nothing. Alexander Street Press, 2004. (Link)*

THROWBACK (1951)

Callie Thorpe, a negro housewife, is molested by Frank Coffee, a white sawmill owner. Seth, Callie's black husband, kills Frank as revenge for committing the sexual assault. (Source)

Cast Requirement: 5 (2f, 3m)

Characters: Callie Thorpe, Frank Coffee, Seth Thorpe, Effie Arnold, Ranny

Publication: Throwback. Alexander Street Press, 2004. (Link)*

THE DAUBERS (1953)

A middle class black family, in its efforts to achieve political power and property, loses its daughter to drug addiction. (Source)

Cast Requirement: 11 (7f, 4m)

Characters: Myra Seton Cole, Bob, Toy, Inez, Beryle, Clementine, Mrs. Holt, Mrs. Garbarni, Cantrelli, Dr. Jones, Patrolman

Publication: The Daubers. Alexander Street Press, 2004. (Link)*

JOHN DE CONQUEROR (1953)

In this folk opera play, which features music, Ward tells a story revolving around a popular black folk hero. The two act piece follows warrior and leader, John de Conqueror, as he leads his people into the sea rather than submit to white slavery. (Source)

Cast Requirement: 16+ (4f, 12m)

Characters: John de Conqueror, Abby, Prebecca, Rachel, Paul Dungee, Pomp, Grant, Felix, Big Tom, Jean Fouget, Colette, Raoul, General Rush, Barent Revels, Captain Revels, Leblanc, Captain Ducleve, Chuck Willis, Dancers, Fugitive Slaves, White Militiamen, Women, Children

Publication: John de Conqueror. Alexander Street Press, 2004. (Link)*

BIG MONEY (1961)

Thunderbird suddenly gets $85,000 and all his friends want to help him spend it, but the police interfere. (Source)

Cast Requirement: 29+ (6f, 23m)

Characters: Wallis, Teresa, Jessye, Drift, Dora, Lucius, Drag, Edwina, Fenelli, Castro, Walt, Dick, Fay, Lollypop, Ed, Sputnik, Ryan, Judge Bottom, Dist. Atty, Wilks, Colton, Wilson, Hop, Baldwin, Sergeant, Phil, Henny, Clerk, Turnkey, Dancers, Patrons of Cafe

Publication: Big Money. Alexander Street Press, 2004. (Link)*

THE BELL and the light (1962)

Slaves, including the colonel's own mulatto daughter, depend upon the colonel for their “good” treatment, but when the chips are down, they discover that they must be free and save themselves. (Source)

Cast Requirement: 26+ (13f, 13m)

Characters: Leah, Hardy, Selena, Col. Aaron upson, Mahalia, Hilliard, Adelaide, Emmet Burden, Uncle Jerry, Tilita, Nicey, Leonard, Epps, Ephriam, Jeb, Siney, Hannah, Amy, Ida, Fanny, Julia, Betty, Sol, Lee, Auctioneer, Girl, Men, Women, Youngsters

Publication: The Bell and the Light. Alexander Street Press, 2004. (Link)*

UNPUBLISHED

MADISON (1956)

This two-act historical musical was adapted from Frederick Douglass' short story, "The Heroic Slave.” Ward tells the tale of slaves being taken from Richmond to New Orleans on the S.S. Creole who seize control through leadership of Madison and sail to Nassau and freedom. (Source)

Cast Requirement: 16+ (5f, 11m)

Characters: N/A

Publication: “Theodore Ward Collection.” Emory University Special Collections. (Link)

CHARITY (1960)

This is the true story of the Negro musician, Blind Tom, and how he was exploited. (Source)

Cast Requirement: 16+ (5f, 11m)

Characters: N/A

Publication: “Theodore Ward Collection.” Emory University Special Collections. (Link)

OF HUMAN GRANDEUR (1964)

Of Human Grandeur, a revision of the 1949 play originally entitled John Brown, is a historical political drama in four acts. The piece tells the story of John Brown from 1835 until his execution. (Source)

Cast Requirement: 30 (3f, 27m)

Characters: Jason Brown, Frederick Brown, Rev Adair, Owen Brown, Oliver Brown, Henry Thompson, Taylor, Tidd, John Brown, Aaron Dwight Stevens, Henry Kagl, Scanlon, Mary Brown, Annie Brown, Watson Brown, Bella Brown, Ruth Thompson, Martha Brown, Emperor, Osborne, Cook, Copeland

Publication: “Theodore Ward Plays, 1941-1961.” Archival Material. (Link)*

CANDLE IN THE WIND (1967)

Charles Caldwell, black senator from the state of Mississippi, 1875, fights to keep a black and white coalition in power and is killed for it. (Source)

Cast Requirement: 31 (21f, 10m)

Characters: N/A

Publication: “Theodore Ward Collection.” Emory University Special Collections. (Link)

Black wizard of the keyboard: a musical play for TV (date unknown)

This piece had music by Frank Fields; from an idea suggested by Mildred Stock. (Link)

Resources