2021-03-11 Guide to the African-American Playwrights Exchange Collection, 1969-2009, bulk 2000-2009 SPEC.TRI.AAPEX Finding aid prepared by Audrey Wimbiscus Ohio State University Libraries Special Collections
1858 Neil Avenue Columbus, OH, 43210
2021 February This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit 2021-03-11T08:56-0500 English Describing Archives: A Content Standard African-American Playwrights Exchange Collection SPEC.TRI.AAPEX Ohio State University Libraries Special Collections 1.6 Cubic feet Bulk, 2000-2009 1969-2009, bulk 2000-2009 The African-American Playwrights Exchange (AAPEX) was a network of playwrights and theater artists who worked to promote and encourage works by African-American playwrights, or works about the African-American experience; they were last active in 2016. The African-American Playwrights Exchange Collection dates from 1969 to 2009, with bulk dates of 2000 to 2009, and primarily contains scripts written by members of AAPEX throughout their careers, as well as a compact disc recording of the score written for "Biblical Trilogy 1: 'Good God'" by George O. Brome, and DVD recordings of Judy Juanita's play "Theodicy." (4) 5" letter document boxes English Arrangement of Materials

Materials in this collection are arranged in alphabetical order by playwright's last name. Within each playwright's plays, materials are arranged chronologically by date, then alphabetically by play title if they have the same date. The dates come from an item's copyright date when available; if copyright date is not available, materials are arranged according to a date on the item, or an estimated date based on when the playwright was actively writing.

 Acquisitions Information

Accession No. TRI.2008.0001: Owa, 2008 January; Accession No. TRI.2008.0002: Henry Miller, 2008 January; Accession No. TRI.2008.0003: Joy Jones, 2008 January; also includes donations from: Grace Cavalieri, Hortense Gerardo, Peter Lawson Jones, Judy Juanita, Sean O'Leary, Jamal Williams, with some accessions unknown

 Preferred Citation

[identification of item], African-American Playwrights Exchange Collection, SPEC.TRI.AAPEX, Jerome Lawrence & Robert E. Lee Theatre Research Institute, Ohio State University

 Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

Contains DVDs and a compact disc.

 Access to Materials

Materials in this collection are available for use, but may be used in the Thompson Library Special Collections reading room only. Audio/visual materials may need a use copy produced before access is allowed.

 Use of Materials

Materials in this collection may be protected by copyright, and are made available for research and educational purposes. In general, the OSU Libraries do not own the copyright for materials from our collections and cannot grant copyright permissions for these materials. The user is responsible for making a final determination of copyright status. If copyright protection applies, permission must be obtained from the copyright holder to reuse, publish, or reproduce the work beyond the bounds of fair use or other exceptions to the law. Works in the public domain are not protected by copyright and do not require permission to use.

 Processing Information

Processed by: Audrey Wimbiscus, 2021 February; finding aid written by: Audrey Wimbiscus, 2021 February

 Historical Note

The African-American Playwrights Exchange (AAPEX) was a network of playwrights and theater artists who worked to promote and encourage works by African-American playwrights, or works about the African-American experience. Members were not required to be of African-American descent. AAPEX was founded in 2007 by Jaz Dorsey, a dramaturg in Tennessee. The network mainly operated through its blog where announcements such as calls for scripts, or performances and readings by its members were posted. The blog included a list of links to resources, such as African-American theater college programs and theater companies, as well as the names and websites of members of the network; it was last active in 2016.

 Scope and Contents

The African-American Playwrights Exchange Collection contains scripts written by members of the African-American Playwrights Exchange (AAPEX) throughout their careers; materials date from 1969 to 2009, with bulk dates of 2000 to 2009. These scripts are either by African-American playwrights, or about the African-American experience. The collection also contains incidental amounts of ephemera about the plays, such as fliers or advertising postcards, as well as several writings by AAPEX members that are not plays, such as an essay and a speech. Finally, the collection contains a compact disc recording of the score written for "Biblical Trilogy 1: 'Good God'" by George O. Brome, and DVD recordings of Judy Juanita's play "Theodicy."

 African-American Playwrights Exchange African American dramatists--United States--20th century African American dramatists--United States--21st century African Americans--Drama--20th century African Americans--Drama--21st century Compact discs Dramatists, American--Societies, etc.--United States--20th century Dramatists, American--Societies, etc.--United States--21st century Dramatists, American--United States--20th century Dramatists, American--United States--21st century DVDs Scripts (documents) Brome (George O.) "Before Black was Beautiful" script 1 1 1969 Brome (George O.) "Beyond Closed Doors" script, clipping 1 2 1971 Brome (George O.) "Dream On" script, ephemera 1 3 2002, 2006 Brome (George O.) "...Another Man's Poison" script 1 4 2006 Brome (George O.) "Biblical Trilogy 1: 'Good God'" score audio recording 1 5 2006 Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements Compact disc; approximate run time: unknown Brome (George O.) "Biblical Trilogy 1: 'Good God'" script, program 1 6 2006 Brome (George O.) "Biblical Trilogy 2: 'Plea Bargain'" script 1 7 2006 Brome (George O.) "Biblical Trilogy 3: 'Oh Hell!'" script 1 8 2007 Cavalieri (Grace) "Quilting the Sun" script, ephemera 1 9 2003, 2007 Gerardo (Hortense) "The Dress Rehearsal" script 1 10 2007 June 5 Jones (Joy) "Searching for a Signal" script 1 11 2007 Jones (Peter Lawson) "The Family Line" script 1 12 1975 Juanita (Judy) "Heaven's Hold" script 1 13 1993 Juanita (Judy) "Samaritan-ism" script 1 14 after 2003-before 2007 Juanita (Judy) "Counter-Terrorism" script 2 1 2004 Juanita (Judy) "A Moment of Silence" script 2 2 2005 Juanita (Judy) "Fat Women at Lunch" script 2 3 before 2007 Juanita (Judy) "The History of Sweat" script 2 4 before 2007 Juanita (Judy) "Theodicy" script 2 5-6 2007 Juanita (Judy) "Theodicy" video recordings 2 7 2008 March 11 Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements (3 copies) DVD; color; sound; approximate run time: unknown Miller (Henry) "That Word" script, Miller biography 2 8 2003 O'Leary (Sean) "Pound" script 2 9 2004 O'Leary (Sean) "Rain in the Hollows" script 2 10 2004 O'Leary (Sean) "Wine to Blood" script 2 11 2004 O'Leary (Sean) "Beneath Shelton Laurel" script 2 12 circa 2005 O'Leary (Sean) "Valu-Mart" script 2 13 2007 Owa "Silvera Hit List and Juice" newsletter 2 14 1979 Owa "Appetites" essay 3 1 2000 May 2 Owa "Inch" script 3 2 2005 December 7 Owa "M.A.D. (Mutually Assured Destruction)" script 3 3 2007 Owa "A Paradise Lost" script 3 4 2007 May 2 Owa "Bones" script 3 5 2007 June 22 Owa "Notes on Black Absurdism in the American Theater" speech 3 6 2007 August 1 Owa "Sexual Intercourse in Zero Gravity" script draft 3 7 2007 September 23 Owa "The Kindness of Strangers" script 3 8 2008 Owa "Too-Face" script 3 9 2008 Owa "uPzuggy" script 3 10 2008 Owa "Jail" advertising postcard 3 11 2008 October 21-23 Owa "The Haitians" script 3 12 2009 Owa "Thug-bitch: An urban travesty" script 3 13 2009 January 26 Williams (Jamal) "Bloodlines to Oblivion" script 3 14 1979 Williams (Jamal) "L.B.J. (Long Bien Jail)" script 3 15 1986 Williams (Jamal) "The Lady on the Road" script 3 16 1987 June 14 Williams (Jamal) "The Mojo Man" script 3 17 1991-before 2007 Williams (Jamal) "Toadstool Tea" script 3 18 1993 Williams (Jamal) "Mr. Ding Dong Daddy" script 3 19 1994 Williams (Jamal) "Yesterday Came Too Soon" script 4 1 1995 Williams (Jamal) "Is you is or is you ain't" script 4 2 1996 Williams (Jamal) "Miss Ann's Choice" script 4 3 1999 Williams (Jamal) "The Magnificent Fight" script 4 4 2000 October Williams (Jamal) play fliers, ephemera 4 5 circa 2001-2004 Williams (Jamal) "The Blue Mirror Revue" script 4 6 2002 Williams (Jamal) "Eulogy for the Blackman" script 4 7 2002 Williams (Jamal) "Last Dance of the Panther Women" script 4 8 2002 Williams (Jamal) "The Vista Over Hollywood" script 4 9 2002 Williams (Jamal) "An Ant in the Sugar Bowl" script 4 10 2004