The American Place Theatre

The Bluest Eye, published in 1970, is the first novel written by Toni Morrison, winner of the 1993 Nobel Prize in Literature. It is the story of eleven-year-old Pecola Breedlove--a black girl in an America whose love for its blond, blue-eyed children can devastate all others. Pecola prays for her eyes to turn blue: so that she will be beautiful, so that people will look at her, so that her world will be different. This is the story of the nightmare at the heart of her yearning and the tragedy of its fulfillment.

The “Bluest Eye” educational experience takes students on an interactive journey exploring the themes of shame and self-worth that are so beautifully examined in the book.  The 90-minute workshop interweaves a one-woman performance of excerpts from the Pulitzer Prize-wining text with student-centered discussions and theatrical activities.  It is designed to be accessible for students who have not read the book or to deepen the understanding of the book’s themes for students who have read it.  Through this experience students will make text to self and text to world connections and express their own perspectives on the critical issues dealt with in this American Classic.

Our performance of selected excerpts from Toni Morrison’s “The Bluest Eye” focuses on the central character of Pecola Breedlove.  A young African-American girl growing up in Depression Era Ohio, Pecola wishes for the blue eyes she believes will transform her life into the kind of fantasy she sees lived by “beautiful people” in storybooks and on movie screens.  Actress Piper Anderson brings to life some of the most memorable characters from the book including the wise beyond her years narrator Claudia, the rich mixed-race girl Maureen Peal whose popularity reinforces the feelings of inadequacy of her peers and, of course, Pecola herself.  Portions of the text are also given to the students to theatricalize in order to help them enter the world of the novel.

In order to deepen students’ engagement with the character of Pecola, the experience includes an interactive component in which the facilitating Teaching Artist will ask students to provide advice, guidance and encouragement to Pecola.  Students will have the chance to speak with the character as embodied by the actress, who will provide responses designed to intensify students’ understanding of the world of the book.  It is a unique opportunity for students to experience empathy for a fictional character who has been brought to life right in their own classroom.

The educational experience incorporates a number of student-driven discussions and theatrical exercises.  Students are given multiple ways to identify and express their personal connections to the novel.  They will respond to open-ended questions, write short letters to a person in their own lives who reminds them of a character from the book and create and participate in simple performance exercises.  These experiences are designed to provide meaningful ways for learners of many different styles to engage with this powerful and essential work of American Literature.