Oui Be Negroes
Oui Be Negroes is an African-American improvisational sketch comedy ensemble, founded by artistic director Shaun Landry and director Hans Summers. They had worked together for many years in Chicago with the Underground Theatre Conspiracy, and proposed the idea of an African-American sketch and improvisational comedy troupe geared specifically toward social and political humor.
Background
The Underground Theatre Conspiracy (UTC) was founded by Hans Summers in 1985 with fellow performers from The Players Workshop at The Second City. The show was entitled "Fooglewoogle-The Multi-Media Comedy". After two runs, Shaun Landry was added to UTC's roster of performers in 1986, one of three African-Americans performing improv comedy in Chicago.
In 1990, Hans and Shaun decided to relocate the company to Seattle.
History
In 1993, Landry and Summers assembled the original Oui Be Negroes ensemble, using actors discovered at the Second City Outreach Program, and they put on their first show at Café Voltaire in Chicago. According to Landry, the 'Oui' in the ensemble's name refers to African Americans who went to France in the 1920s and 1930s and became successful.
Oui Be Negroes presented satirical shows with titles like "Can We Dance with Yo Dates",[1] "One Drop is All It Takes", "Once You Go Black", "All Coons Look Alike to Me" (inspired by the popular coon song of 1896). "The Artists Formerly Known as Oui Be Negroes" and "Absolute Negritude" in Chicago from 1994 to 1999 explored black culture and history.[2] OBN performed in New York, Los Angeles, Austin, and Boston, as well as international shows in Canada and the Netherlands.
In 2000, Oui Be Negroes relocated from Chicago to San Francisco, where they continued to produce shows, such as "X", "To Pigmeat Markham Thanks for Everything, Spike Lee".
In 2009, Landry and Summers went to Los Angeles, where they produced the Oui Be Negroes show as well as duo performances as Landry & Summers at Improv Olympic West, The Second City, and the Avery Schreiber Theatre in North Hollywood. Their first extended duo show in Los Angeles was entitled "Yes, We Are F**king". Oui Be Negroes marked their 15th anniversary with a performance at the 12th Annual Chicago Improv Festival. Landry and Summers continued to perform in 2010 with "Interraciallicious" at M.I.'s Westside Comedy Theater in Santa Monica, California, and as a featured act for DuoFest 2010 in Philadelphia.
References
- Improv Making up for Lost Time by Sam Hurwitt San Francisco Chronicle July 15 2007
- Whose Improv Is It Anyway Beyond the Second City Amy Seham University Press of Mississippi (July 2001)
- Cool As Hell Theater Podcast NPR
- Small Theater Sometimes has Big Rewards by Pat Craig Contra Costa Times January 25, 2002
- Improving their improv A bunch of comics will share funny feelings in Kansas City's Spontaneous Combustion festival Brian McTavish Arts & Entertainment Writer, Kansas City Star 09-09-97
- Oui Shall Overcome: Black improvisers no longer play second fiddle in Chicago by Ed Will Denver Post Staff Writer February 23, 1999
- African American Troupe Laughs at Itself by Patti Hartigan, Boston Glob February 7, 1997
- DO BE DO BE DO - Chicago Sun Times 02-2007
- The Artists Formally Known as Oui Be Negros and The Playground by Jack Helbig - Chicago Reader March 18, 1999
- Specific
- ↑ "Oui Be Negroes In Can We Dance With Yo Dates?". Chicago Reader. 9 March 1995. Retrieved 2018-06-27.
- ↑ Johnson, Allan (September 6, 2000). "So, Woman Walks into a Room...and Finds a Hundred Other Performers Who are Taking Comedy Just as Seriously". Chicago Tribune. ProQuest 419140372.