Go Deeper: Reading, Music & More

While past productions of Once on This Island have often set the play in an unnamed Caribbean nation, director Lili-Anne Brown has set OSF’s production firmly in Haiti. (See her “From the Director” note addressing that.) Here’s some deeper reading into the Haitian people, culture, and religion that permeate the production.

History and people
Once on This Island’s dramaturg, Gabrielle Randle-Bent, has put together a beautiful and extensive dramaturgy packet to explore the world of the show. Here’s a page with links to some deep reading on a few of Haiti’s historical figures.

Vodou in Haiti
Vodou, the indigenous religion of Haiti, weaves throughout the story of Once on This Island. Read about its origins, rituals, and cultural role in the Haitian diaspora.

Further reading
If you’d like to explore further, see the “Reference Guides” section and excerpts from Duke University Press’s The Haiti Reader on dramaturg Randle-Bent’s FAQs page for hours of deep reading.

For a peek inside the linguistic world of a Voice & Text Director—in this case, the one who tutored the cast on the mechanics of Haitian Creole—have a look at Nathan C. Crocker’s fascinating resource page for the actors in the show.

The show’s Co-Music Director, Mark Meadows, put together an amazing Haitian-infused playlist of songs for the Island actors and artists to enjoy while working on the show. If you’re a Spotify subscriber, you can listen to them here. If you don’t, have a look at the songs on the playlist and then search for them on Youtube or another service. Here are a few to get you started.

“Eda” (Michael Brun, BélO, Adekunle Gold)
 
“Zouk-la Sé Sel Médikaman Nou Ni” (Kassav’)

“Imamou Lele” (Boukman Eksperyans)

“Rasenbleman” (Toto Bissainthe)

While researching her work for Once on This Island, director Lili-Anne Brown became an admirer of The Women and Girls Initiative (WGI), a global female leadership movement that aims to advance gender equity and youth development by reaching the most marginalized and disadvantaged adolescent girls and young women populations, including in Haiti. Visit their website to find out about their innovative programs and ways you can help.