Program for an Artists in Prison performance of "Ceremonies of Dark Old Men": Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A red paper program for the Terminal Island Prison Drama Workshop performance “Ceremonies In Dark Old Men” by Lonne Elder III.

The program is comprised of two sheets of paper (a, b), folded to form four pages. The front cover has line drawing illustrations featuring a large face of an elderly man. Beside his head is the title of the play in bold black print. The drawing of a dark-haired man wearing trousers and a trench coat features much smaller, beside the elderly face, followed by the head and shoulder sketch of another, young, dark-haired man. The artist’s signature beside the last sketch reads “Roone”. The lower half of the cover reads: [FEAUTURING / the / terminal island prison / drama workshop IN A PRODUCTION BY / ARTISTS IN PRISON, INC.]. On the inner first page (a) in typewritten black print is a summary of the events (written by Judy Elder) which led to the coordination of this play, and the true life narrative that it aimed to convey. There are quotes from the cast and crew on the loose page (b) and a schedule of the performances. On the last/back page of the program (a) is a list of the production staff, and a note of thanks to all contributing persons and entities.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: December 6, 1977
• Created by: Artists In Prison, Inc., American, founded 1972
• Written by: Judyann Elder, American, born 1948
• Subject of: Lonne Elder III, American, 1927 - 1996
• Type: programs
• Medium: ink on paper
• Dimensions: H x W (a (open)): 8 1/2 × 14 in. (21.6 × 35.5 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (a (closed)): 8 1/2 × 7 1/16 in. (21.6 × 17.9 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (b): 8 1/2 × 7 in. (21.6 × 17.8 cm)
• Place depicted: Los Angeles County, California, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Entertainers
• Topic: Men
• Topic: Prisons
• Topic: Theatre
• Object number: 2021.16.14ab
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: Unknown – Restrictions Possible Rights assessment and proper usage is the responsibility of the user.