Audience Participation and Ritual

One of the innovative elements of Baraka's play is the encouragement of audience participation. During the final sequence, actors step down from the stage and invite audience members to participate in a celebratory dance. Floyd Gaffney describes the overall effect of this final sequence and it thematic implications: "The final moments of the drama bring members of the cast together in a communion of singing 'When We Gonna Rise' and dancing 'a new-old dance, Boogalooyoruba line.' The celebration moves beyond the footlights into the theater, involving black spectators in this gesture of unified consciousness. The severed head of the preacher is thrown onto the dance floor, abruptly reminding audience members that the struggle continues in the community, the nation, and, ultimately, in the world. Critics have observed the ritualistic element of the play, as it culminates in this final dance involving the audience. As...