Tyesha Play Summary

This play, performed by only two people, was able to captivate our attention from the moment we sat down to the closing curtains. There were plenty of moments of confusion- some questions which were answered along the way and some that were left still lingering in my mind. Is Tyesha (the one in the drivers seat) represented through Myeisha too? Why did Tyesha have a gun and how did she get it? Why did the officers feel the need to shoot the unconscious girl 12 times, let alone once? After watching the performance, I questioned the play’s title and wanted an explanation. We didn’t know if Tyesha was unconscious or having a seizure, so it is assumed that she was in a dream-like state (like alluded to earlier on). One of the very first scenes was Myesha
Women of color are most often stereotyped as either very strong or in this case, inherently bad. It was suggested that just because this unconscious black woman had a gun on her lap, she was an extremely dangerous threat. A main focus of the play was to explore the relationship between the African-American community and the police. The white officers, represent the white western hegemonic ideals of masculinity. They are forceful, dominant, and believe their opinion’s are always right. In M. butterfly, Author David Henry Hwang, reveals racial stereotypes, stereotypes of white western culture, and stereotypes on gender. Ilka Saal addresses Gallimard’s need for power in his article “Performance and Perception: Gender, Sexuality, and Culture in David Henry Hwang’s ‘M.Butterfly’”; “As long as Liling acts out his lover’s fantasies, Gallimard gains a new aggressive confidence from this relationship. His male ego is boosted” (632). Gallimard also represents the stereotypical white western man, striving for masculinity. He was way over his head and a little too big for his own