An Octoroon

BJJ is a fictionalized stand-in for Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, the author of An Octoroon. He has taken on the task of adapting the 19th-century melodrama The Octoroon as a fictional assignment from his imaginary therapist. He doesn’t simply write an adaptation and hand it off but rather inserts himself into the production by taking on the roles of both the hero and the villain, both of whom are white and require whiteface makeup. When he isn’t addressing the audience directly, BJJ often makes his voice heard through stage directions, where he shares his musings, suggestions, and commentary. Sometimes his stage directions describe impossible scenarios and effects.

As the playwright who is creating the adaptation, his style and choices are naturally visible throughout, but he makes himself visible as well. By taking on the roles of both George and McClosky, he presents them as two sides of the same coin. George may be the romantic lead, who is meant to be the epitome of goodness, and McClosky may be the villain who wants to forcefully possess Zoe, but they are both white men who perpetuate slavery.