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In the antebellum period the ability of Black actresses, dramatic readers and public speakers to move audiences onstage, on the abolition platform, or in dramatic readings stood as powerful refutation of the vocal stereotypes staged in blackface minstrelsy. 
 
In this talk, Merrill will examine the performance practices and reception of the dramatic readings of nineteenth century Black elocutionist and dramatic reader Mary E. Webb—for whom Harriet Beecher Stowe expressly adapted a version of Uncle Tom’s Cabin—and the impact of orality in the performances of later actress, playwright and activist Henrietta Vinton Davis who also used her elocutionary talents to refute racist stereotypes and support Black political causes.

Lisa Merrill is a leading scholar of nineteenth-century theatre and performance whose work examines the intersections of gender, race, and transatlantic culture. A Professor of Performance Studies and Rhetoric at Hofstra University (NY, USA), she is the author of When Romeo Was a Woman, an award-winning study of Charlotte Cushman that reshapes understandings of gender and sexuality in Victorian performance. Her research engages closely with archival materials to explore acting styles, celebrity culture, and the politics of embodiment, including connections to abolitionism. Merrill has also contributed widely to edited collections, public humanities projects, and museum exhibitions.

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By: Jason Price
Last updated: Thursday, 2 April 2026