SELF-MADE MAN
The Frederick Douglass Story
By: Phil Darius Wallace
Teacher’s Guide
Grades 4-12
Educator’s Guide
SELF-MADE MAN: THE FREDERICK DOUGLASS STORY
THE ORPHEUM THEATRE
The Orpheum Theatre, supported by the Memphis Development Foundation,
provides quality, diverse entertainment and education programming to the
Memphis region while preserving and improving the historic Orpheum Theatre
and its role in downtown Memphis development. The Orpheum has been the
home of touring Broadway in the Mid-South
since 1977. In addition to the Broadway
Series, The Theatre also hosts performances
by Opera Memphis and Ballet Memphis,
various concerts, urban theatre, and local
cultural and community events such as
Memphis in May and the International Blues
Challenge.
The Orpheum relies on partnerships with
corporations and individuals in the
community to make The Theatre more
accessible to Mid-Southerners, including
populations of low to moderate income.
These literacy based programs reach over
50,000 students and families annually,
making high-quality touring arts
programming available to all members of
the community regardless of their ability to
pay. Designed to be representative of our
community's demographics and develop future audiences, these programs use
theatre and literary arts to develop basic learning skills, discipline, self-esteem,
and to cultivate the whole person by developing intuition, reasoning and
imagination.
Educator’s Guide
SELF-MADE MAN: THE FREDERICK DOUGLASS STORY
HOW DOES IT ALL WORK?
Director
 Determines the overall performance "look" of the performance
 Guides the actors in stage movement and character interpretation
 Works with designers to plan the lights and sound, scenery, costumes and make-up, and
stage actions
Designers
 Plan the lights, scenery, costumes, make-up, sound, and actions to help bring the director's
vision to life
Stage Manager
 Before the performance, creates a cuesheet to guide the crew in getting things on and off
the stage during the performances.
 During the performance, the stage manager uses this cuesheet to direct people and things
on and off the stage at the proper times.
Crew
• Build and operate the scenery, costumes, props, and light and sound during the
performances.
Cast
• Includes all of the performers who present the story on stage.
Audience
 That's right! There can be no performance without you, the audience. The role of the
audience is unique because you experience the entertainment with the performers and
backstage crew. You are a collaborator in the performance and it is important to learn your
role so you can join all the people who work to create this play
Watching a play is different from watching television or a sporting event. When you watch
T.V. you may leave the room or talk. At a sporting event you might cheer and shout and
discuss what you're seeing. Your role as a member of the audience in a play means you
must watch and listen carefully because- You need to concentrate on what the actors are
saying. The actors are affected by your behavior because they share the room with you.
Talking and moving around can make it difficult for them to concentrate on their roles.
Extra noises and movement can distract other audience members.
Educator’s Guide
SELF-MADE MAN: THE FREDERICK DOUGLASS STORY
Phil Darius Wallace
Frederick Douglass
“Since I was a child, I always loved the idea of
hearing stories and telling stories.”
Phil Darius Wallace is a native of Flint Michigan where he started as an actor with the Michigan
Shakespeare festival as Caliban in the Tempest. Since then Darius has taken on the roles of actor,
director, and playwright. He has worked locally with Playhouse on the Square, Hatiloo Theater, Voices
Of The South, Play Back Memphis and The Tennessee Shakespeare Company where he has made his
home as a company member. Darius is excited to be working with the Orpheum to remount his One
Man Show on the life of Frederick Douglass which has toured around the country. His film credits
include Nothing But The Truth and 100 Lives which are now available on DVD and Netflix. Darius also
directed Love Choice, a movie dealing with HIV. Phil Darius Wallace has toured 48 states performing
one-man shows based on the lives of Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Richard Wright, Langston Hughes
and Frederick Douglass. Most recently you can see Darius on ABC's hit television show, Nashville.
Valetta Brinson (Vocal Consultant/ Female Voice)
A native of Memphis, Valetta Brinson is an instructor at Southwest Tennessee
Community College. She is currently pursuing the Doctorate of Musical Arts in
performance at the Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music where she is a HohenbergScheidt Scholar. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Morris Brown
College and her Master of Arts degree from Middle Tennessee State University. She
is a former middle school music teacher. She studies voice with Dr. Randal Rushing
and coaches with Mark Ensley at The University of Memphis.
Valetta has performed with the Nashville Opera Association, Mississippi Opera
Association and Opera Memphis in such productions as Der Rosenkavelier (Strauss), Madama
Butterfly and Gianni Schicchi (Puccini), Die Zauberflöte (Mozart), Falstaff (Verdi) and Die Lustigen
Weiber von Windsor (Niccolai). In 2004, she debuted the role of Coretta Scott King in the opera, The
Promise, by Dr. John Baur, about the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. She has performed in concert
and recitals in the UK and Japan and has placed in several vocal competitions, namely the Leontyne
Price Vocal Arts Competition, National Association of Teachers of Singing and Metropolitan Opera
National Council Auditions. She is a member of Delta Omicron International Professional Music
Fraternity, Inc. and other notable music teacher organizations. Presently, Valetta is working with the
ensemble collaborating on Hope, a new work about the HIV/AIDS crises in the Caribbean and
Voices: An Post-Quake Odyssey in Verse, both commissioned by the Pulitzer Center. Both works are
based on interviews from the people whose lives have been affected by the disease which has been
performed in Miami, North Carolina, Washington, D.C. and Haiti.
Gary Dewitt Marshall (Director)
Rochester New York's native son grew up in the culturally diverse 19th ward
community. Gary graduated from Edison Tech high school, and received a
bachelor's degree in sociology from Hobart College. He then attended S.U.N.Y.
Albany where he was introduced to professional theatre. Since that time he has
been paying his dues locally, nationally, and internationally. Known as the
'chameleon' Marshall is perhaps Hollywood's best kept secret. On Television, Mr.
Marshall played Detective John Smollers in the ABC pilot Life on Mars. He has guest
starred on: New York Undercover, '24', Matt Waters, "ER", Angel Street, Gemini Man,
and Unsolved Mysteries. Gary has been featured in such films as: The Hurricane, Renaissance man, In
& Out, New Jersey Drive, Love Walked In, Still Water, and Game Day. Commercially, Gary has
endorsed such products as: AT&T, Midas, Hallmark, McDonalds, Budweiser, Kay Jewelers, Remy
Martin, and Land Rover. On Broadway, Marshall originated the role of 'Freedom Fighter' Michael
Dube in the Tony Award nominated drama The Song of Jacob Zulu. Gary's critically acclaimed
directing credits include: You Shouldn't Have Told, Four Men On A Couch, Looking For Love In
Darkness, Lost In Yonkers, David and Lisa, Club Rumboogie, The Muse, and The History Man.
Kevin Thomas (Choreographer)
Kevin Thomas is Artistic Director for Collage Dance Collective. He began his dance
training with Ecole Superieure de Danse du Quebec in Montreal, Canada, and has
danced with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, Cleveland/San Jose Ballet and the
Dance Theatre of Harlem (DTH) in New York City. He joined DTH in 1995 and was
promoted to principal dancer in 1999. With DTH, Mr. Thomas' credits include
leading roles in The Prodigal Son, Dialogues, The Four Temperaments, Othello,
Adrian (Angel on Earth), A Song for Dead Warriors, Troy games, Equuis and Dougla.
He has performed leading roles in, The Nutcracker, Tarantella, Agon, Who Cares, A Midsummer
Night's Dream, Don Quixote, Consort Lessons, Concerto K622, and Aureole. Mr. Thomas has made
guest appearances with the Royal Ballet in London, Complexions Contemporary Ballet in New York
and Fleming Flindt and Peter Schaufuss in Denmark. He has also appeared on Broadway in The
Phantom of the Opera. Mr. Thomas has served as Artistic Coordinator for New Ballet Ensemble &
School and has choreographed for Opera Memphis, Hattiloo Repertory Theatre, New Ballet
Ensemble, The Orpheum Theatre, Flint Institute of Music, and The University of Memphis. Mr. Thomas
serves on the advisory boards for the Orpheum Theatre, Memphis Art Park and Overton Performing
Arts High School.
Educator’s Guide
SELF-MADE MAN: THE FREDERICK DOUGLASS STORY
THE ONE MAN SHOW
Self-Made Man is a one man show about Frederick Douglass, one of the most prominent figures in
African American history and one of the most influential lecturers and authors in American history. He
was a firm believer in the equality of all people whether black, American Indian, recent immigrant
and the rights of females. In the show, Phil Darius Wallace performs numerous characters in Frederick
Douglass’ life. Wallace skillfully plays the role of Frederick Douglass as a little boy along with other
characters such as his powerful and loving grandmother, his cruel slave master, and finally Douglass
as a free adult. The performance includes music, dancing, singing, monologues and poetry. The most
powerful message delivered in the story is how education completely transformed Frederick
Douglass’ life. You will be transfixed by the variety in Frederick Douglass’ story. It is an opportunity to
meet a man who was an American abolitionist, editor, orator, author, statesman and reformer: a selfmade man.
WHAT IS A ONE MAN SHOW?
A one man show is a performance in which an actor performs the entire production alone
often playing multiple characters.
How many characters does Mr. Wallace play in A Self-Made Man?
How can you tell when he is a different character?
Educator’s Guide
SELF-MADE MAN: THE FREDERICK DOUGLASS STORY
Frederick Douglass (1817-1895)
Frederick Douglass was born in a slave cabin, in February,
1818, near the town of Easton, on the Eastern Shore of
Maryland. Separated from his mother when only a few
weeks old he was raised by his grandparents. At about
the age of six, his grandmother took him to the plantation
of his master and left him there. Not being told by her that
she was going to leave him, Douglass never recovered
from the betrayal of the abandonment. When he was
about eight he was sent to Baltimore to live as a
houseboy with Hugh and Sophia Auld, relatives of his
master. It was shortly after his arrival that his new mistress
taught him the alphabet. When her husband forbade her
to continue her instruction, because it was unlawful to
teach slaves how to read, Frederick took it upon himself
to learn. He made the neighborhood boys his teachers,
by giving away his food in exchange for lessons in reading
and writing. At about the age of twelve or thirteen
Douglass purchased a copy of The Columbian Orator, a
popular schoolbook of the time, which helped him to
gain an understanding and appreciation of the power of
the spoken and the written word, as two of the most effective means by which to bring
about permanent, positive change.
Returning to the Eastern Shore, at approximately the age of fifteen, Douglass became a
field hand, and experienced most of the horrifying conditions that plagued slaves during the
270 years of legalized slavery in America. But it was during this time that he had an
encounter with the “slavebreaker” Edward Covey. Their fight ended in a draw, but the
victory was Douglass', as his challenge to the “slavebreaker” restored his sense of self-worth.
After an aborted escape attempt when he was about eighteen, he was sent back to
Baltimore to live with the Auld family, and in early September, 1838, at the age of twenty,
Douglass succeeded in escaping from slavery by impersonating a sailor.
He went first to New Bedford, Massachusetts, where he and his new wife Anna Murray began
to raise a family. Whenever he could he attended abolitionist meetings, and, in October,
1841, after attending an anti-slavery convention on Nantucket Island, Douglass became a
lecturer for the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society and a colleague of William Lloyd Garrison.
This work led him into public speaking and writing. He published his own newspaper, The
North Star, participated in the first women's rights convention at Seneca Falls, in 1848, and
wrote three autobiographies. He was internationally recognized as an uncompromising
abolitionist, indefatigable worker for justice and equal opportunity, and an unyielding
defender of women's rights. He became a trusted advisor to Abraham Lincoln, United States
Marshal for the District of Columbia, Recorder of Deeds for Washington, D.C., and MinisterGeneral to the Republic of Haiti. Frederick Douglass died late in the afternoon or early
evening, of Tuesday, 20 February 1895, at his home in Anacostia, Washington, DC."
Educator’s Guide
SELF-MADE MAN: THE FREDERICK DOUGLASS STORY
VOCABULARY AND IMPORTANT PEOPLE
Grades 4th- 7th
Grades 8th-12th
13th Amendment
Abolitionist
Abraham Lincoln
Bleeding Kansas
Civil War
Confederacy
Emancipation Proclamation
Equality
Fable
Fort Sumter
Harper's Ferry
Harriet Beecher Stowe
Harriet Tubman
John Brown
Myth
Nullification
Oral Tradition
Parable
Plantation
Racism
Ratify
Robert E. Lee
Slave
Slave master
Slavery
Sojourner Truth
Speech
Story
Suffrage
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Underground Railroad
13th Amendment
Abolition
Abolitionist
Abraham Lincoln
Bleeding Kansas
Border States
Civil war
Confederacy
Emancipate
Emancipation Proclamation
Fort Sumter
Fugitive Slave Laws
Harper's Ferry
Harriet Beecher Stowe
Harriet Tubman
Industrial Revolution
John Brown
Nullification
Orator
Plantation
Ratify
Robert E. Lee
Social reform
Sojourner Truth
Speech
Story
Suffrage
The Liberator
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Underground Railroad
Educator’s Guide
SELF-MADE MAN: THE FREDERICK DOUGLASS STORY
CLASSROOM ACTIVITY: GRADES 4-7
SPEAKING AND LISTENING
Frederick Douglass’ grandmother taught “Little Freddie” the parable of the Chicken and the
Eagle. Have students answer the following questions on their own and in a group.

What lesson do you think she was trying to teach young Frederick Douglass?

What is the difference between a parable and a story?

Can you think of a modern day parable or story that might teach the same
lesson?
Common Core Standards:
SL.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and
teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 4 topics and texts, building on others’ ideas and
expressing their own clearly.
SL.3- Identify the reasons and evidence a speaker provides to support particular points.
SL.4- Report on a topic or text, tell a story, or recount an experience in an organized manner,
using appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details to support main ideas or themes;
speak clearly at an understandable pace.
RL.9 Compare and contrast the treatment of similar themes and topics (e.g., opposition of
good and evil) and patterns of events (e.g., the quest) in stories, myths, and traditional
literature from different cultures.
Educator’s Guide
SELF-MADE MAN: THE FREDERICK DOUGLASS STORY
CLASSROOM ACTIVITY: GRADES 4-7
WRITING
Frederick Douglass sings songs or hymns he has learned from his grandmother and other
slaves, these songs are a form of oral tradition. Discuss as a class.

Have students define oral tradition.

What are examples of oral traditions?
Activity:
Have students interview a family member or friend about tradition.

What traditions have been passed down through their family?

What traditions are unique to Memphis and the South?
Activity:
In the show, Frederick Douglass tells the story of how he received the nickname, “Little
Chicken Fred”.
Write a story about how you received your nickname. If you do not have nickname, write a
story about a friend or family member’s nickname

How did you get the nickname?

Who gave it to you?

Do you like your nickname? Why or why not?
Common Core Standards:
W.2- Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and
information clearly.
W.3- Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective
technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.
SL.4- Report on a topic or text, tell a story, or recount an experience in an organized manner,
using appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details to support main ideas or themes;
speak clearly at an understandable pace.
Educator’s Guide
SELF-MADE MAN: THE FREDERICK DOUGLASS STORY
CLASSROOM ACTIVITY: GRADES 8-12
READING
Have students read “Self-Made Men” speech and answer the following questions. Discuss
them as a class.
What does Frederick Douglass define as a “Self-Made Man”?
According to Frederick Douglass’ definition, who are other “self-made men” in history?
How is seeing the speech “Self-Made Men” performed different from simply reading it?
Activity:
Have students choose another speech of Frederick Douglass’ and “perform” it in front of the
class.

Does this change the meaning of the speech?

Does hearing the speech help you to understand it’s meaning better than just
reading it?
Common Core Standards:
RI.9-10.7- Analyze various accounts of a subject told in different mediums (e.g., a person’s
life story in both print and multimedia), determining which details are emphasized in each
account.
RI.9-10.2/RI.11-12.7- Integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and
formats, including visually, quantitatively and orally.
Educator’s Guide
SELF-MADE MAN: THE FREDERICK DOUGLASS STORY
CLASSROOM ACTIVITY: GRADES 8-12
WRITING
Frederick Douglass was famous for his public speaking and speech writing. He spoke out
about injustices that affected his fellow Americans. Have students answer the following
questions in a group.

Write a speech about an injustice at affects your school or community

How will writing a speech help change this injustice?

Who would be the best audience to facilitate change?
Activity:
Frederick Douglass had many positive influences on his life, his grandmother who taught him
to always believe in himself and Ms. Sophia Auld who taught him to read and write.

Think of someone that has had an impact on your life (family member, friend or
teacher) and write about how they have influenced you in a positive way.
Activity:
Performer, Darius Wallace thought Frederick Douglass was an important figure to write a play
about:
 Why do you think he chose Frederick Douglass?

Research another historical figure

Share with the class your findings and why you chose your particular historical
figure
Common Core Standards:
W.3- Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective
technique, relevant descriptive details, and well structured event sequences.
W.7- Conduct short research projects to answer a question drawing on several sources and
generating additional related, focused questions for further research and investigation.
W.8- Write arguments to support claims with clear and relevant evidence.
Educator’s Guide
SELF-MADE MAN: THE FREDERICK DOUGLASS STORY
Self-Made Men
By: Frederick Douglass
That there is, in more respects than one, something like a stoicism in this title, I freely admit.
Properly speaking, there are in the world no such men as self-made men. That term implies
an individual independence of the past and present which can never exist,
Our best and most valued acquisitions have been obtained either from our contemporaries
or from those who have preceded us in the field of thought and discovery. We have all
either begged, borrowed, or stolen. We have reaped where others have sown, and that
which others have strewn, we have gathered. It must in truth be said, though it may not
accord well with self-conscious individuality and self-conceit, that no possible native force of
character, and no depth of wealth and originality, can lift a man into absolute
independence of his fellowmen, and no generation of men can be independent of the
preceding generation. The brotherhood and interdependence of mankind are guarded
and defended at all points. . .
Nevertheless, the title of my lecture is eminently descriptive of a class and is, moreover, a fit
and convenient one for my purpose, in illustrating the idea which I have in view…Self-made
men are the men who, under peculiar difficulties and without the ordinary helps of favoring
circumstances, have attained knowledge, usefulness, power and position and have learned
from themselves the best uses to which life can be put in this world, and in the exercises of
these uses to build up worthy character. They are the men who owe little or nothing to birth,
relationship, or friendly surroundings; to wealth inherited or to early approved means of
education; who are what they are, without the aid of any favoring conditions by which other
men usually rise in the world and achieve great results. . . They are in a peculiar sense
indebted to themselves for themselves. If they have traveled far, they have made the road
on which they have travelled. If they have ascended high, they have built their own ladder .
. . Such men as these, whether found in one position or another, whether in the college or in
the factory; whether professors or plowmen; whether Caucasian or Indian; whether AngloSaxon or Anglo-African, are self-made men and are entitled to a certain measure of respect
for their success and for proving to the world the grandest possibilities of human nature, of
whatever variety of race or color.
Though a man of this class need not claim to be a hero or to be worshipped as such, there is
genuine heroism in his struggle and something of sublimity and glory in his triumph. Every
instance of such success is an example and help to humanity. It, better than any mere
assertion, gives us assurance of the latent powers and resources of simple and unaided
manhood. It dignifies labor, honors application, lessens pain and depression, dispels gloom
from the brow of the destitute and weariness from the heart of him about to faint, and
enables man to take hold of the roughest and flintiest hardships incident to the battle of life,
with a lighter heart, with higher hopes and a larger courage.