Black Children's Day is a one-act play written in 1980 by Adrienne Kennedy. It was commissioned by Brown University, and was revised in 1988. Kennedy is an African American playwright. Her plays often use surrealism as an element to explore the American experience from a non-white perspective, drawing on symbolism, mythical and historical figures, and themes of race, violence, and family to create her works. Specifically, Black Children's Day draws on elements of Metatheatre and surrealism to explore non-realistic characters in a chaotic sense. Many of Kennedy's plays are "autobiographically inspired". Summary Black Children's Day is a short, one-act children's play that follows no real linear structure. The play depicts a chaotic hour before the Children's Day play, and features about ten Children playing various roles, and one adult. The play draws heavily from Kennedy's surrealist writing, and her allegorical, poetic passages create a loose structure for the play. Three major themes are repeated throughout the play, the World War II radio passage, the wedding of Constance and Roy, and the passage of the Ship Vine to Liberia. The New York Times critic Clive Barnes refers to Kennedy's highly symbolic work as such: "Miss Kennedy is weaving some kind of dramatic fabric of poetry." Characters Negro Children of the Anderson Elementary School... a local school (appears as Slaves, Indians, Passengers) Roy (one of The Children)(Also appears as Editor) Constance (one of The Children) The General (one of The Children) Asst. Curator of the Walker-Smith House Constance's Mother Caroline (one of The Children) Radio Kennedy includes a note about the children, "The Children are not realistic... but are like the memory of childhood... endearing, innocent, and very serious." Notes on characters Girls wear summer dresses Boys are in navy blue suits The General wears a uniform Roy is the class leader, Constance wanted to have a wedding in the carriage room Asst. Curator is a white woman in her 50s, she wears a grey suit blouse and pumps Setting The play takes place on a Sunday in June, during World War II, in an unspecified New England town. The Children are putting up a play in Walker-Smith House, a historic mansion turned museum. In the Walker-Smith House is an annex in which civic events are held. Beyond the annex is a carriage house. These two rooms comprise the stage for "Black Children's Day". In the annex is a screen showing a