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Center Stage volume 01 | issue 01 | october 01, 2020 [ center stage ] untitled @ large History of Black Activism In Theatre 1821 1856 1898 Te African Grove Teatre was founded by Wil- William Wells Brown was a writer who Alabama’s Tuskegee Insti- liam Henry (or Alexander) Brown, who is con- created the frst play written by a former- tute introduces classical actor sidered to be the frst Black playwright in the US. ly enslaved person who escaped, entitled Charles Winter Wood as a pro- However, the theatre was shut down when they Te Escape, or Leap to Freedom. Now fessor of drama and elocution, did a production of Richard III next door to a available to the public, at the time it was as Black higher institutions white production of the same play. In 1826, the not produced, only spoken aloud during start to support students’ in- theatre was burned down for unknown reasons. abolitionist society meetings. volvement in play production. 1925 1916 1909 1902 Many African American female In 1909, Te Crescent Teatre, the Bert Williams and George Walker playwrights contributed to theatre frst Black theatre in Harlem, was found fnancial and artistic success in at this time: Angelina Weld Grim- constructed. Te theatre launched their Globe Teater (Boston) produc- ké, Georgia Douglass Johnson, Alice the careers of many performers of tion of In Dahomey. It was considered Dunbar-Nelson, Mary Burrill, Myrtle the Harlem Renaissance. Howev- the most successful Black musical of Smith Livingston, Ruth Gaines-Shel- er, due to competition from other that period. Other contributors to this ton, Eulalie Spence, Marita Odette theatres, Te Crescent closed in piece were Will Marion Cook (music) Bonner, and May Mille. 1915. and Paul Laurence Dunbar (lyrics). 1949 1959 1968 Juanita Hall became the frst Af- A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansber- In 1968, the National Black rican-American person to win ry premiered on Broadway. Based on some Teatre (NBT) was founded. a Tony Award (Best Supporting of her own experiences, this play deals with It is now one of the longest Actress) for her role as Bloody family dynamics, the idea of American suc- theatres owned and operated Mary in Rodgers and Hammer- cess, and anti-Black sentiment as it relates to by a woman of color. Te NBT stein’s South Pacifc. She would home ownership in 1950s Chicago. Tis story ofers residency programs for go on to reprise her role in the has received numerous revivals and adapta- Black artists in playwriting 1958 movie adaptation. tions. and other areas of theatre. 2020 2019 1984 1977 Michael R. Jackson’s A Strange Loop Toughts of a Col- Te pivotal production of Ntozake Shange’s “choreopoem,” received the Pulitzer Prize in Drama. ored Man by Keenan August Wilson’s Ma Rain- For Colored Girls Who Have Con- It premiered May 24, 2019 at Te Play- Scott II had its world ey’s Black Bottom premiered. sidered Suicide When the Rains- wrights Horizon Teater (Of Bway) in premier at Syracuse Tis marked Wilson’s bow is Enuf, premiered. It’s form New York City. It tells the story of Usher Stage. Scott wanted to Broadway debut, and the is unique and ground-breaking, who is “a black, queer writer, working a “tell a story that hu- piece delved into the frus- combining dance, color symbol- day job he hates while writing his origi- manized black men, trations African American ism, and poetry. Te show earned nal musical: a piece about a black, queer showed our complex- artists face when entering several honors, including 3 Obies, writer, working a day job he hates while ities, and valued our into the white-dominated the Outer Critics Circle Award, an writing his original musical.” feelings.” music and arts industry. Emmy, and a Grammy. Andy Jean: Production & Tech Artist SPOTLIGHTS instagram.com Anti-racism in theatrE Barbara Ann Teer: Art Activist interview w jean jean’s podcast Today Tix: Medium: Harlem World Magazine WHO: @qween_jean Why Equity in Theater Education Is Im What I Think About When I Hear That WHEN: late 20th century WHERE: New York City portant WHERE: Harlem, NYC WHAT: costume designer, stylist, storyteller, & Black Trans Zhailon Levingston (@zhalion) is a Louisiana born director and writer Broadway Is Racist WHAT: founded National Black Theatre in Harlem in 1968 Lives Matter activist (@natblacktheatre) who is currently the resident director at Tina-Te Tina Turner Musical on Broadway. Within this article, he highlights that “the primary mise- In Heathclif Saunders’s (@feelthehealth) article What I Andy Jean currently works ducation given to Black students at predominantly white institutions Tink about When I Hear that Broadway is Racist, Saunders Dr. Barbara Ann Teer was a Of-Broadway, and she has de- is that their work must be crafed to the palate of the ‘white gaze.’” Te speaks of issues within Broadway and America’s greater the- pioneer during the Black Arts signed for flms, operas, and focus of his article then shifs to center all the Black educators who pro- ater community concerning race, prejudice, and misrepre- Movement of the 1960s and 70s, shows, including the WP’s vided him with invaluable experience and meaningful care and coun- sentation of Black people. As an experienced actor and writer when Black artists of all medi- Our Dear Drug Lord and Trin- sel growing up. Trough personal anecdotes, he honors them and de- himself, he adds his own personal experiences into the arti- ums combined their creativity ity Rep’s Othello. Within the scribes the impact they had on him, particularly as he navigates white cle, while spotting key diferences in the world of Black mu- with their passion for justice to Breath Entertainment Podcast demand equality of the races. theatre spaces. sical theater between being cast in an “imagined world” or a (@breatheentproductions) epi- “real one.” Regardless of which world and which archetype Teer was multi-talented, with sode, Andy Jean discusses how experience in dance, theatre, Howl Round: Black people are cast in, Saunders says that it is important she became a costume designer, for writers to “stop writing what we know, and start writing television, and flm. In 1968 her experience as a black trans she founded the National Black How Liberal Arts Colleges Are Failing Their what we don’t,” and maybe, just maybe the musical theater woman, growing up within her community and Broadway specifcally can tell the diference Teatre (NBT), a theatre com- Haitian culture, and her activ- in the Philadelphia Sun and in order to achieve parity in Students of Color between using Black bodies for the sake of using Black bod- pany located in Harlem, New ism within this moment. Tis check out the video she creat- the 21st Century.” Although “As a young, Black, queer director and newcomer, there were already ies and using Black actors because Black actors matter. York City that showcases Black is a great podcast to put on ed on Youtube, “Qween Jean’s Dr. Teer passed away in 2008, so many ways I was in the hot seat.” Miranda Haymon (@miranda_ performers telling Black stories when you take a walk around Dream,” which is a moving her daughter Sade Lythcott (@ haymon) writes about the myriad ways that liberal arts colleges do not Variety: and celebrates traditional Afri- campus or need a break from piece discussing the silence of sade1111) took over as NBT’s provide space for their students of color, which then ofen puts undue can aesthetics. In Dr. Teer’s own work. If you enjoy the podcast Black trans lives in our culture How To Make Anti-Racist Theatre words, the NBT’s mission is to CEO to continue fghting for pressure on faculty members of color, of which there are usually few. make sure to read her interview and media. RDU On Stage “leverage our existing creative her mother’s vision of equality Haymon provides four ways for colleges to begin correcting the past: Nicole Brewer is an activist assets and human resources, in the arts. expanding what is “canon,” including students of color in programming Topdog/Underdog: Suzan Lori-Parks decisions, hiring and more heavily involving guest artists of color, and and anti-racist actor, the- again, hiring guests of color (for work that isn’t related solely to their atremaker, and educator Playwright: Suzan-Lori Parks (@suzanloriparks365) Te show won the Pulit- ethnic and racial identities). who has focused for years zer Prize for Drama in 2002, Premiere: July 26, 2001 on anti-racist theatre train- Off-Broadway at the Public Theater PODCASTs making Suzan-Lori Parks the ing. Her work is based on frst African American female Lincoln to teach him how to #WeSeeYou her experiences as a Black playwright to do so. Te play play, but Lincoln has sworn of BIPOC Demands for White American Theater woman in theatre, as well follows the lives of two adult the cards. Te play reveals the as her involvement in social to follow brothers, Lincoln and Booth, struggles between the brothers BIPOC Demands for White American Teatre is a 29 page living mani- justice movements. In her living in an apartment togeth- as they deal with conficting festo outlining the many ways in which the institution of theatre must interview, Brewer mentions er. Lincoln is an Abraham Lin- values, their upbringing, and change to protect, support, and uplif BIPOC theatre communities. three guiding principles for Daughters of Lorraine coln impersonator for a living Episode 6: Dramaturgy, Black Refusal, and Possibility with Otis the impact of their external Te demands, written afer an initial statement signed by over 300 BI- anti-racist theatre: harm ever since he gave up card world.
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