An amazing former student actor and stage manager, Lonnae Hickman is creating a Black Musical Series for her senior thesis. Check her out! Welcome to my series on Black Musicals. This first episode is about the Broadway musical Dreamgirls. Everything used in this series, such as music, videos, and pictures is fair use as it’s … More Black Musicals: Ep.1 Dreamgirls
I teach high school theatre, so my actors are constantly auditioning, they walk in freshmen year and don’t stop auditioning until they graduate. I’ve had Milwaukee based directors ask about my graduated seniors and I’m honest about how well they work with others. You are not only constantly auditioning in High School, but in the … More When does your Audition really begin?
POSTED ONMARCH 2, 2014BY CONTRIBUTED BY: MICHAEL KISSINGER The Lafayette Players were a dramatic stock company composed entirely of African American actors. Originally from Harlem, this first of its kind group introduced audiences to the idea that black actors were capable of taking on a variety of roles and displaying a much greater range than previously considered possible. … More THE LAFAYETTE PLAYERS (1915-1932)
POSTED ONJANUARY 23, 2008 BY CONTRIBUTED BY: ANTHONY DUANE HILL The Anita Bush Players, also known as the Anita Bush All-Colored Dramatic Stock Company was organized by Actor Anita Bush in New York City in 1915. An actor, dancer, and producer, Anita Bush turned to drama after a back injury ended her dancing career in musical theatre … More ANITA BUSH PLAYERS
And why you might never have heard of Ira Aldridge. BY NATASHA FROST AUGUST 7, 2017 In 1824, a young, black New Yorker named Ira Aldridge set sail for England. Within 10 years, he was performing Shakespeare in London’s Covent Garden. By the time 20 more had passed, he had performed for royalty across Europe, made audiences laugh … More The 19th-Century African-American Actor Who Conquered Europe
POSTED ON FEBRUARY 11, 2007 BY CONTRIBUTED BY: ANTHONY DUANE HILL The African Company was the first known black theatre troupe. In 1816, William Henry Brown (1815-1884), a retired West Indian steamship steward, acquired a house on Thomas Street in lower Manhattan, New York. He offered a variety of instrumental and vocal entertainments on Sunday afternoons in his tea garden, … More AFRICAN COMPANY / AFRICAN GROVE THEATRE
Characters Penelope Sycamore Usually goes by Penny, Penelope is the mother of Essie and Alice, wife of Paul, and daughter of Martin. She writes plays and paints as hobbies because it makes her happy, but is terrible at both. Penny is a loving mother and wife who is constantly concerned with the welfare of her family. Her … More Characters of “You Can’t Take it With You”
We are pleased to announce we will be producing “You Can’t Take it With You,” a delightful comedy written in 1936 when it premiered on Broadway! The play won the 1937 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and was adapted for the screen as You Can’t Take It with You in 1938, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture and Best Director. … More Announcing the Spring Play!
In the following account the authors Anthony D. Hill, associate professor of drama at The Ohio State University, and Douglas Q. Barnett, director, producer, and founder of Black Arts/West in Seattle, discuss why they created the Historical Dictionary of African American Theater, the first comprehensive compendium of two centuries of blacks on stage. African American Theatre … More THE BLACK PRESENCE IN THEATER THROUGH THE CENTURIES IN THE HISTORICAL DICTIONARY OF AFRICAN AMERICAN THEATER
Reposted from: https://soulofamerica.com/us-cities/new-york-city/black-broadway/ The world-renown theatre district we know as Broadway was first a thriving community of Africans Americans and immigrants in the 1800s. Then around 1850, theatres from downtown began the slow transitional move to midtown for lower real estate prices and enough land required to build new, larger theatres. Before 1895, all Negro … More Black Broadway
Act Out 