Black Theatre Network

13/01/2024

Executive artistic director of Detroit Public Theatre and acclaimed playwright.

02/01/2024

Habari Gani! What's❤ the word? Imani (Faith) On the first day of the year and the last day of Kwanzaa we will share a story of faith. The Black Theatre Network's first president Dr. Ethel Pitts -Walker will share the origin of the Black Theatre Network.

The story of the creation and development of the Black Theatre Network (BTN) can hardly be told with full accuracy by any one individual. BTN is an organization where the labor of many has come together to form the whole, where individual contributions are too numerous to fully recount. We stand on the shoulders of the many selfless artists & academics who have made BTN what it is today.

The seeds of BTN were planted by the African American educators of the National Association of Dramatic and Speech Arts (NADSA).

These educators joined the American Theatre Association (ATA) when it became more receptive to people of color. In 1965, the Afro-Asian Theatre Project was founded under the ATA. Subsequently, the group within the Project interested in Black Theatre formed the African Theatre Project, which ultimately became the Black Theatre Program (BTP). It was 1985, at the ATA meeting in Toronto, Canada, that talk of ATA’s structural problems became a concern for members of the BTP.

In 1986, the inevitable happened: ATA folded. A group of Black Theatre devotees met in New York City at the National Education Theatre Conference (NETC), to bemoan ATA’s demise and to excitedly debate the future of the defunct BTP. Against the backdrop of the lobby bar of the Milford Hotel, these pioneers pondered the feasibility of creating a new Black theatre organization. This new organization would rise like the Phoenix to provide a service to those facing displacement while securing a haven for future artists and scholars.

As strategy sessions moved to New York University, the group faced its first major decision: to follow the safe path by joining forces with the newly created Association for Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE), or to tread on what was perceived as uncharted territory and build a separate nationalistic organization. During the 1986 meeting, as the hours passed and the debate raged on, the revolutionaries were determined to strike out on their own, and after much fiery wrangling, the decision was made to form the “Black Theatre Network.” Those who brought this vision to life were: Addell Austin-Anderson, George Bass, Buddy Butler, Don Evans, Kathryn Ervin, Winona Fletcher, Coleman Freeman, Floyd Gaffney, Errol Hill, Woodie King, Jr., Bill Lewis, J.W. Lewis, Vernell Lillie, Barbara Molette, Carlton Molette, Louis Rivers, Freda Scott-Giles, Archie Simpson, Marvin Sims, Lundeana Thomas, Barbara Votja, Rhonnie Washington, Von Washington, Ethel Pitts-Walker, Phillip Walker, and Allen Williams.

A communal position paper was drafted and adopted, officers were elected, and the Black Theatre Network came to light. The first officers were Ethel Pitts-Walker (President), Rhonnie Washington (Vice President), Addell Austin-Anderson (Secretary), William Lewis (Treasurer), Von H. Washington (Newsletter Editor), Marvin Sims (Program Chair/ Conference Planner), and an Advisory Board that included Winona Fletcher, Errol Hill, Vernell Lillie and Margaret Wilkerson.

31/12/2023

Habari Gani! What's the news! KUUMBA (Creativity)

On this day, December 31, 2023, the last day of the year and the 6th day of Kwanzaa- Kuumba (Creativity), let us remember to celebrate the lives of our fellow creatives and people who have made a difference in our lives.

Our Griot and Kulture Keeper, Dale Ricardo Sheilds, created this video several days ago. I held on to it, waiting for what I deemed as the right day to post it. Since then, we have lost three luminaries I know of Maurice Hines, Vinie Burrows, and Sandra Reaves-Phillips.

The lesson I learned is the importance of time - make the phone call, create the business plan, and do something for yourself. Enjoy every moment of your life. Forgive someone for you.

LET'S CELEBRATE CREATIVITY AND EACH OTHER!

Thank you, Dale!

Created and edited by Dale Ricardo Shields[ Broadway Baby Boomers - African American Theatre Outlook Collective. - Iforcolor.org ]I DO NOT OWN ANY PHOTOGRAPH...

30/12/2023

Day 4 Habari Gani? (What's the word) Ujamaa (oo-jah-MAH-ah),was the concept that formed the basis of Julius Nyerere's social and economic development policies in Tanzania after it gained independence from Britain in 1961. The term has also come to be used as one of the seven principles of the African-American celebration of Kwanzaa. It has the meaning of "unity", "oneness", "uniting with your countrymen as one extended family". Dr. George C. Fraser is the MAN!!!

The black history that is taught to us in schools is always the same cycle. Black people were taken from Africa to become slaves for centuries and then we ha...

28/12/2023

Kwanzaa 2023 Day 2 Kujichagulia - Self-determination. Today Black Theatre Network celebrates the founders of African American Theatre and Black Theatre Day! We honor you and speak your names for standing up for the past, present, and future of THEATRE (Periodt).

I did not create the wonderful graphic of Black theatre logos, it was a post from Black Theatre Day Sept. 17, 2022. A salute to Dr. Monica W. Ndounou and The CRAFT Institute.

The portrait featured in the center of the graphic is James Hewlett (fl. 1821 – 1849), principal actor and co-creator of William Alexander Brown's African Grove Theatre in New York City. The first known theatre in America created by people from the African Diaspora.

19/12/2023

"I've done my best" ~Ms.Tyson
Thank you for sharing your life and gifts with us. Rest In Love! HAPPY CICELY TYSON DAY!

16/11/2023

This is wonderful!!!!! Go Penumbra Theatre, Chris Berry and Erich McMillan-McCall!! Shout out to Project1voice for giving voice to African American theatre and to Penumbra Theatre for doing the work and creating a legacy!

"Founded in 1976 by award winning director Lou Bellamy, Penumbra is a nationally recognized organization housing Minnesota’s only Black professional theatre company. Penumbra has earned tremendous accolades, producing nearly 200 plays, over 30 premieres, and has cultivated generations of artists of color. Through our powerful art, we open hearts, rehearse strategies for change, and dispel dehumanizing narratives of people of color. (Taken from the website's About Us page)

14/11/2023

Listen to the history of the African Grove Theatre as told by Professor Michael D. Dinwiddie. To listen click the AFR Grove final. mov

To find out how to attend the inaugural production of The African Grove Theatre which stands on the very ground where the African Company of New York performed in 1821. Follow the link below.

https://tisch.nyu.edu/grad-acting/events/the-african-company-presents-richard-iii

12/11/2023

The Black Theatre Network celebrates Black Theatre Day! Congratulations Jesse Boyd Williams - Winner of the StudentQuest Monologue Competition . Also, in this photo is Dr. John Shevin Foster and K Zaheerah Sultan.

18/09/2023

This wonderful event happened on Black Theatre Day! At Conch Shell Productions (CSP), our mission is to awaken American audiences to the diverse emerging Caribbean diaspora and the Caribbean voices in theatre and film.
We effect social change by telling magical/complex human stories that awaken diverse audience. To learn more, go to: www.conchshellproductions.com https://www.youtube.com/live/ILQCQYxzTKs?si=0M9bQNLHiz1MDBoj

CONCH SHELL PRODUCTIONS wishes everyone HAPPY BLACK THEATRE DAY SEPTEMBER 17TH.This month's artist chat topic is: Creating interactive theater for today's au...