Nationwide — On September seventeenth, the third annual Black Theatre Day will likely be celebrated by the enduring legacy of the African Grove Theatre (AGT) and modern Black theatre establishments and organizations.
It’s an annual, worldwide “Day of Service and Solidarity” the place all are inspired to assist and interact with Black theatres, and is a collective effort launched by The Worldwide Black Theatre Summit, which is led by Dr. Monica White Ndounou, Affiliate Professor of Theater at Dartmouth Faculty and founding Govt Director of The CRAFT Institute.
Further assist is supplied by WACO Theatre Heart, Project1Voice, and Plowshares Theatre Firm with regional planning committees that embody Assist Black Theatre, African-American Shakespeare Firm, Birmingham Black Theatre Collective, the Hansberry Mission, the Black Theatre Community, and St. Louis Black Rep. Cohorts and allies all through the Black theatre subject embody quite a few collaborating organizations and supporters over the previous two years.
The African Grove Theatre (AGT), an organization of Black American and Afro-Caribbean artists, was based in New York Metropolis in 1821, by William Alexander Brown, a pioneering actor, playwright, producer, and free Black man, from the West Indies. The AGT’s inaugural efficiency was William Shakespeare’s Richard III, which opened on September 17, 1821. Although short-lived, the AGT left its mark on historical past as the primary identified skilled Black theatre in the US. Additionally, it cultivated the abilities of Black appearing legends James Hewlett and Ira Aldridge in addition to produced the primary, full-length Black-authored play written and carried out in the US; all necessary milestones for modern Black theatre.
Black Theatre Day is a worldwide celebration designed to acknowledge the vitality and vibrancy of Black theatre establishments in the US and world wide. The wealthy legacy of Black theatre stays robust as its future is consistently in danger. The late playwright August Wilson as soon as mentioned, “When you have no idea, I’ll inform you: Black theatre in America is alive, it’s vibrant, it’s important…it simply isn’t funded.” Constant and sustained assist and engagement is crucial to maintain Black theatre alive for generations to come back.
Moreover, Black theatres have efficiently launched and/or cultivated the careers of numerous creatives from numerous backgrounds in all facets of the humanities. This contains lots of the world’s most celebrated and completed artists who obtained their begin or labored at a Black theatre in some unspecified time in the future of their careers. These whose careers are related ultimately to Black theatres embody Sidney Poitier, Ruby Dee, Ossie Davis, James Earl Jones, Denzel Washington, Angela Bassett, Chadwick Boseman, Samuel L. Jackson, Phylicia Rashad, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, LaTanya Richardson-Jackson, Giancarlo Esposito, Debbie Allen, Charles Fuller, Ntozake Shange, Leslie Odom, Jr., S. Epatha Merkerson, Wynn Thomas, Michael Schultz, and hundreds of others.
Dr. Ndounou observes, “Black theatre’s sensible legacies and vivid futures are an outgrowth of the African Grove Theatre; stemming from the historic roots and modern branches of cultural traditions all through the African diaspora. The complicated and multi-faceted story of Black theatre, and the tales of Black life that Black theatres produce, are a real testomony to the ingenuity, tenacity, and collective energy of Black individuals and Black theatre establishments, even in probably the most dire circumstances.”
She elaborates, “Presently, solely seven Black theatres within the US personal their areas, fairly presumably fewer in locations just like the UK. There are near 100 Black theaters throughout the US. A lot of them survive on budgets of lower than $3 million a yr. Every has been made extra susceptible as a result of devastation of the converging pandemics ofCOVID-19 and racial injustice. Nonetheless, Black theatre persists regardless of distinctive challenges; serving communities all through the US, the Caribbean, Africa, and Europe. Black tales matter. Black theatres are worthy of assist.”
Gary Anderson of Plowshares Theatre Firm shares, “Black Theatre Day is a big day in American and African American historical past. It marks the anniversary of the inaugural opening night time for the African Grove Theatre in 1821. Each September seventeenth affords us the chance to pause and acknowledge the primary identified Black-led and centered theatre firm in the US. Earlier than our ancestors had been freely born residents of this nation, they hungered for a secure area the place they may very well be unfiltered, unedited, and resolute. At the present time celebrates the audacity of Black creatives who imagine within the significance of telling Black tales and uplifting the experiences of Black individuals.”
“Black Theatre and Black Theatre Day had been based as acts of resistance, resilience, and reclamation—Black pleasure. And in a time when our each day information feeds are inundated with photos of trauma and microaggressions, Black pleasure and Black Theatre are important now greater than ever,” says Erich McMillan-McCall, Founder/CEO of Project1Voice and a member of the Black Theatre Day Planning Committee.
This yr, Black Theatre Day will include a social media marketing campaign together with Black theatre celebrations and actions all through the nation and world wide.
Donate cash and/or different assets: $5 and/or 5 hours of service to Black theatres in your area and encourage 5 relations and associates to do the identical in theirs!
To enroll, become involved, and entry donation hyperlinks and particulars about Black Theatre Day celebrations in your space, go to www.thecraftinstitute.org/black-theatre-day
The CRAFT Institute is a Massachusetts-based nonprofit devoted to curating culturally inclusive ecosystems all through the world of arts and leisure by remodeling formal coaching and trade practices whereas selling equitable entry. Along with a broad vary of programming, actions, consulting and training, and occasions, CRAFT convened The 2018 Worldwide Black Theatre Summit (IBTS) at Dartmouth Faculty as a celebration and reconvening of “On Golden Pond,” the 1998 Nationwide Black Theatre Summit; reinvigorating legendary playwright August Wilson’s name to motion to assist Black theatres and Black artists.
The Worldwide Black Theatre Summit (IBTS) is a Suppose Tank with a biennial convening that brings collectively Black theatre establishments, students, and creatives in theatre, movie, tv, and associated media to community and strategize the way forward for Black storytelling throughout platforms by creating and reimagining financial, academic, and inventive fashions. It additionally convenes satellite tv for pc occasions centered on regional efforts. The Worldwide Black Theatre Summit launched Black Theatre Day in 2021 on the 2 hundredth anniversary of the African Grove Theatre.
To study extra about CRAFT and IBTS, to acquire further assets for Black Theatre Day, and to study extra about partnering organizations, subscribe at TheCraftInstitute.org. Keep related all year long on CreateEnsemble.com, the official sponsor for Black Theatre Day.
For press inquiries, contact Monica White Ndounou, The CRAFT Institute, Inc., 781-728-5979, mwndounou@thecraftinstitute.org
