Interview: Zell Miller III of AND SHE WAS LOVED at Black Rose Theater

Austin’s theatre community has a new company. Black Rose Theater ATX, founded by longtime Austin artist Zell Miller III, is setting out to create a home for Black and Brown artists, emerging voices, and work rooted in Austin’s artistic history while looking toward its future.

BroadwayWorld Austin spoke with Miller about the inspiration behind Black Rose Theater ATX, its artistic vision, and why he chose a world premiere to introduce the company to Austin.

What was the driving force behind the launch of Black Rose Theater?

The driving force behind launching Black Rose Theater ATX was a combination of legacy, necessity, and love. I was raised in Austin, and I have spent much of my life making theater, writing, mentoring young artists, and creating spaces for voices that too often have not been allowed to be heard. I reached a point where I knew I didn’t just want to keep asking for space; I wanted to build the space.

The name Black Rose comes from my mother, Vernell Miller. Later in her life, she got a black rose tattoo on her ankle. It was something she had wanted since she was young, and finally getting it represented a kind of freedom: the freedom to choose for herself simply because it brought her joy.

After losing my mother and, only 16 months later, my mentor, the legendary theater artist Laurie Carlos, I began thinking deeply about legacy, purpose, and what we leave behind. Black Rose Theater ATX grew out of that reflection.

I wanted to create a home where Black and Brown artists could tell our stories without having to explain or justify why those stories matter; where emerging artists could work alongside seasoned professionals; where young people could discover their voices; and where Austin audiences could experience theater that is fearless, experimental, joyful, challenging, and deeply human.

I reached a point where I knew I didn’t just want to keep asking for space; I wanted to build the space.

In many ways, launching this company is about the same freedom my mother expressed through that black rose tattoo: the freedom to say, "This is who I am. This is what I want to create. And I don’t need permission to bloom."

What unique artistic voice do you hope to bring to the Austin community?

The first thing I want to make clear is that I am now shaping the voice of Black Rose Theater ATX, and this is different from simply shaping my own artistic voice. I have spent more than 26 years working as an individual artist in this city. Now I have the pleasure, and responsibility, of flexing a different muscle: my producer muscle. I get to open doors for other voices to sing.

The voice I hope Black Rose Theater ATX brings to Austin is one rooted in history but unafraid to experiment, disrupt, and create something new.

Central to our work is the Jazz Aesthetic performance method. Jazz teaches us that structure and freedom can exist together. It embraces improvisation, rhythm, call-and-response, repetition, collaboration, individual expression, and, most importantly, listening. We bring those principles into the rehearsal room and onto the stage.

Our productions can combine theater, poetry, movement, music, dance, hip-hop, visual art, and improvisation. I want our audiences to feel that they are not simply watching a play, they are experiencing something alive, where the energy between performer, story, and audience matters.

Preservation, to me, does not mean putting our history behind glass. We preserve a legacy by allowing it to breathe, evolve, and inspire what comes next.

Just as important is creating space for new and young voices. This year, our youth playwriting workshop will bring young writers together to create an original script inspired by the ethos of "The Breakfast Club". These young artists will explore what it means to be a teenager today, and their lives and perspectives will become the foundation for something entirely their own.

Next year, we are excited to collaborate with ACC professor and poet Prudence Arceneaux to bring her book "Proprioception", honored by the Texas Institute of Letters in 2026, from the page to the stage.

After 26 years of telling stories as an individual artist, I now have the opportunity to help build a space where other people can tell their stories.

What have been the major challenges of launching a brand-new theatre company in Austin?

So far, launching Black Rose Theater ATX has actually been a remarkably seamless transition. We were fortunate early on to work with Barry Silverberg at Austin Community College, who helped guide us through the paperwork and process of establishing our nonprofit. We have a committed board that believes in Black Rose Theater ATX's mission.

One of our biggest challenges has been name recognition, not necessarily recognition of me as an artist, but recognition of me in this new role. I have spent more than 26 years creating work in Austin and have been fortunate to be recognized as an Austin Arts Hall of Fame artist. Now, I am asking the community to see me sitting in a different chair.

Another adjustment has been learning how to work within the structure of a board-led nonprofit. And, like almost every new nonprofit arts organization, fundraising is an ongoing challenge. Turning our vision into a sustainable organization requires resources, relationships, partnerships, and people willing to invest in what we are building.

The challenge now is making sure Austin understands that I am sitting in a new chair, and that through Black Rose Theater ATX, I am working to create more chairs for other artists to sit in as well.

What was the thought behind choosing a new play, a world premiere, for your first production?

We wanted to be fearless in our introduction and fearless in our entrance. If Black Rose Theater ATX was going to announce itself to Austin, we wanted our first production to demonstrate exactly who we are, what we value, and the kind of work we intend to put into the world.

And She Was Loved is deeply personal. The play honors the memory and legacy of my mother, Vernell Miller, and my theatrical mother and mentor, the legendary Laurie Carlos. These two extraordinary Black women shaped who I am as a man and as an artist.

The production also allowed us to put our mission into practice right away. We had the opportunity to open the door for world-class tap dancer Siobhan Alexis to step into a theatrical role that allows audiences to experience the full range of her artistry. At the same time, I get to share the stage with my daughter, Marley Miller, as she participates in a work that honors the life and legacy of her grandmother. There is something incredibly powerful about having those generations connected through art.

At the heart of our company's core beliefs is a commitment to honoring, protecting, and amplifying the voices of Black and Brown women. And She Was Loved does that unapologetically.

While this choreopoem is a fierce introduction to Black Rose Theater ATX, it is also something much more intimate. It is a healing tool. It has allowed me to confront grief, transform memory into art, and find joy in remembering these women rather than only mourning their absence.

We could have introduced Black Rose Theater ATX with something familiar and proven. Instead, we chose to introduce ourselves with something new, vulnerable, personal, and fearless.

What do you want audiences to know about the work you plan for Black Rose Theater?

I want audiences to know that when they come to see a Black Rose Theater ATX production, they should expect the unexpected. Our work will center Black and Brown voices, marginalized communities, and stories that have too often been pushed to the edges, but these stories are ultimately about the human experience.

At the center of our work is “The Jazz Aesthetic.” A Black Rose production might combine theater, poetry, dance, live music, hip-hop, visual art, movement, and improvisation.

There will be world premieres. There will be reimagined classics. There will be work for young people and families, as well as challenging work for adult audiences. Some productions may make you laugh. Some may make you uncomfortable. Some may feel like a concert, a ritual, a block party, a poetry reading, or something we haven't even found a name for yet. But whatever form the work takes, I want it to have soul.

We are not interested in telling Austin what Black theater *was*. We want to be part of defining what Black theater can become.

World premiere of AND SHE WAS LOVED
Written by Zell Miller III
Sep 3rd through Sep 12th, 2026
Thursdays to Saturdays at 8 p.m
Black Rose Theater at Hyde Park Theatre
511 West 43rd Street, Austin 78751

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