Kamilah Forbes News

The Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation (SDCF), the not-for-profit foundation affiliated with Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, presents the third annual SDCF Awards including the Gordon Davidson Award, Zelda Fichandler Award, Joe A. Callaway Awards, and Breakout Award.

Sundance Institute's Theatre Program will support three ambitious new works for the stage, and their four women creators, at this year's two-week Theatre Lab at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA). The Lab, which runs from November 10 to November 24th, will feature the concentrated and abundant time and resources, including individual casting from a dedicated acting company and daily rehearsals, that has long been a signature of Sundance's Labs.

Additional actors, activists and artists are signing on to the Apollo Theater's production of Between the World and Me running Friday, Oct. 25 through Monday, Oct. 28.

THE APOLLO, directed by Oscar® and Emmy® winner Roger Ross Williams, chronicles the legacy of New York City's landmark Apollo Theater, covering the rich history of the storied performance space over its 85 years. What began as a refuge for marginalized artists emerged as a hallowed hall of black excellence and empowerment. In the film, Williams reflects on the struggle of black lives in America, the role that art plays in that struggle, and the part the Apollo Theater continues to play in the cultural conversation.

The Apollo Theater announced today details outlining a partnership with the Harlem-based non-profit ImageNation Cinema Foundation to present ImageNation's Cocktails & Cinema, a quarterly social event which will feature screenings of films and media that showcase the global Black experience. The Theater proudly launches its new series with an advance screening of the film Clemency on November 21 at 7:00 p.m. Clemency, winner of the 2019 Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize, was written and directed by Chinonye Chukwu, the first Black woman to win the Festival's top prize, and stars Alfre Woodard, Aldis Hodge, and Wendell Pierce. The feature film will be preceded by a reception and live performance by DJ Reborn beginning at 6:00 p.m., followed by a Q&A after the film.

The Apollo Theater today announced that it has granted an exclusive license to Yoshimoto Kogyo Co., Ltd., the largest entertainment company in Japan, to produce Apollo Amateur Night Japan 2019. Amateur Night at the Apollo , the original, large-scale talent show and, after 85 years, one of the longest-running continuous events in New York City, is globally recognized as one of the most influential and celebrated platforms for emerging artists to showcase their talents.

Emmy and 2019 Tony Award-winning actor, singer, dancer, director, choreographer, playwright and educator André De Shields received the 2019 Project1Voice Lifetime Achievement Award.

Ballet Hispánico, the nation's premier Latino dance organization, returns to the Apollo stage on Friday and Saturday, November 22 and 23, 2019 at 8:00pm with a program that continues its commitment to staging works by female, Latinx choreographers. Ballet Hispánico is sponsored by GOYA, which has sponsored the company since 1977.

Ballet Hispánico, the nation's premier Latino dance organization, returns to the Apollo stage on Friday and Saturday, November 22 and 23, 2019 at 8:00 p.m. with a program that continues its commitment to staging works by female, Latinx choreographers. Ballet Hispánico is sponsored by GOYA, which has sponsored the company since 1977.

Ballet Hispánico, the nation's premier Latino dance organization, returns to the Apollo stage on Friday and Saturday, November 22 and 23, 2019 at 8:00pm with a program that continues its commitment to staging works by female, Latinx choreographers. Ballet Hispánico is sponsored by GOYA, which has sponsored the company since 1977.

Ballet Hispánico, the nation's premier Latino dance organization, returns to the Apollo stage on Friday and Saturday, November 22 and 23, 2019 at 8:00pm with a program that continues its commitment to staging works by female, Latinx choreographers. Ballet Hispánico is sponsored by GOYA, which has sponsored the company since 1977.

Today, AUDELCO (Audience Development Committee) President Jackie Jeffries , Project1Voice Founder and CEO Erich McMillan-McCall , Marcia Pendelton , President of Walk Tall Girl Productions/Black Theater Online, and the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture (Kevin Young, Director, Schomburg Center) announced THE THEATERMAKERS - A Black Theater Preview: Fall Edition.

The Apollo Theater announced today that media mogul Oprah Winfrey will join critically acclaimed writer, artist and thinker Ta-Nehisi Coates tonight as he begins his national book tour for his latest work, The Water Dancer, on the world-famous Apollo stage. The program will take place on Monday, September 23 at 7:00 p.m.

Ballet Hispánico, the nation's premier Latino dance organization, returns to the Apollo stage on Friday and Saturday, November 22 and 23, 2019 at 8:00pm with a program that continues its commitment to staging works by female, Latinx choreographers. Ballet Hispánico is sponsored by GOYA, which has sponsored the company since 1977.

The Apollo Theater today announced that Emmy, GRAMMY, and Oscar-winning rapper, actor, activist, and best-selling author Common will perform at the Theater, for a special one-night only show as part of the Apollo's Fall 2019 season. The concert, featuring new music from his latest studio album Let Love, will showcase Common's own unique style and personal stories of the people and experiences that have led to a greater understanding of love and all it has to offer.

Tony Award-nominated Producer Matthew Weaver (Rock of Ages) and Jeffrey Tick (former owner of Broadway's Helen Hayes Theater), alongside new general producing partner Richard Gay (5Pack Entertainment founder, and former EVP of Viacom's Music Networks & BET Networks) announce the creative team and producing team for the Broadway-bound musical SOUL TRAIN, inspired by the iconic television series created and hosted by Don Cornelius. SOUL TRAIN will feature a trailblazing creative team with 2019 Tony Award Nominated and MacArthur Genius Grant-winning playwright Dominique Morisseau (Ain't Too Proud, The Detroit Project), the Apollo Theater's Kamilah Forbes (By the Way, Meet Vera Stark; The Mountaintop, Assoc.) as director, and 2019 Tony Award Nominee Camille A. Brown (Choir Boy, Emmy-winning Jesus Christ Superstar on NBC; Tony-winning revival of Once on This Island) as choreographer. The production is planning a Broadway premiere in 2021 in celebration of the landmark series' 50th Anniversary.

2019 Tony winner Andre De Shields has been attending The National Black Theatre Festival® (NBTF) in Winston-Salem, N. C. since 1995. Dubbed the 'Black Theatre Holy Ground,' NBTF is the international outreach program of the North Carolina Black Repertory Company, founded by the late Larry Leon Hamlin in 1979. The Festival, also founded by Hamlin, has been held biennially since 1989. The NCBRC celebrated its 40th anniversary this year, while the NBTF celebrated its 30th.

Ballet Hispánico, the nation's premier Latino dance organization, returns to the Apollo stage on Friday and Saturday, November 22 and 23, 2019 at 8:00pm with a program that continues its commitment to staging works by female, Latinx choreographers. Ballet Hispánico is sponsored by GOYA, which has sponsored the company since 1977. 

The Apollo Theater today announced details of its 2019 fall season, featuring myriad music, dance, and theater performances and film screenings that expand the nonprofit theater's role as a partner, commissioner, and co-producer of programming that articulates African American narratives.

On Thursday, August 15 at 7:00 p.m., the Apollo Theater in partnership with Spectrum News NY1, WLBS, and New York Amsterdam News will present Apollo Uptown Hall: Harlem's Culture - Past. Present. Future. The panel will gather thought leaders from some of Harlem's most influential arts organizations to celebrate milestone anniversaries in the Harlem arts community and discuss the roles these cultural organizations will play in either preserving traditions or advancing change. The event is free with RSVP.