Black Theatre Troupe's SINGLE BLACK FEMALE carries a righteous kick in the consciousness that merits theatregoers' attention. Strong turns by Melvina Jones-Leslie and Cynnita Agent in David Hemphill-directed hit. Runs through June 9th at the Helen K. Mason Performing Arts Center in Phoenix.
The Ensemble Theatre special project series entitled: Celebrating the Creative Journeywill include its BOLD Women's Leadership Network Master Classes facilitated by a roster of all-female arts industry leaders, Adult Sessions (Men and Women) Saturday, October 27, 2018, 9:00 a.m.-3:30 p.m. and Teen Sessions (Girls Age 13-19) Saturday, November 10, 2018 Noon-3:00 p.m. Main Street, Houston, TX 77002.
MONROE, a world premiere production, directed by Lara Toner Haddock, is the latest play by Lisa B. Thompson. The script is a heart warming and funny look at a Southern family. What makes it a remarkable evening of theatre is that it also shows how racial terror affects the minds and lives of these African Americans and their great strength that allows them to maintain their faith in a better tomorrow.Thompson has created some wonderful characters in this new play and shows that she has a deft hand at creating dialogue that leaps off the page. There's great wit here as well as heart. The scenes between the three women in the cast are absolutely delightful and the three actresses wring every possible laugh out of the audience with ease. MONROE reveals Thompson be a writer of great range as this new work is worlds away from her award winning play Underground, which won the 2017 Austin Critics' Table David Mark Cohen New Play Award.
Lisa B. Thompson burst onto the Austin theatre scene in a big way last season with her play UNDERGROUND, which was not only nominated for most of the awards given in Austin, but also managed to walk away with a few. She capped off the season by winning the New Play award from Austin Playhouse's annual playwrighting contest. The contest winning play, MONROE, is opening at Austin Playhouse on September 7th in a World Premiere production. Thompson, besides these two plays, is also the author of the book Beyond The Black Lady: Sexuality And The New African American Middle Class (University of Illinois Press, 2009) which received Honorable Mention in competition for the Gloria E. Anzaldua Book Prize from the National Women's Studies Association. Her work has appeared in Theatre Journal, Theatre Survey, Finding A Way Home: A Critical Assessment Of Walter Mosley's Fiction (University Press of Mississippi, 2008), and From Bourgeois to Boojie: Black Middle-Class Performances (Wayne State University Press, 2011). Her plays include Single Black Female (Samuel French, Inc., 2012) which has been produced throughout the U.S. and Canada.
BroadwayWorld recently had the opportunity to sit down with Thompson to talk, in depth, about her new play MONROE, right before it makes its World Premiere at Austin Playhouse to open their season.
Following a record-breaking season last year, Black Theatre Troupe prepares to open its 2018/19 season. The longest continually-running Black theatre company in the United States, Black Theatre Troupe will produce six productions in the coming year, including two new collaborations with noted organizations Tempe Center for the Arts and Childsplay.
Following a record-breaking season last year, Black Theatre Troupe prepares to open its 2018/19 season. The longest continually-running Black theatre company in the United States, Black Theatre Troupe will produce six productions in the coming year, including two new collaborations with noted organizations Tempe Center for the Arts and Childsplay.
Austin Playhouse is thrilled to open its 2018 - 2019 season with the world premiere of Monroe by local playwright Dr. Lisa B. Thompson. The play was a winner of the Austin Playhouse Festival of New Texas Plays, receiving a staged reading in April 2018.
Austin Playhouse recently produced staged readings of the three winning plays from their Festival of New Texas Plays. EIDOPHUSIKON by Reina Hardy kicked off the festival on Friday, April 27, NUTSHELL by C. Denby Swanson was on Saturday, April 28, and MONROE by Lisa B. Thompson concluded the lineup on Sunday, April 29. Along with the professional staged reading, which featured Austin Playhouse directors and company members, each of the winning playwrights received a $500 prize.
The 2017 awards honor productions which opened between October 1, 2016 and September 30, 2017. Nominations were completely reader-submitted and after the nomination period ended October 31, BroadwayWorld's local editors proofed the list for eligibility and errors.
The 2017 awards honor productions which opened between October 1, 2016 and September 30, 2017. Nominations were completely reader-submitted and after the nomination period ended October 31, BroadwayWorld's local editors proofed the list for eligibility and errors.
The 2017 awards honor productions which opened between October 1, 2016 and September 30, 2017. Nominations were completely reader-submitted and after the nomination period ended October 31, BroadwayWorld's local editors proofed the list for eligibility and errors.
The 2017 awards honor productions which opened between October 1, 2016 and September 30, 2017. Nominations were completely reader-submitted and after the nomination period ended October 31, BroadwayWorld's local editors proofed the list for eligibility and errors.
The 2017 awards honor productions which opened between October 1, 2016 and September 30, 2017. Nominations were completely reader-submitted and after the nomination period ended October 31, BroadwayWorld's local editors proofed the list for eligibility and errors.
The 2017 awards honor productions which opened between October 1, 2016 and September 30, 2017. Nominations were completely reader-submitted and after the nomination period ended October 31, BroadwayWorld's local editors proofed the list for eligibility and errors.
UNDERGROUND, a taut new psychological and political thriller by Lisa B. Thompson, is currently in its World Premiere production at The VORTEX. UNDERGROUND examines African American activists, artists, and intellectuals and how they have responded from the Civil Rights Movement to the Black Lives Matter movement and beyond. The play takes a head-on look at where we are in the long fight for equality in our current political climate and what survival may look like over the next four years and beyond. This is an unflinching look at the possible aftermath of the appointment of white supremacists to high-ranking positions in the executive branch. This two person drama is set in the very near future and flashes backto their first encounter. At the core, UNDERGROUND asks the question: how far would you go to protect your people?
Continuing our series of articles about Austin performing companies and the artists behind them, we caught up recently with the very busy Bonnie Cullum of The Vortex to ask her about the past, present and future of the popular East Austin venue.
'Single Black Female' is now on the Crossroads Theatre company Stage through October 23rd. Written by Lisa B. Thompson and directed by Shirley Jo Finney, this play is a theatrical gem.
Single Black Female, Lisa B. Thompson's two-woman comedy exploring the lives of 30-something middle-class African American women in urban America, will open Crossroads Theatre Company's 2016-17 season, Oct. 6-23.
Single Black Female, Lisa B. Thompson's two-woman comedy exploring the lives of 30-something middle-class African American women in urban America, will open Crossroads Theatre Company's 2016-17 season, Oct. 6-23.