Negro Ensemble Company News

With live audience events finally able to return to New York art houses, 'Used and Borrowed Time,' written and directed by Sophia Romma, will have its red carpet world premiere May 7 at 7:00 PM at Quad Cinema, 34 West 13th Street in Greenwich Village.

For more than four decades, The St. Louis Black Rep’s founder and Producing Director, Ron Himes has dedicated his life to staging productions from the African American perspective to heighten the social and cultural awareness of audiences in the St Louis area and beyond. He has produced and directed more than 200 plays at The Black Rep, but his life’s work goes well beyond producing, directing and staging theatrical events. The Black Rep’s award winning education programs that he created provides training and experience for children, teens and interns seeking education and a career in the arts. These programs provide an opportunity for youth to explore their talents and chart a course for the future.

The St. Louis Black Repertory Company continues its season of virtual programming with a mainstage production of HOME, a moving love story by American Playwright and screenwriter Samm-Art Williams. The production will be streamed on Vimeo beginning April 15 and run through April 25. Home was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Play and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding New Play. It premiered at The Negro Ensemble Company and transferred to Broadway in 1980.

Roundabout has announced The Refocus Project, an annual program dedicated to elevating rarely produced and formerly marginalized theatrical voices from communities underrepresented or historically overlooked in the American theatre.

L. Scott Caldwell will lead Blumhouse and Amazon’s “Bingo,” the latest thriller as part of the “Welcome to the Blumhouse” series. Caldwell will star as Delores, the “witty, loyal and tough grandmother” at the center of “Bingo’s” story.

Center Theatre Group has added eight new members to its Board of Directors over the course of this season, as the organization continues building strong support from across the community throughout the prolonged closures of its theatres as a result of the pandemic, announced Board President Kiki Ramos Gindler. Growing its Board to 50 members, its newest dedicated supporters are Michelle A. Avan, Wendy Chang, Noah Francis, Ron Gillyard, Max Gousse, Marsha Tauber Sallai, Richard Weitz and Hattie Winston.

BroadwayWorld is saddened to report that playwright, actor, director, and theatrical producer Douglas Turner Ward has passed away. He was 90 years old.

 As part of 'New Federal Theatre Celebrates Black History Month,' Woodie King, Jr.'s New Federal Theatre is offering a live streaming virtual reading of 'Widows' by Mfundi Vundla on February 27 at 7:00 PM. The reading will be available on-demand through March 1. 

The Board of Directors of New York Theatre Barn have announced the exciting addition of four new members to its board: Robin Gorman Newman, Jiles King, Matt Redmond and Kareem Washington. New York Theatre Barn is a non-profit anti-racist theatre company that has served as a home for original culture shifting musicals during incubation since 2007.

Broadway might be dark, but that doesn't mean that theatre isn't happening everywhere! Below, check out where you can get your daily fix of Broadway this weekend, January 23-24, 2020.

At Home Artist Project Presents: A Short Play Festival, featuring three short length plays. At Home Artists Project is a virtual space for new work.

The Black Seed has announced that close to 100 Black theatres across the country will receive grants ranging from $10,000 to $150,000.

Presented in partnership with B.L.A.C.T ATL, Inc., Black Theatre and the Black Lives Matter Movement will center on the role of Black theatre companies in shaping, influencing, and amplifying the Black Lives Matter movement, as well as the role that Black theatre companies have historically played in giving a voice to civil rights.

The screen adaptation of Ma Rainey's Black Bottom was brought to life by the legendary Ruben Santiago-Hudson, whose connection to August Wilson spans from the personal to professional - not only was he a close friend of the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, but Santiago-Hudson has established himself as a key interpreter of Wilson's work.

Beginning Thursday, December 10, 2020, Marcia Pendelton, president and founder of Walk Tall Girl Productions, will produce and host the new radio program, 'Backstage Stories.' The hour-long broadcast will air on WBAI FM (99.5 FM) in the Metropolitan New York City region and stream internationally on WBAI.org on Thursdays from 9:00 pm to 10:00 pm.

The 48th Annual Vivian Robinson AUDELCO Awards occurred virtually on Monday, November 30, 2020 at 7pm hosted by Roger Guenveur Smith, the AUDELCO award winning actor, best known for his “The Huey P. Newton Story” and as Smiley in Spike Lee’s “Do the Right Thing”! and LaChanze, AUDELCO award winner for “The Secret Life of Bees” and 2006 Tony award winner for “The Color Purple”. 

The 48th Annual Vivian Robinson AUDELCO Awards will occur virtually on Monday, November 30, 2020 at 7pm and will be hosted by Roger Guenveur Smith, the AUDELCO award winning actor, best known for his 'The Huey P. Newton Story' and as Smiley in Spike Lee's 'Do the Right Thing'!

AUDELCO has announced the nominees for its 2020 'VIV' Awards, honoring excellence in Black Theatre.

When COVID-19 became a household name, Irvington Theater worked quickly to provide free, online programming to keep their audience members connected. And because it was so successful this summer, one such offering is back: the Arts Incubator offers a glimpse into the creative process by showcasing works-in-progress from artists across mediums.

Broadway might be dark, but that doesn't mean that theatre isn't happening everywhere! Below, check out where you can get your daily fix of Broadway this weekend, October 24-25, 2020.