Showing posts with label National Black Theatre Festival. Show all posts
Showing posts with label National Black Theatre Festival. Show all posts
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Tennessee State Univ Theatre’s “Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill” Chosen to Perform at the National Black Theatre Festival 8/8 (Winston-Salem)
Nashville, TN – The Tennessee State University Theatre production of “Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill,” by Lanie Robertson, has been chosen to perform at the National Black Theatre Festival in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, for its 20th Anniversary Festival during the week of August 3-8, 2009. “Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill” is one of four college productions chosen to perform as a part of the Fringe College component of the National Black Theatre Festival, whose “spotlight shines bright on the most professional collegiate theatre productions from around the world. NBTF Fringe is primarily a performance showcase for college and university students.”
“Lady Day” will be given two performances on Saturday, August 8th at 3:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. at this biennial Festival’s “International Celebration & Reunion of Spirit.” The NBTF highlights productions and celebrities from the most prestigious professional and semiprofessional theatre groups, as well as television and film artists and celebrities in America and internationally.
The TSU Theatre production, directed by Lawrence James, Ph.D., features student Ashley Bishop in the title role of Billie Holiday, with support from Alex White, II, Harold Pettigrew III, and Joel Diggs. Daryl Nettles, Ph.D., is musical director, who also performs as the piano accompanist character for Lady Day. The musical band is made complete with the musical virtuosity of Paul Deyo, Brook Sutton, and Rob Crawford. Professor Mark Collino is scenic and lighting designer, and technical manager.
The production of “Lady Day” was recently honored in February 2009 as one of the five Regional Finalist productions invited to perform at the Regional IV Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro, then subsequently selected as one of the nineteen Kennedy Center National Finalists.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Wendy Raquel Robinson and Ted Lange Co-Chairs for the 2009 National Black Theatre Festival (Winston-Salem)
The 2009 National Black Theatre Festival is very proud to announce that celebrity Co-chairs will be Wendy Raquel Robinson (television, film, stage actress, dancer and choreographer), and Ted Lange (a prolific actor of stage and screen, director, author, and educator). Robinson is best known for her role on “The Steve Harvey Show” but her career includes many appearances on television and in film. Lange is best known for his role as Issac Washington on the long-running television classic “The Love Boat”. A graduate of London’s Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, Lange has written seventeen plays and garnered multiple theatrical awards.
The 2009 National Black Theatre Festival (NBTF), one of the most historic and culturally significant events not only in the history of black theatre but American theatre, will once again be held in the city of Winston-Salem, North Carolina August 3 through August 8th. The festival founded by the late Larry Leon Hamlin will celebrate its 20 year anniversary. Officials say over 60,000 people are expected to attend the event. The event has more than an $8 million impact on the economy of Winston-Salem, known as Black Theatre Holy Ground!
The festival will open Monday August 3 with a star-studded gala. NBTF will be presenting special awards to industry greats during the Opening Gala. The festival will showcase between 25-30 black national and international theatre companies with over 100 performances throughout the festival. The shows will include some celebrity performances throughout the week.
The festival is also proud to bring back Don’t Bother Me, I Can’t Cope. This dynamic musical was performed at the first festival in 1989 and will commemorate the festival’s 20th anniversary.
Other components of the festival include workshops, a reader’s theatre of new works, a film festival, a poetry jam hosted by actor Malcolm Jamal Warner, youth celebrity project, a vendor’s market and much more.
The festival is also proud to bring back Don’t Bother Me, I Can’t Cope. This dynamic musical was performed at the first festival in 1989 and will commemorate the festival’s 20th anniversary.
Other components of the festival include workshops, a reader’s theatre of new works, a film festival, a poetry jam hosted by actor Malcolm Jamal Warner, youth celebrity project, a vendor’s market and much more.
NBTF is proud to be in partnership with the following sponsors this year:
City of Winston Salem, The Millennium Fund, Wachovia Corporation, Reynolds American, American Express, Forsyth County Tourist Development Authority, GMAC Insurance, Hanesbrands, Inc., Twin City Quarter, Bank of America, Branch Banking and Trust (BB&T), Truliant Federal Credit Union, Segmented marketing Services, Inc. (SMSi) and “The Marvtastic Society”.
NBTF is the international outreach program of the North Carolina Black Repertory Company founded by Larry Leon Hamlin. Ms. Gerry Patton is currently the Executive Director and Mabel Robinson is Artistic Director. The festival has been held biennially since 1989. The NBTF attracts thousands of national and international patrons, theatre professionals and scholars to Winston-Salem, N.C. The NBTF was named one of the top 100 events in North America. This is the only national black theatre festival in the country offering six consecutive days of professional theatre, film, poetry, workshops, seminars and shopping.
For additional information and a schedule of events, call the festival office at (336) 723-2266 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. To visit our website, please click the post's title.
City of Winston Salem, The Millennium Fund, Wachovia Corporation, Reynolds American, American Express, Forsyth County Tourist Development Authority, GMAC Insurance, Hanesbrands, Inc., Twin City Quarter, Bank of America, Branch Banking and Trust (BB&T), Truliant Federal Credit Union, Segmented marketing Services, Inc. (SMSi) and “The Marvtastic Society”.
NBTF is the international outreach program of the North Carolina Black Repertory Company founded by Larry Leon Hamlin. Ms. Gerry Patton is currently the Executive Director and Mabel Robinson is Artistic Director. The festival has been held biennially since 1989. The NBTF attracts thousands of national and international patrons, theatre professionals and scholars to Winston-Salem, N.C. The NBTF was named one of the top 100 events in North America. This is the only national black theatre festival in the country offering six consecutive days of professional theatre, film, poetry, workshops, seminars and shopping.
For additional information and a schedule of events, call the festival office at (336) 723-2266 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. To visit our website, please click the post's title.
Sunday, July 8, 2007
National Black Theatre Festival presents "Lipstick, Chilli, Grits and Grace" (Winston-Salem)
Lorey Hayes stars in Lipstick, Chilli, Grits and Grace at the 18th N
NATIONAL BLACK THEATRE FESTIVAL presents
NATIONAL BLACK THEATRE FESTIVAL presents
LIPSTICK, CHILLI, GRITS and GRACE
LIPSTICK, CHILLI, GRITS AND GRACE is a riveting ride through the secret world of people who collide across time, age, and ethnic barriers. Featuring the writings of Gus Edwards, Lorey Hayes & others. A Funny, 90 minute journey, sometimes heart wrenching in which two actresses, one Black and one Hispanic allow you to glimpse of some forbidden lives. From Mavis, the Jamaican woman who discovers love and jazz through an illicit affair; Jahar, the gay man who falls into the Hudson River and is reborn; Clydee and Ms. Scranton, two modern day business women who handle “the business of business” with deadly seriousness to the hilarious antics of “Ten at The end.” The show was conceived by its stars, Lorey Hayes and Marie Barrientos and written by them with the help of their director Imani. Literary contributions to the script were made by such noted writers as Gus Edwards, Richard Carter and S. Pearl.
Lorey Hayes is a playwright and actress of screen, stage and television, having performed on and off Broadway and across the continent, and has starred on television and in many films including DREAMGIRLS (starring Beyonce, Eddie Murphy and Academy Award winner Jennifer Hudson). With a desire to create vivid characters with substance and telling her own stories, Lorey began writing with fervor and her plays have been performed from Los Angeles to New York receiving critical acclaim and awards including the coveted Audelco award. Currently, a Screenwriting Fellow for the Bill Cosby/Guy Hanks Screenwriting Program at USC, Lorey continues to hone her writing skills. Excerpts from several of Lorey’s plays are currently being featured in the CBS, ABC, NBC and Fox Diversity Showcases. (See Biography below.) For Interviews, please contact Miss Hayes at (323) 363-0596.
LOREY HAYES BIO
Playwright/Actress, Lorey Hayes is an original member of the cast of “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enough” by Ntozake Shange and can be seen in the movie DREAM GIRLS, with Eddie Murphy and Beyonce,. She can currently be seen in THE MTV SERIES “SHORT CIRCUITZ” starring Nick Cannon. Ms. Hayes is a 2007 Bill Cosby Screenwriting Fellow for the Guy Hanks /Marvin Miller Program at USC. 5 Fellows are chosen from hundreds of applicants around the country for a special mentoring program with Hollywood ’s recognized Industry Professionals. Fellows conclude the program with a completed screenplay that is marketed to the Film Industry. Her newest play “THE DRAGONFLY TALE” co-written with Mr. Bobby Crear is a 2007 winner of the Alabama Shakespeare Festival’s Southern Writer’s Project and presented in the ASF May Festival.She has starred on and off Broadway, in England and numerous regional theaters throughout the country. She is a familiar face on television and has guest starred on several award-winning shows. She has starred in plays with such noted performers as Kevin Bacon, Samuel L. Jackson, Morgan Freeman, Jimmy Smits and Melba Moore. She played in London , England starring as Eunice Evers in Miss Ever’s Boys at the Royal Shakespeare Festival. Some television credits include: “Family Law”, “Judging Amy”, “ Chicago Hope”, “Sister, Sister”, “All My Children”, “Another World”, “Ryan’s Hope” and “The Doctors”.Ms. Hayes honed her writing skills in New York at The Negro Ensemble Company, Frank Silvera’s Writer’s Workshop, Roger Furman Theater, The Frederick Douglas Creative Arts Center and Los Angeles’ Mark Taper Forum. Her plays have received numerous productions and readings. Her play “Power Play” just closed a three month run at The Billie Holiday Theater in New York with outstanding reviews. The Lincoln Center Library has just given “Power Play” the honor of inclusion in their prestigious Bound Edition of “Highlights from the 2004-2005 New York Theater Season”. In its previous New York production (1996), “Power Play” won the coveted Audelco Award for Best play.For three consecutive years, Ms. Hayes’ plays have been chosen for the Los Angeles , California ’s Skirball Celebrity Reading Gala “Discovering New Voices”, to benefit Danny Glover’s Robey Theater. Excerpts from several plays are currently being featured in the CBS, ABC, NBC and Fox Diversity Showcases.She recently wrote and performed her one-woman show “Little Lorey’s Song” under the careful direction of London’s Irene Pinn, dramaturge credited with participating in the development of Lily Tomlin’s award-winning “In Search of Intelligent Life in the Universe”. Ms. Hayes is also an accomplished teaching artist adept at utilizing drama and writing to foster literacy and develop creative potential in various age ranges. She is skilled at inspiring students to write, direct and produce plays, events and assembly activities. Her program: THE MIND GYM, Writing from a Place of Passion, has helped first time and seasoned writers successfully produce award-winning, plays, books and short stories. For More About Lorey Hayes, visit her website: www.loreyhayes.com. Also Available at: www.myfirstchapter.com.
Thursday, June 7, 2007
Larry Leon Hamlin, Founder of the National Black Theatre Festival, Passes Away
Larry Leon Hamlin, founder of the National Black Theatre Festival, passed away Wednesday, June 6th. The cause of Hamlin's death was not immediately available. He was 58.
Hamlin was a colorful character, who wore big sunglasses and favored purple in the clothes he wore. He often said things were "marvatastic." Marvtastic is Hamlin's trademark personal expression, a mix of marvelous and fantastic.
The National Black Theatre Festival, which began in 1989, has become a showcase for black theater that attracts thousands of patrons every other summer to Winston-Salem. Such national publications as The New York Times and Time magazine have written about it.
The 2007 festival will begin July 30.
Our sympathies are extended to his family. He was a man of vision and passion and will be sorely missed.
To see the entire article from the Winston-Salem Journal, please click here.
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