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BlackStage NY A THEATRE, FILM and TELEVISION Program of The National Foundation for Multi-Cultural Literacy, Inc. |
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FREDERICK DOUGLASS, SOJOURNER TRUTH, HARRIET TUBMAN. JAMES WELDON JOHNSON, ADA OVERTON WALKER, BOB COLE. JAMES HEWLITT, IRA ALDRIDGE, BERT WILLIAMS. THE AFRICAN GROVE DO ANY OF THOSE NAMES RING A BELL? WHETHER YOU RECOGNIZE SOME OR ALL OF THESE NAMES, MANY OF OUR YOUNG PEOPLE HAVE NEVER HEARD OF THEM AND HAVE NO IDEA OF THE CONTRIBUTIONS THEY HAVE MADE TO THE GREATNESS OF AMERICA. HELP BLACKSTAGE NY PRESERVE AND TEACH BLACK HISTORY.
TODAY OUR SCHOOLS HAVE LITTLE TIME, OR FEW RESOURCES TO TEACH AN IN-DEPTH HISTORY THAT IS RELEVANT TO THE AFRICAN AMERICAN EXPERIENCE. STAGE PRODUCTIONS BY BLACKSTAGE NY BRING A LIVING KNOWLEDGE, A SENSE OF HERITAGE AND SELF-WORTH TO BLACK YOUTH AND AN DEEPER AWARENESS OF RESPECT FOR BLACK AMERICANS TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC.
PRODUCTIONS SUCH AS: |
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| VISIT BLACKSTAGE/NY's FORUM Click above and Post your opinion 1. Which of today's African American performers is likely to go down in history as being "great?" |
ADA OVERTON WALKER GEORGE WALKER (Above photo) George Walker was best known as the partner to Bert Williams in the minstrel team, Williams and Walker. Although Bert Williams, a light-skinned man "blacked up" for performances, Walker, the darker-skinned of the two men, never did. Ada Walker was George's wife and a phenomenal performer in her own right. When George became too ill to perform just before his death, Ada donned his costume and went on in his place. They say that she was so good that the audience never knew the difference. |
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NEW PLAY IN PERFORMANCE FIFTY FORGIVENESS, a new short play written by Marjorie Edwards has been selected as an alternate for the 2007 Samuel French Festival. The Festival is annually presented in early June. Exact dates will be posted soon. The play stars Robert D'Amato and Willie Anne Gisentanner* as two middling adults confronting each other in their differing acceptances of "young lover" experiences. Directed by Carole Khan-White. |
Shakespearean Actor African Grove Theatre New York City 1821-1824 When black entrepreneur, actor and playwright William Brown opened his Off-Broadway African Grove Theatre in 1821, he and his starring performer James Hewlitt, along with an all-black cast, performed Shakespearean plays with such skill that they seduced white audiences away from the all-white Park Theatre located a few blocks away. Stephen Price, manager of the Park Theatre, sent rowdies to disrupt the African Grove performances. Send an email |
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