“Never underestimate the power of dreams and the influence of the human spirit. We are all the same in this notion: The potential for greatness lives within each of us.”
– Wilma Rudolph

“Always dream and shoot higher than you know you can do. Don’t bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself.”
– William Faulkner

“My favorite piece of music is the one we hear all the time if we are quiet.”
– John Cage

“In a moment of grace, we can grasp eternity in the palm of our hand. This is the gift given to creative individuals who can identify with the mysteries of life through art.”
– Marcel Marceau:


Articles

Kenny Leon’s True Colors Theatre Company

Black Theatre United

Mabou Mines

Theater J

Pangea World Theater

Round House Theatre

Bucks County Playhouse

Charleston Stage

Maryland Ensemble Theatre

Chesapeake Shakespeare Company

PURE Theatre Company

Ronald Rand’s “CREATE! How Extraordinary People Live to Create and Create to Live”

Virginia Stage Company

Constellation Theatre Company

League of Professional Theatre Women

Maryland Hall

BlackRock Center for the Arts

Great American Songbook Foundation & Academy

Kennedy Center REACH

Inter Act Art Theatre

“Grand Ball in the Belle Epoch” – Edwardian Period Style Salon

 

“Before you take a decision, consider its effect on the next seven generations.”
– Hopi proverb:

“Live! Live the wonderful life that is in you! Let nothing be lost upon you. Be always searching for new sensations. Be afraid of nothing.”
– Oscar Wilde

“Write if you will: but write about the world as it is and as you think it ought to be and must be—if there is to be a world.”
– Lorraine Hansberry

Black Theatre United

Black Theatre United (BTU), a newly launched coalition of performers, directors, writers, technicians, producers, and stage managers has been created to inspire industry-wide reform and to combat industry-wide systemic racism.

At the BTU website it states: "As members of the black theatre community we stand together to help protect black people, black talent, and black lives of all shapes and orientations in theatre and communities across the country. Our voices are united to empower our community through activism in the pursuit of justice and equality for the betterment of all humanity. We need every voice lifted and every heart opened, aligned with ours to fight against racist ideologies that have divided us by devaluing our lives. We will not be silent. We will be seen. We will be heard. We are here. Join Us."

BTU’s mission includes four goals: awareness, accountability, advocacy, and action. The coalition will work at both a community level and national scale to elevate anti-racist causes, while also supporting fellow Black members of the theatre community through the formation of an inquiry committee to assess past practices in the industry, as well as the development of mentorship, scholarship, and internship opportunities for Black youth.

Among its founding members include Lisa Dawn Cave, Darius de Haas, Brandon Victor Dixon, Carin Ford, Capathia Jenkins, LaChanze, Adriane Lenox, Kenny Leon, Norm Lewis, Audra McDonald, Michael McElroy, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Wendell Pierce, Billy Porter, Phylicia Rashad, Allyson Tucker, Tamara Tunie, Lillias White, NaTasha Yvette Williams, Schele Williams, and Vanessa Williams.

Members have been joined by several artists including Viola Davis, Danielle Brooks, Daveed Diggs, Cynthia Erivo, Renée Elise Goldsberry, David Alan Grier, Samuel and LaTanya Jackson, Delroy Lindo, Leslie Uggams, and Adrienne Warren.

Two of BTU's first major initiatives will focus on the 2020 census and ensure that minority communities are represented. Tony winners McDonald and Rashad will take part in the Stacey Abrams-founded Fair Count's "Sisters Sip" Zoom happy hour on June 17; the group will also partner with Harness (started by America Ferrera, Wilmer Valderrama, and Ryan Piers Williams) to launch their #BeCounted campaign. The group's announcement comes on the heels of the Broadway Advocacy Coalition's Broadway for Black Lives Matter Again, a three-day forum. For info: joinus@blacktheatreunited.com



“One wishes to know something but the answer is in a form of being more aware – of being open to a richer level of experience.” 
- Peter Brook

The Soul of the American Actor Newspaper