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All donations are welcome and are tax-deductible through Shunpike, Inc.
If you would like to support our work, please use the this link.
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Introducing...
Our new partnership with True Colors Theatre Company of Atlanta
The Hansberry Project and True Colors Theatre Company announce the pilot year of The Drinking Gourd: Black Writers at Work, a new play program that will create a network of Black theatres linked in the shared goal to co-commission, co-develop, and co-premiere the work of Black artists across the country. Jamil Jude, Artistic Director at True Colors, conceived of the idea in response to the dearth of Black work being produced on the American Theatre stage. Hansberry Project Director Valerie Curtis Newton, who provided the name for this program, describes it a way to “create a space where the entire community can be enriched by the voices of professional Black artists, reflecting autonomous concerns, investigations, dreams, and artistic expression.” Jude concurs, “True Colors’ mission challenges us to connect our audience with leading and emerging voices in American theatre today who are illuminating the experiences of Black people and telling bold stories that grow from the African diaspora. The Drinking Gourd allows True Colors to search out and support Black voices through a national network that will uplift more Black voices and nurture their stories within Black theatres.”
The Drinking Gourd: Black Writers at Work is a multi-year project that ultimately seeks to create a coalition of five Black theatres. Hansberry Project and True Colors will pilot the program in 2021, with each presenting readings of four plays. The vision over time is for all five members theatres to produce staged workshops and readings, creating a pipeline of new works for eventual full productions. This project has the potential to add new Black plays to the theatre ecology through a rolling process of commissions, readings and workshops, and productions. The Black artists engaged in The Drinking Gourd will have an unprecedented opportunity to work with a number of producing theatres serving different communities of color across the country.
Hansberry has commissioned 5 writers to develop new works. The commissioned writers are Faith Bennett Russell, Aviona Rodriguez Brown, Porscha Shaw, Ty Greenwood and Brandon Jones Mooney
The First event is a Community Conversation on January 23, 2021 is Black Theatre and the Black Lives Matter Movement The first readings of the Drinking Gourd program begin in February. The series will be capped off with a Juneteenth Community Conversation!
Drinking Gourd: Black Writers at Work is made possible in part by funding from the National Endowment for the Arts and Hansberry's generous donors.
Our new partnership with True Colors Theatre Company of Atlanta
The Hansberry Project and True Colors Theatre Company announce the pilot year of The Drinking Gourd: Black Writers at Work, a new play program that will create a network of Black theatres linked in the shared goal to co-commission, co-develop, and co-premiere the work of Black artists across the country. Jamil Jude, Artistic Director at True Colors, conceived of the idea in response to the dearth of Black work being produced on the American Theatre stage. Hansberry Project Director Valerie Curtis Newton, who provided the name for this program, describes it a way to “create a space where the entire community can be enriched by the voices of professional Black artists, reflecting autonomous concerns, investigations, dreams, and artistic expression.” Jude concurs, “True Colors’ mission challenges us to connect our audience with leading and emerging voices in American theatre today who are illuminating the experiences of Black people and telling bold stories that grow from the African diaspora. The Drinking Gourd allows True Colors to search out and support Black voices through a national network that will uplift more Black voices and nurture their stories within Black theatres.”
The Drinking Gourd: Black Writers at Work is a multi-year project that ultimately seeks to create a coalition of five Black theatres. Hansberry Project and True Colors will pilot the program in 2021, with each presenting readings of four plays. The vision over time is for all five members theatres to produce staged workshops and readings, creating a pipeline of new works for eventual full productions. This project has the potential to add new Black plays to the theatre ecology through a rolling process of commissions, readings and workshops, and productions. The Black artists engaged in The Drinking Gourd will have an unprecedented opportunity to work with a number of producing theatres serving different communities of color across the country.
Hansberry has commissioned 5 writers to develop new works. The commissioned writers are Faith Bennett Russell, Aviona Rodriguez Brown, Porscha Shaw, Ty Greenwood and Brandon Jones Mooney
The First event is a Community Conversation on January 23, 2021 is Black Theatre and the Black Lives Matter Movement The first readings of the Drinking Gourd program begin in February. The series will be capped off with a Juneteenth Community Conversation!
Drinking Gourd: Black Writers at Work is made possible in part by funding from the National Endowment for the Arts and Hansberry's generous donors.
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FIRST UP FOR THE DRINKING GOURD!
Black Theatre and the Black Lives Matter Movement. January 23, 2020 at 4 Pm, arts leader Vivian Phillips, Co-Founder of The Hansberry Project, will lead a conversation, Black Theatre and the Black Lives Matter Movement which centers 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, such as New Federal Theatre and the Negro Ensemble Company, have historically played in giving a voice to civil rights and other black-related issues. This discussion is the kickoff for a new series of impactful events, called The Drinking Gourd: Black Writers at Work, with True Colors Theatre Company of Atlanta GA and is also presented in partnership with B.L.A.C.T ATL, Inc. (Black Leaders Advocating Cultural Theatre). The conversation will be streamed live through the True Colors Theatre Facebook page and YouTube Live. We look forward to seeing you there! Let’s start the year off right! Celebrating, supporting and presenting the work of Black theatre artists. The Hansberry Project: Where Art Meets Soul! |
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CELEBRATING THE POWER OF STORIES!
We began with complete belief in the transformational power of stories. The stories of our community are at the center of our work. Ours is a community rich in creativity, reaching across a diverse sea of ethnic influences and voices. After 15 years, we are still telling our stories - celebrating the African American experience specifically, and the experiences of people of color in general. We're happy to be in a position to lend our support (both financial and professional) and our experience broadly across the greater community. This year, we are launching several intiatives. Beyond simply supporting productions, we push to make room for more voices to have their say. THE BLACK WOMEN WISDOM SUMMIT is an example of the work we do in support of Black stories. The Hansberry Project gathered talented Black Women Playwrights from around the country. A convening of artists in various stages of their careers, they came to Seattle to share their experiences and offer a new perspective on the state of the field. Pictured front row (l-r): Dominique Morisseau, Regina Taylor, Lisa B. Thompson, Lydia Diamond, Rosalind Bell, Kathya Alexander; middle: Shontina Vernon, and Alma Davenport-Person; back row: Sharon Williams, Chisa Hutchison, Amontaine Aurore and Valerie Curtis-Newton. Thank you for your continues presence and support. We hope to see you soon! |
The Black Women Wisdom Summit
HEADS UP!
WE ARE PLANNING TO GATHER AGAIN IN 2021. |
What we do!
THE EVERY 28 HOUR PLAYS by Various Authors
76 - One minute plays focused on the policing of black bodies
(A collaboration with Central District Forum, Langston, Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute and Northwest African American Museum) The readings featured a cast of over 30 artists and activists!
76 - One minute plays focused on the policing of black bodies
(A collaboration with Central District Forum, Langston, Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute and Northwest African American Museum) The readings featured a cast of over 30 artists and activists!
The Hansberry Project is fiscally sponsored by
Shunpike is the 501(c)(3) non-profit agency that provides independent arts groups in Washington State with the services, resources, and opportunities they need to forge their own paths to sustainable success.
