IMPORTANT NEWS!
PLEASE US THE LINK BELOW FOR DONATIONS.
All donations are welcome and are tax-deductible through Shunpike, Inc.
If you would like to support our work, please use the this link.
PLEASE US THE LINK BELOW FOR DONATIONS.
All donations are welcome and are tax-deductible through Shunpike, Inc.
If you would like to support our work, please use the this link.
HUE Festival
A festival of new plays by Women of Color
a collaboration between Seattle Public Theatre, Brown Soul Production
and Hansberry Project
5/22: RARIFIED AIR by Nina Foxx/directed by Sandra Holloway (Brown Soul Productions)
5/23: AKOSUA GOES HOME by Nikki Yeboah/directed by Valerie Curtis-Newton (The Hansberry Project)
5/24: HOMETOWN BOY by Keiko Green/directed by Annie Lareau (Seattle Public Theater)
5/25: UP SO FLOATING by Lisa Price/Sadiqua Iman (Brown Soul Productions)
A word more about Hansberry's offering:
It is 10 days before Akosua goes home to Ghana, and her wonderful, amazing daughter, Nikki has decided to do a series of interviews with her reflecting on her 30 years in Canada. As the interviews progress, it becomes evident that though the interviews are about Akosua, her memories implicate every member of the family. What begins as an oral history transforms into a meditation on how families remember, because memories are shared and also contested. In this two-person documentary play, Akosua is played by her two daughters, Nikki and Afrika. As they tell their mother’s story they also wrestle with their own memories of the past, unpack how their family’s history continues to shape their present, and release their own attachments to their narratives. The two women also gain an understanding of their mother’s choices; choices that went on to have deep and lasting impacts on their lives.
We hope you will venture back to live performance to check out this reading!
HP also would also like to support Seattle Public/Langston's world premiere production of Andrew Lee Creech's
RIVERWOOD.
RIVERWOOD.
About Riverwood: In the midst of city-wide gentrification, rumors of building buyouts and community displacement swirl among the tenants at the Riverwood Apartments. When their worst fears are realized the lives of five people are thrown into upheaval. As 17-year-old Tel and Crunch navigate their place in society as young, Black men, building super Lenard dreams of hitting it big in the lotto. Community warrior Dédra fights to keep her neighborhood intact, while building manager Miss Penny is content to do away with it all. With painful pasts revealed and uncertain futures ahead, each member of this tight community finds themselves asking: how much would you risk in order to own your own dream? Part coming of age story, part slice of life, Riverwood explores the difficult nature of setting up roots and letting go. TEAM RIVERWOOD: Directed by Shermona Mitchell Stage Managed by Kyle Hartmann ASM by Kristin Brown Lighting by Ranleigh Starling Costume Design by Janelle Kimbrough Scenic Design by Lex Marcos Sound Design by Justin Johnson Props Design by Bella Rivera Dramaturgy By Aviona Brown Covid Safety Manager - Loree Rhyne Featuring: Rebecca M. Davis - Ms. Penny Ayo Tushinde - Dedra Jordan-Michael Whidbey - Crunch Brandon Jones Mooney - Tel *Dimitri Woods - Lenard *Denotes member of AEA TICKETS click here |
Our new partnership with True Colors Theatre Company of Atlanta
In 2020, the Hansberry Project and True Colors Theatre Company announced 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.
As we look to 2023, we are working toward the extension of the Drinking Gourd network!
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.
In 2020, the Hansberry Project and True Colors Theatre Company announced 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.
As we look to 2023, we are working toward the extension of the Drinking Gourd network!
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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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 2023. |
What we do!
Here is just one example...
Here is just one example...
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.
