THE NATIONAL BLACK THEATRE FESTIVAL ANTHOLOGY
This new collection of plays and monologues celebrates the stories, characters, and images that define the National Black Theatre Festival (NBTF). Featuring Dr. Maya Angelou’s 1989 NBTF Manifesto, seventeen monologues/scenes, archival photos, and three new plays that eschew cookie-cutter representations of African American life in favor of complex storytelling that examines universal themes, this anthology shines a light on qualities that have sustained Black theatre: family, love, humor, intellect, resilience, and strength.
Full-length Plays:
Maid’s Door by Cheryl L. Davis
Berta, Berta by Angelica Cheri
Monologues/Scenes:
From The Mississippi Delta-Endesha Ida Mae Holland (1989), Big Butt Girls, Hard-Headed Women-Idris Ackamoor and Rhodessa Jones (1991), Olivia’s Opus-Nora Cole (1993), Shango De Ima: A Yoruba Mystery Play-Pepe Carril (1995), Chain-Pearl Cleage (1997), Monsieur Baptiste, The Con Man-Roger Furman (1999), Rhyme Deferred: Hieroglyphic Graffiti-Kamilah Forbes (2001), Hillary and Monica: The Winter of Her Discontent-Yvette Heyliger (2003), Plenty of Time-Dr. John Shevin Foster (2005), Washington’s Boy-Ted Lange (2007), Ascension-Cynthia Grace Robinson (2009), The Legend of Buster Neal-Jackie Alexander (2011), The Ballad of Emmett Till-Ifa Bayeza (2013), How I Feel-Dennis A. Allen II (2015), Sweet Tea: Black Gay Men of the South Tell their Tales-Dr. E. Patrick Johnson (2015), Breathe-Javon Johnson (2017), and Anne and Emmett-Janet Langhart Cohen (2019)
The publication of Holy Ground: The National Black Theatre Festival Anthology, is made possible with support by:
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