2024 Emerging Artists at the International Black Theatre Festival
MABEL P. ROBINSON
EMERGING ARTIST AWARDS
The Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts Mabel P. Robinson Emerging Artist Awards champion the next generation of theatre-makers whose work reflects the bold, creative legacy of Mabel P. Robinson, a Broadway, television, and film veteran, educator, and former Artistic Director of the North Carolina Black Repertory Company.
The program spotlights emerging voices from leading academic institutions and professional training programs, recognizing early career and student acting, directing, and design artists who demonstrate exceptional artistic achievement, strong creative potential, and a deep commitment to advancing a more inclusive and innovative theatrical landscape.
Sponsored by the Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts, the awards support a VIP experience at the 2026 International Black Theatre Festival (IBTF), July 27 – August 1, where recipients will be honored at the festival’s Opening Night Gala and engage in an electrifying week of performances, workshops, and cultural events celebrating Black theatre on an international stage.
MEET THE 2026 EMERGING ARTISTS!
MABEL P. ROBINSON
Mabel P. Robinson (b. 1939) is a director, playwright, dancer, and actress whose career spans Broadway, film, television, and academia. A graduate of New York’s High School of the Performing Arts and Juilliard, she performed on Broadway in Golden Boy (1964), Murderous Angels (1971), Don’t Bother Me, I Can’t Cope (1972), Treemonisha (1975), and Your Arms Are Too Short to Box With God (1976). She also worked as assistant director and choreographer on a revival of Porgy & Bess, and choreographed It’s So Nice to Be Civilized (1980).
Her film credits include Cotton Comes to Harlem (1970), Stand Up to Be Counted (1972), Funny Lady (1975), and The Wiz (1978). As a playwright, her works include The Glory of Gospel and Mahalia Queen of Gospel, both produced at the International Black Theatre Festival.
In 1984, Robinson moved to Winston-Salem to teach at the North Carolina School of the Arts and later became artistic director of the North Carolina Black Repertory Company, where she founded the Teen Theatre Ensemble and directed and choreographed the annual holiday classic, Nativity According to the Gospels, before retiring in 2015.
A longtime contributor to the International Black Theatre Festival, her impact continues through the Mabel P. Robinson Emerging Artist Awards, established in her honor in 2022.