Black Theatre Symposium

Black Theatre Symposium

Saturday, February 28, 2015 . 9AM
Principal People: 

Presented in conjunction with African Continuum Theatre Company

Who are the exemplars of excellence in black theatre? Which institutions are successfully cultivating black theatre practitioners? How do we facilitate inclusion and diversity in the technical and administrative aspects of the field? How can black performers expand their artistry and marketability?

Theatre professionals, scholars and students will convene to discuss and take action around these questions as we explore the expansion of an inclusive presence and influence in the field of theatre.

Sessions will include panel discussions, workshops and a special performance of Seret Scott's one-woman play, Artistic Housing.

One ticket to the School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies’ production of Good Kids is included with payment of the full registration fee; students and volunteers participating in the symposium may purchase a ticket for $5.

Schedule

9AM: Free Continental Breakfast/Registration
10AM: Welcome and Agenda

Gildenhorn Recital Hall

10:30AM: Performance of Artistic Housing

Seret Scott, director, playwright, actress

Artistic Housing is a compilation of memorable moments, events and images that recall a life in professional theatre at a past and different time. The stories are told from the particular artistic perspective of Seret Scott, a black woman, and veteran Theatre Director-Writer-Actress who has worked in regional, Off-Broadway and Broadway theatre for nearly 50 years.

Post-show conversation
Noon: Breakout Session Options
  1. Business, Branding, and Booking Commercial Work
  2. Building a Career in Dramaturgy
  3. Interactive: Hip Hop Theatre Workshop
1:15PM: Catered Lunch (included in registration)

Chat-N-Chew: Arts Management and Producing Theatre

3PM: Breakout Session Options
  1. Diversifying Design and Technical Theatre
  2. Black Dance and Performance
  3. Interactive: Playwriting in Action
4:45PM: Breakout Sessions Options
  1. Education: Inclusion and Diversity
  2. Devised Theatre and Performance
  3. Interactive: Learning, Teaching, and Using Voice Work
6PM Dinner Break (dinner not provided)
7:30PM: School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies
Good Kids

Kay Theatre
Naomi Iizuka, playwright
​Seret Scott, director

Presented in conjunction with African Continuum Theatre Company.

Preview by UMD Writer's Bloc

Local professionals from the DMV area, as well as professionals from New York and other parts of the East Coast, will have tables available for students, said theatre performance professor Scot Reese.

MAYA POTTIGER, UMD Writer's Bloc, February 27, 2015

Preview by The Baltimore Times

Produced by the University of Maryland’s School of Theatre, Dance and Performance Studies, the symposium encourages participants to ask questions about the influence and future of black theater

STACY M. BROWN, The Baltimore Times, February 27, 2015