Artists • Educators • Scholars • Students • Theatre Lovers

Friday, July 27

8:30

Registration

Renee Charlow, BTN Business Manager, Bowie State University
Corey Roberts, Parliamentarian

BTN ARCADE (4^TH FLOOR)

Thirty-Minute+ Playwrights Tease Audition Sign-up

The Thirty-Minute+ Playwrights Tease is an informal reading series that will allow BTN dramatists to hear their scripts read aloud, with actors recruited from the membership. Space is provided for rehearsals during the conference, and all BTN members are welcome to audition.

9:00-9:15

Welcome and Conference Charge

Artisia Green, BTN President, College of William & Mary

GLENDA DICKERSON ROOM (404/405)

9:30-10:00

New Members’ Orientation

Renee Charlow, BTN Business Manager, Bowie State University

Is this your first conference? Are you a longtime member returning to BTN after some years? Would you like to know what sorts of programs BTN has supported in the past? No question is too large or small for our Membership Chair, who promises to make this a lively and informative session for members who want to be “in the know.”

GLENDA DICKERSON ROOM (404/405)

10:00-11:15

StudentQuest: Audition Workshop Orientation: Session #1

Introductory session for registered participants, alternates and observers. Basics of dramatic structure and analysis with attention to monologues as a literal and figurative “moments of dramatic action.” Also, an introduction to the basic concepts of the Alexander Technique (AT) and how it will be used to aid the workshop sessions. Faculty and general conference attendees admitted with conference registration badge.

Dr. Mikell Pinkney, University of Florida

MARVIN SIMS ROOM (410)

10:0-11:30

The Global Mojo and the Intangible: “African” Aesthetics Enacted

Aku Kadogo, one of the original actresses in ntozake shange's acclaimed choreopoem "for colored girls who have considered suicide when the rainbow is enuf," explores the teachings and rituals that have impacted her acting, directing and dramaturgy in such different venues as Sydney, Australia, Seoul, South Korea, and Detroit, USA. Acclaimed filmmaker Ayoka Chenzira will share her expertise and insights on the international cinema and the on-screen evolution of the images that depict people(s) of African descent.

Aku Kadogo, Facilitator, Yong In University, Korea
Ayoka Chenzira, Spelman College

GLENDA DICKERSON ROOM (404)

10:00-11:30

Roundtable: Whose Play is it Anyway? White Directors, Black Playwrights, and Role Reversal on the Stage and in the Academy

Khalid Y. Long, Facilitator, Miami University
Dr. Paul K. Jackson, Miami University
Jade Lambert-Smith, Spelman College
Isaiah Wooden, Stanford University

In 1990, August Wilson wrote an article for Spin Magazine declaring that he wanted a Black director for any of his plays that would go on to be filmed. Since his death in 2005, non-Black directors have staged his plays in various arenas, including the 2009 Broadway revival of Joe Turner’s Come and Gone. When the time comes for the filming of his plays, what consideration will his wishes receive? And how do issues of race, gender, culture and religion impact a play (or screenplay) through the choice of the director? Are there special teaching/academic requirements for the director in an academic setting that are absent in commercial theatre? And if so, what are they? These are just a few of the questions that this Roundtable will examine.

BEVERLY ROBINSON ROOM (409)

11:45-1:15

Panel Presentation: Black Theatre in the White South: 
Redesigning Black Theatre for Racial Consciousness

Dr. Vershawn Ashanti Young, Facilitator, University of Kentucky
Adanma O. Barton, Berea College
Dr. Jennifer Goodlander, University of Kentucky
Dr. Julie Anne Naviaux, University of Kentucky

Theatre practitioners are not immune to the impact of societal attitudes and mores. In fact, great drama often refracts and reimagines relationships between its participants. How does the theatre practitioner situate him/herself in this practice so as to bring out the inherent quality of a work? And what is the responsibility of the educator in presenting issues that ignite fierce passions in a community? This panel will examine ways in which race and gender may complicate the experience of enacting and staging a dramatic work, and strategies for creating 'teachable' moments in such circumstances.

BEVERLY ROBINSON ROOM (409)

11:45-1:15

Make your Training Work for You: Professional Development for Undergraduate Actors, Directors and Stage Managers (StudentQuest)

Chris Berry, M.F.A., Actor, NYC
Stanley Ralph III, M.F.A., Stage Manager, NYC

A theatre artist must understand that he/she is a walking, talking "product." This workshop will expand upon the classroom training that undergraduate students receive and help them understand how to apply that training in the "real" world. Practical hands-on advice for actors, directors and stage managers will be enhanced by exploring such subjects as time management, networking and collaboration, agents and managers, head shots, resumes, and cover letters.

MARVIN SIMS ROOM (410)

11:45-1:15

Panel Presentation: Say My Name Outloud: Contemporary Black Voices on the Stage

Panelist #1:
Dr. Marta Effinger-Crichlow, New York City College of Technology – CUNY

Writing the Kings into Contemporary Black Theatre: Pearl Cleage’s A Song for Coretta and Katori Hall’s Mountaintop

This paper explores the ways in which contemporary Black female playwrights have re-membered and re-imagined the lives of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Coretta Scott King. More specifically, the paper dissects the ways in which Pearl Cleage and Katori Hall use black female characters in their re-visioning of these two Kings, whose iconic presence has shaped Black discourse(s) during and beyond the twentieth century.

Panelist #2
Dr. J. Eve Lambert, Bronx Community College – CUNY

Will the Real Black Theatre PLEASE Stand Up?

The complexities of African American contemporary performance and identity will be discussed, specifically focusing on the limited representations of blackness on university and Broadway stages. How do we address this trend, and what strategies will help us embrace and develop a new language to interpret African American contemporary performance? Examples from the Tony-nominated musical The Scottsboro Boys will be shared.

LEE ROY GILES ROOM (408)

11:45-1:15

Historical Forum: Footlights Across the South: Dr. Thomas Poag and The Tennessee State Players, 1939-1970

Michael Dinwiddie, Facilitator, New York University
Dr. Ronald Davis, Florida A&M University

Thomas Edward Poag (1907-1974) was once described by a theatre critic as “a walking, talking landmark, a historical site in human form whose personal history has many parallels in theatre history. His impact on African American drama has been monumental, from training actors such as Moses Gunn and Oprah Winfrey, to preparing scholars, technical theatre pioneers, and educators. Dr. Ronald Davis will discuss the training he received under Dr. Poag and its larger impact on the American theatre.

FLOYD GAFFNEY ROOM (407)

1:30-3:00

LUNCH (On Your Own)
(OR WITH BROWN BAG LUNCH OPTIONS)

1:30-3:30

Thirty-Minute+ Tease Auditions

AUGUST WILSON ROOM (403)

2:00-3:00

BROWN BAG SERIES OPTION #1

Heaven (The) Help Us?

When Hattie McDaniel won a Best Supporting Oscar for her portrayal of Mammy in Gone With The Wind, she was quoted as saying “I had a choice of playing a maid for seven hundred dollars a week, or being one for seven dollars a week.” This year’s Oscar for Best Supporting Actress went to Octavia Spencer for her luminous portrayal of a feisty maid in the Disney blockbuster The Help. In what types of roles does Hollywood reward women of color? And at what price? Should they be looking overseas for opportunities? Does this Oscar win represent progress or retrogression?

Facilitator (TBA)

FLOYD GAFFNEY ROOM (407)

2:00-3:00

BROWN BAG SERIES OPTION #2

The Black Canon Discussion Continues…

Which plays, choreopoems, theatre pieces, musicals, and rituals should every practitioner, performer, scholar, student and artist working in the African Diasporic Aesthetic be familiar with? Have we narrowed it down? Are there new plays that should become part of the tradition? For those interested in continuing the discussion, here’s your chance!

Facilitator (TBA)

LEE ROY GILES ROOM (408)

2:00-3:00

BROWN BAG SERIES OPTION #3

Should BTN Create An On-Line, Refereed Journal?

Dr. Freda Ann Giles, Facilitator, University of Georgia
Dr. Beth Turner, Founding Editor & Publisher, Black Masks
Dr. Harvey Young, Northwestern University

Three leading BTN theatre scholars will lead a discussion on the pros and cons of creating an on-line refereed journal.

BEVERLY ROBINSON ROOM (409)

3:00-4:30

Panel Presentation: Hip Hop Pedagogy

Dr. Daniel Banks, The Naropa Institute
Kathryn Ervin, California State University San Bernardino

This panel will examine the strategies and methodologies that have proven effective in integrating spoken word, rap music and other elements of hip hop culture into the classroom.

BEVERLY ROBINSON ROOM (409)

3:00-4:30

Young Scholars Presentation Workshop #1

This workshop will offer practical training and techniques for the Scholars who will present their research to BTN during this year’s conference.

Artisia Green & Corey Roberts, Facilitators

FLOYD GAFFNEY ROOM (407)

3:15-5:15

StudentQuest: Three Minute Audition Presentations: Session #2

Dr. Mikell Pinkney, University of Florida, Facilitator

Registered participants each present a three minute audition of two contrasting monologues for feedback and identification of specific needs to be addressed in the following two days of the workshops. Alternates may present, with limited feedback when possible.

(Session for registered participants, alternates and observers. Faculty and general conference attendees admitted with conference registration badge when space is available.)

MARVIN SIMS ROOM (410)

4:40-5:25

Regional Group “Touch-Base” Meetings

Members will have the opportunity to meet and share ideas for upcoming regional events. Brainstorming required!

East Coast Region – New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Massachusetts
Marcia Pendelton 2011-2012 Chair
Contact 
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BEVERLY ROBINSON ROOM (409)

Southern Region - Louisiana, Georgia, Florida, Texas, Kentucky, Tennessee.
Edith Carnley 2011-2012 Chair
Contact 
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

LEE ROY GILES ROOM (408)

Mid-Atlantic Region – Virginia, West Virginia, Washington D.C., Maryland, North Carolina

kb saine 2011-2012 Chair
Contact 
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

GLENDA DICKERSON ROOM (404)

Other Regions

BTN is looking for members to serve as Chairs for the Midwest Region (Michigan, Illinois, Indiana and Iowa) and the West Coast Region (California, Nevada and Arizona). Interested persons should speak with Renee Charlow, Business Manager to learn about the activities and responsibilities of the regional chairs.

FLOYD GAFFNEY ROOM (407)

4:40-5:25

Thirty-Minute+ Tease Rehearsals -

AUGUST WILSON ROOM (403)

5:30-6:30

BTN Business Meeting #1

BRENDA DICKERSON ROOM (404/405)

6:30-7:30

BTN Welcome ReceptioN

4^TH FLOOR TERRACE / BEVERLY ROBINSON ROOM (409)

7:30-9:00

DINNER ON YOUR OWN

Thirty-Minute Tease Rehearsals - AUGUST WILSON ROOM (403)

9:00-Until

Play Reading: Between Goodbye and Hello by Kimberley Kay, Florida A&M University

GLENDA DICKERSON ROOM (404)

Saturday, July 28 
[DESIGNING PERFORMANCE]

8:30

Registration

9:00-10:00

Salute to the Ascendants (4^th floor Terrace/Courts)

10:15-12:15

StudentQuest: Auditions Feedback & Hands-on Workshop: Session #3 

Dr. Mikell Pinkney, Facilitator, University of Florida
Kathy Sarra, University of Florida

Individual work on identified needs of full participants based on earlier presentations of material. Session includes introduction to AT concepts.

(Session open to registered participants, alternates and observers only. No general attendees admitted please.)

MARVIN SIMS ROOM (410)

10:15-11:45

Roundtable:  Building “Communiversity” Through Performance

Dr. Maisha S. Akbar, Facilitator, Fort Valley State University
Dana Jefferson, Fort Valley State University
Amanda Allen, Fort Valley State University
Josean Pittman, Fort Valley State University

This roundtable discussion documents and examines a “communiversity” staging of Regina Taylor’s “Crowns” at Fort Valley State University (FVSU) in which students as well as local community members were cast as the play’s principal characters and members of FVSU’s drama club served as the production crew.  This session features a diverse representation of the cast and crew for “Crowns.”

BEVERLY ROBINSON ROOM (409)

10:15-11:45

Pedagogy for the Creolized Classroom

Adam McKinney, University of New Mexico
Dr. Eunice Ferreira, Skidmore College

Too often the complexity of racial identity is reduced to a black-white dichotomy in the classroom, marginalizing those who do not fit neatly into the prescribed paradigm.  This panel will examine ways in which to complicate and enlarge the notion of diversity and explore effective methodologies from multiple points of entry. 

GLENDA DICKERSON ROOM (404)

10:15-11:45

Daring to Design Diabetic Life On Stage

Dr. Phyllisa Deroze, Fayetteville State University

In January 2012, legendary playwright Robbie McCauley’s one-woman performance Sugar was performed at Emerson College in Boston, MA.  This play may well be the first to address the effects of diabetes in African American communities.  Additionally it represents an important intersection of African American theatre and critical health issues.  McCauley gives us much to consider, embrace, and discuss as she takes Black theatre into a new realm.  This paper discusses McCauley’s approach to her subject matter and the hope that she inspires for other diabetics, especially those in the Black community.

FLOYD GAFFNEY ROOM (407)

12:00-1:30

Social Media by Design:  Using and Building Social Media to Create Customer Loyalty

K. Zaheerah Sultan, Facilitator
Darryl Davis, On-Line Contributor

The use of social media is of ever-increasing importance and this workshop is designed to familiarize BTN members with ways to enhance and support their productions, careers, and overall communication.  Ways to utilize Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and blogging will be discussed in-depth with special attention given to members who are novices to social media. 

BEVERLY ROBINSON ROOM (409)

12:00-1:30

Panel:  Black Theatre Programs and Access to BTN’s Strengths

Dr. Lundeana Thomas, University of Louisville

From its inception, BTN has assisted in the ongoing challenge to increase cultural literacy concerning the drama of the African diaspora.  This panel will examine effective strategies to expand BTN’s impact on educational theatre practice both here in the United States and abroad. 

LEE ROY GILES ROOM  (408)

12:15-1:30

Collaboration, Cultivation and Connection:  Best Practices in Developing New Audiences for Black Theatre

Marcia Pendelton, Founder & President, Walk Tall Girl Productions

This workshop will outline successful audience development strategies used to attract culturally diverse communities to African and African American theatre productions.  Case studies will be presented from plays and musicals on and off-Broadway as well as national tours. 

GLENDA DICKERSON ROOM (404)

1:30-3:00

LUNCH (On Your Own)
(OR WITH BROWN BAG LUNCH OPTIONS)

1:45-2:30

BROWN BAG LUNCH    OPTION #1

Archiving Your Past:  Where Will Your Collection Go?

Kathy Perkins, Facilitator, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill

Do you have papers and books that might benefit future scholars?  Are there theatre programs, souvenir booklets, photographs or other memorabilia that tell the story of the American theatre?  Learn how to make arrangements for the preservation of your materials from someone who has built up and preserved archived materials of various types (papers, journals, creative projects, technical plots, photos, etc.).     

FLOYD GAFFNEY ROOM (407)

1:45-2:30

BROWN BAG LUNCH OPTION #2

Fly in the Buttermilk:  When Diversity Means YOU!

Dr. Mikell Pinkney, Facilitator

This will be an opportunity for BTN members to share their “coping” mechanisms and strategies when issues of cultural literacy arise in academia and other settings.    

GLENDA DICKERSON ROOM (404)

2:30-4:30

StudentQuest: Alexander Technique (AT) Workshop: Session #4 

Kathy Sarra, University of Florida

How to understand and apply body awareness and physical freedom to performance work and in everyday life.

(Session for registered participants, alternates and observers. Faculty and general conference attendees admitted with conference registration badge when space is available.)

MARVIN SIMS ROOM (410)

2:30-4:00

 Young Scholars Presentation Workshop #2

Artisia Green & Corey Roberts, Facilitators

This workshop will offer practical training and techniques for the Scholars who will present their research to BTN during this year’s conference.

FLOYD GAFFNEY ROOM (407) 

2:30-4:00

Black Magic: Producing the Next Generation of Black Designers

Loyce Arthur, The University of Iowa
André Harrington, Facilitator, California State University San Bernardino
Bresean Anton Jenkins, Hampton University
Kathy Perkins, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill

BEVERLY ROBINSON ROOM (409)

2:30-4:40

THIRTY-MINUTE+ TEASE:  READY FOR THE MAINSTAGE!

Tantalizing excerpts from plays that may be perfect for your upcoming season!

2:30-3:10 > ‘da Kink in my Hair by trey Anthony

3:15-3:55 > By Invitation Only by James Webb

4:00-4:40 > Legacy by Barbara & Carlton Molette

GLENDA DICKERSON ROOM (404)

4:30-6:00

Advisory Board Inaugural Meeting

Dr. Mikell Pinkney, Facilitator
Sandra Bowie, New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC)
Dr. Barbara Molette, BTN Lifetime Member
Dr. Carlton Molette, BTN Lifetime Member
Dr. Geoffrey Newman, Montclair State University
Kemati Porter, Artistic Director, ETA

AUGUST WILSON ROOM (403)

4:30-6:00

Professional Development Workshop:  Strategies for Pursuing an International Career as a Stage Manager

Cody Hong Chen, Freelance Stage Manager (On-Line Skype Session)

Dance troupes, theatre companies, and touring artists have need of stage managers who “know the ropes.”  Cody Hong Chen has built an impressive list of credits in the United States, Europe and Asia.  Mentored by BTN members Kathy Perkins and Lundeana Thomas, he will share some of his successful strategies for crafting an international career

MARVIN SIMS ROOM (410)

4:30-6:00

Professional Development Workshop:  Best Practices in Box Office Management

Dawn Eskridge, Kennesaw State University

Learn about the free on-line tools for arts managers, including an introduction to Prezi, from a professional box office manager.  You will also have an opportunity to explore methods that will help streamline box-office management

FLOYD GAFFNEY ROOM (407)

4:30-6:00

Professional Development Workshop:  Careers After College

Marion Wright, Spelman College
Davida Campbell
Nia Lancelin
Zuri Ray-Alladice

This workshop will feature alumnae of Spelman College at various stages of their careers in the performing arts.  They will share survival strategies, offer tips on how to move from an internship to a paid position, and practical job-hunting hints for the recent (and not-so-recent) college graduate.

LEE ROY GILES ROOM (408)

6:00-7:15

Both Sides of the Table:  Casting Workshop

Lawrence Evans, Actor & Casting Consultant

Are you mystified by the casting process?  Unsure of how to prepare, or ways to approach cold readings?  And what if a posted description doesn’t describe you?  Should you still show up?  Learn about the process from someone who has been both an actor and a casting consultant for numerous projects at the New Federal Theatre, the National Black Repertory Company, the Black Spectrum Theatre, the New Stage Theatre, and the National Black Theatre Festival, among others.

BEVERLY ROBINSON ROOM (409)

7:20-8:20

 Dinner on your own

8:30

Smash/Hit - Featured Play Reading - by Steven Broadnax, Pennsylvania State University

GLENDA DICKERSON ROOM (404)

10:30

The performance of Smash/Hit will be followed by responses from dramaturgs  Artisia Green, BTN President & Bill Doan, ATHE (Association for Theatre in Higher Education) President

GLENDA DICKERSON ROOM (404)

11:00

Cast and Play Reception

BTN ARCADE / 4^TH FLOOR TERRACE

8:30