Productions
* World Premiere

History of Theatre: About, By, For, and Near (2023)
Travel back in time – 200 years, to be precise – with your host, Sister Blacknall, and meet the Black theatre artists of America’s history, who have returned to ensure that this time, they will be remembered. Reginald André Jackson’s wildly original play challenges the stories we’ve been told about who makes theatre and who it is for; creating a spellbinding evening that is both illuminating and inspiring. History Of Theatre: About, By, For, and Near takes audiences on a journey from 1820 to the mid-1930s, through the lens of a contemporary artist making their way in our very own Seattle theatre scene. Witness the forgotten impact of The Rabbit’s Foot founder Pat Chapelle, who created the first all-Black touring vaudeville troupe in 1900, the boundary-breaking actors Ira Aldridge and Rose McClendon, as well as members of Seattle’s own Negro Repertory Company.
About the Play
About the Production
World Premiere
Run Dates: 1/28/2023 - 2/12/2023
Program: Program (.pdf)
Directed By: Valerie Curtis-Newton
Cast: Tracy Michelle Hughes
Reginald André Jackson
Be Russell
Arlando Smith
Amy Thone
Malcom J West
Dedra D. Woods
R. Hamilton Wright
Anne Allgood - Understudy
Nicholas Japaul Bernard - Understudy
Alexandria J. Henderson - Understudy
Behind the Scenes: Robert J. Aguilar - Lighting Designer
Donald Byrd - Movement
Amani Dorn - Dialect Coach
Ruth Eitemiller - Stage Manager
Larry D. Fowler - Sound Designer
Hazel Rose Gibson - Assistant Stage Manager
Martine Kei Green-Rogers - Dramaturg
Catherine Hunt - Costume Designer
John Langs - Artistic Director
L.B. Morse - Associate Lighting Designer
Noah Sarkowsky - Production Assistant
Anita Shah - Managing Director
Jennifer Zeyl - Scenic Designer