Regina Taylor
The Black Album Mixtape By Regina Taylor
Regina Taylor created this series of plays about the relevant issues of today "Because now is not the time to be silent!" Six tracks speak out with a hold-no-punches urgency on January 6, Covid, gun violence, gender politics and the rolling back of hard-won social and civil rights.
Regina Taylor is an actress, director, playwright, educator, and activist. In her TV role as Lily Harper in "I'll Fly Away,” she received a Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actress, three NAACP Image Awards and two Emmy Award nominations.
Plays she has written include, “Bread,” “Crowns” (four Helen Hayes awards, including Best Director), "Oo-Bla-Dee," "Drowning Crow," “The Trinity River Plays,” and “stop.reset.”
Ms. Taylor received the Denzel Washington Endowed Chair Fordham University at Lincoln Center. An Artistic Associate of Goodman Theatre, Taylor is its most produced Associate Artistic Playwright.
She is currently writing a new play for The Old Vic, “Jubilee:Concert” about the Fisk Jubilee Singers. She is also directing/workshopping a play by Phanesea Pharrel for La Femme Productions in NY.
Saturday 19th August
CELEBRITY READING: A Black Album Mixtape
Jackson
Writer: Regina Taylor
A series of shorts speaking out on relevant issues of today because now is not the time to be silent.
Friday 18th August
PANEL DISCUSSION - Celebrating Our Stories Through The Lens: The Development and Making of 'FANNIE'
Roosevelt
Fannie Lou Hamer was an African American civil rights activist in the 1960’s. She publicly and passionately broadcast the sufferings of Blacks in the racist South especially with regards to voting. This heroine’s inspiring story was depicted in a staged reading written by Regina Taylor and then in the film, FANNIE. Actress Aunjanue Ellis brings this trailblazer to life with a riveting and heart wrenching solo performance.
Christine Swanson directed this critically acclaimed short along with producers Stephanie Frederic and Abeni Bloodworth. Bloodworth, CEO of ChromaticBlack.org, launched the Ida B. Wells Fund. It provides funding for selected short films that disrupt the master narrative. Two different genres heralded by women of color using the lens to celebrate stories not commonly told.
Panelists:
Stephanie Frederic, journalist and executive producer
Christine Swanson, film & television director
Abeni Bloodworth, executive producer and CEO ChromaticBlack.org
Aunjanue Ellis, award-winning actress
Regina Taylor, award-winning actress and playwright
Moderator: Angela Ray
Thursday 17th August
PANEL DISCUSSION: Celebrating our Icons Together: Trailblazers from the Past Impacting Our Present and Future
PANEL DISCUSSION: Celebrating our Icons Together: Trailblazers from the Past Impacting Our Present and Future in the Roosevelt room.
Description:
Artists of Color (AOC) have always been a part of American theater, film and television. Despite limited opportunities, these panelists prevailed and created a powerful and inspirational legacy.
This panel will bring together living legends who will share their stories and knowledge with current and emerging artists of the future.
Panelists:
Allie Woods, Sr., original founder of the Negro Ensemble Company; veteran theatre artist with 200 direction/performance/academic appointments in the U.S. and Internationally
Ted Lange, prolific author, educator, director, and actor of stage and screen
Starletta DuPois, veteran character actress
Regina Taylor, veteran actress, director, playwright, educator, and activist
Professor Vera J. Katz, director and professor emerita from Howard University Department of Theatre Arts; faculty the Duke Ellington School of the Arts
Phillip Bernard Smith, veteran stage actor