Robey Theatre Company
Encyclopedia
Robey Theatre Company is a Los Angeles-based non-profit theatre company.
and Ben Guillory
. It takes its name from the pioneering Black
actor and activist, Paul Robeson
. Robey's mission is to explore and develop relevant provocative, and innovative new plays written about the Black American experience, as well as to reinterpret established works. The rich culture and history of Black people is a potent, beautiful, sometimes tragic but always inspiring and illuminating reality. Robey offers an environment to support the telling of these stories.
In 2006 Robey Theatre Company joined a multicultural consortium called the "Cultural Roundtable" at THE NEW LATC, created to bring multicultural theatre to audiences in the Los Angeles Theatre Center venues in downtown Los Angeles
. Other performance groups belonging to the Cultural Roundtable include the Latino Theater Company
, Playwrights' Arena, Culture Clash
, Cedar Grove OnStage
, American Indian Dance Theatre
and the UCLA School of Theater Film and Television
. Robey Theatre Company developed Bronzeville, with playwrights Tim Toyama
and Aaron Woolfolk
, presenting its world premiere in April 2009, in association with THE NEW LATC.
, Greenway Arts Alliance, Center Theatre Group
at the Kirk Douglas Theatre
, Against Type Theatre Company and THE NEW LATC
History
Robey Theatre Company was founded in 1994 by Danny GloverDanny Glover
Danny Lebern Glover is an American actor, film director, and political activist. Glover is perhaps best known for his role as Detective Roger Murtaugh in the Lethal Weapon film franchise.-Early life:...
and Ben Guillory
Ben Guillory
Ben Guillory is an American actor and theatre producer and director.-Biography:...
. It takes its name from the pioneering Black
Black people
The term black people is used in systems of racial classification for humans of a dark skinned phenotype, relative to other racial groups.Different societies apply different criteria regarding who is classified as "black", and often social variables such as class, socio-economic status also plays a...
actor and activist, Paul Robeson
Paul Robeson
Paul Leroy Robeson was an American concert singer , recording artist, actor, athlete, scholar who was an advocate for the Civil Rights Movement in the first half of the twentieth century...
. Robey's mission is to explore and develop relevant provocative, and innovative new plays written about the Black American experience, as well as to reinterpret established works. The rich culture and history of Black people is a potent, beautiful, sometimes tragic but always inspiring and illuminating reality. Robey offers an environment to support the telling of these stories.
In 2006 Robey Theatre Company joined a multicultural consortium called the "Cultural Roundtable" at THE NEW LATC, created to bring multicultural theatre to audiences in the Los Angeles Theatre Center venues in downtown Los Angeles
Downtown Los Angeles
Downtown Los Angeles is the central business district of Los Angeles, California, United States, located close to the geographic center of the metropolitan area...
. Other performance groups belonging to the Cultural Roundtable include the Latino Theater Company
Latino Theater Company
The Latino Theater Company is a theatre producing organization based in Los Angeles, California.- History :Latino Theater Company was founded in 1985 by its Artistic Director, Jose Luis Valenzuela. Known as the "Latino Theater Lab" and based at the Los Angeles Theatre Center , they produced plays...
, Playwrights' Arena, Culture Clash
Culture Clash (performance troupe)
Culture Clash is an Chicano American performance troupe composed of the writer-comedians Richard Montoya, Ric Salinas, and Herbert Sigüenza. Their work is of a satirical nature....
, Cedar Grove OnStage
Cedar Grove OnStage
Cedar Grove OnStage is an Asian Pacific American theatre arts organization established in 2006, based in Los Angeles, co-founded by playwright Tim Toyama and actor/director Chris Tashima who serves as Artistic Director...
, American Indian Dance Theatre
American Indian Dance Theatre
American Indian Dance Theatre is a professional performing arts company presenting the dances and songs of Native Americans in the United States and the First Nations of Canada...
and the UCLA School of Theater Film and Television
UCLA School of Theater Film and Television
The UCLA School of Theatre, Film, and Television , is one of the twelve schools within UCLA. It is located in Los Angeles, California, USA, and is unique in that it combines all three of these aspects into a single school. The graduate programs are usually ranking within the top 3 nationally,...
. Robey Theatre Company developed Bronzeville, with playwrights Tim Toyama
Tim Toyama
Tim Toyama is a playwright and producer. He is Sansei presently living in Los Angeles, CA. He is co-founder of the Asian American media company Cedar Grove Productions, and its sister Asian American theatre company, Cedar Grove OnStage. He attended C.S.U.N...
and Aaron Woolfolk
Aaron Woolfolk
Aaron Woolfolk is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He shot his first feature film The Harimaya Bridge in Kōchi Prefecture, Japan and San Francisco...
, presenting its world premiere in April 2009, in association with THE NEW LATC.
Programs
- Playwrights' Lab - Develops new works by and about the Black Experience, relying on experienced an dramaturgeDramaturgeA dramaturge or dramaturg is a professional position within a theatre or opera company that deals mainly with research and development of plays or operas...
, introducing new works through readings. - Scene Workshop
- Educational Outreach / Jonas SalkJonas SalkJonas Edward Salk was an American medical researcher and virologist, best known for his discovery and development of the first safe and effective polio vaccine. He was born in New York City to parents from Ashkenazi Jewish Russian immigrant families...
Continuation School - Drama workshop for middle and high school aged "at-risk" youth.
Productions
Robey Theatre Company has collaborated with East West PlayersEast West Players
East West Players is an Asian American theatre organization in Los Angeles, founded in 1965. As one of the nation's first Asian American theatre organizations, East West Players today continues to produce works and educational programs that give voice to the Asian Pacific American...
, Greenway Arts Alliance, Center Theatre Group
Center Theatre Group
Center Theatre Group is a non-profit arts organization located in Los Angeles, California. It is one of the largest theatre companies in the nation, programming subscription seasons year-round at the Mark Taper Forum, the Ahmanson Theatre and the Kirk Douglas Theatre...
at the Kirk Douglas Theatre
Kirk Douglas Theatre
The Kirk Douglas Theatre is located in Culver City, California and in 2004, was acquired by the famed Center Theatre Group. The theatre is the most intimate of the group's three stages and seats 317 patrons at max occupancy.- History :...
, Against Type Theatre Company and THE NEW LATC
- Souls on Fire by Patrick Sheane DuncanPatrick Sheane DuncanPatrick Sheane Duncan is an American writer, film producer and director.A graduate of Grand Valley State University in Allendale Charter Township, Michigan, Duncan's career has been influenced by his Vietnam War experiences, which inspired the television mini-series Vietnam War Story and its...
(1996) - Bee-Luther-Hatchee by Thomas Gibbons (1999)
- Yohen by Philip Kan GotandaPhilip Kan GotandaPhilip Kan Gotanda is an American playwright and filmmaker. Much of his work deals with Asian American issues and experiences.- Biography :...
(1999) - For the Love of Freedom, Part I: Tousaint (The Soul) Rise and Revolution by Levy Lee SimonLevy Lee SimonLevy Lee Simon is an award-winning American playwright perhaps best known for his trilogy about the struggle for Haitian independence, For the Love of Freedom.-Biography:...
(2001) - The Last Season by Christopher MooreChristopher MooreChristopher Moore is an American writer of comic fantasy. He grew up in Mansfield, Ohio, and attended Ohio State University and Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, California....
(2001) - For the Love of Freedom, Part II: Dessalines (The Heart) Blood and Liberation by Levy Lee SimonLevy Lee SimonLevy Lee Simon is an award-winning American playwright perhaps best known for his trilogy about the struggle for Haitian independence, For the Love of Freedom.-Biography:...
(2002) - For the Love of Freedom, Part III: Christophe (The Spirit) Passion and Glory by Levy Lee SimonLevy Lee SimonLevy Lee Simon is an award-winning American playwright perhaps best known for his trilogy about the struggle for Haitian independence, For the Love of Freedom.-Biography:...
(2004) - Permanent Collection by Tomas Gibbons (2005)
- Bronzeville by Tim ToyamaTim ToyamaTim Toyama is a playwright and producer. He is Sansei presently living in Los Angeles, CA. He is co-founder of the Asian American media company Cedar Grove Productions, and its sister Asian American theatre company, Cedar Grove OnStage. He attended C.S.U.N...
and Aaron WoolfolkAaron WoolfolkAaron Woolfolk is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He shot his first feature film The Harimaya Bridge in Kōchi Prefecture, Japan and San Francisco...
(2009)
Awards
- 2001 NAACP Image AwardNAACP Image AwardAn NAACP Image Award is an accolade presented by the American National Association for the Advancement of Colored People to honor outstanding people of color in film, television, music, and literature....
, Costume Design, or the Love of Freedom, Part I: Toussaint (The Soul) Rise and Revolution - 2002 Ovation Award nomination, Ensemble Cast, The Last Season
- 2002 Ovation Award nomination, Lighting Design, The Last Season
- 2003 Ovation Award nomination, World Premiere Play, For the Love of Freedom, Part II: Dessalines (The Heart) Blood and Liberation
- 2006 LA Weekly Theater AwardLA Weekly Theater AwardLA Weekly Theater Award is an annual critics' award established in 1979, given by the LA Weekly for outstanding achievements in small theatre productions in Southern California...
nomination, Production Design, Permanent Collection - 2006 LA WeeklyLA WeeklyLA Weekly is a free weekly tabloid-sized "alternative weekly" in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1978 by Editor/Publisher Jay Levin and a board of directors that included actor-producer Michael Douglas...
Theater Award nomination, Lighting Design, Permanent Collection - 2006 LA Weekly Theater Award nomination, Set Design, Permanent Collection
- 2006 LA Weekly Theater Award nomination, Sound Design, Permanent Collection
External links
- Robey Theatre Company Official Site
- Robey Theatre Company on MySpaceMySpaceMyspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
- THE NEW LATC Official Site