Timeline

  • Pre-1994:
    • As a Brown University (Africanna/Modern Culture & Media/ Theatre) student/artist, Donald W. King – known as Don – had a passion for artistic expression and a vision of a space where people of African descent could explore, celebrate, and share their heritage, history, and art. He wanted to accomplish this through “theatre, education, and public programs” that would be a part of an established organization. This vision would solidify into Black Rep’s mission.
  • 1994
    • Don organized two pilot performance workshops at AS220 on Empire street.
  • 1996
    • Donald King, with the help of his friend Louis Rivera, officially founded and incorporated The Providence Black Repertory Company (Black Rep) in rented lofts at 131 Washington Street for the price of $15,000. The organization had a grand opening weekend which featured activities for children, a dance performance, a brunch, and a performance of the play Monk n’ Bud, a play by Laurence Holder. The play is fiction about two famous Jazz musicians who were arrested in New York City.
    • Don has a meeting with Providence Mayor Buddy Cianci to discuss his vision.
  • 1997
    • Black Rep launched their Education and Youth Arts program. They offered two weekly performance workshops and performed A Huey P. Newton Story at Trinity Rep.
    • On July 11th, Black Rep was officially declared tax-exempt.
  • 1998
    • Black Rep begins discussions with the City of Providence with the intention of relocating to a new building/performance space.
  • 1999
    • Black Rep hires its first General Manager, Eliza C. Domingo.
    • From the beginning of July 1998 to the end of March 1999, Black Rep’s programs made contact with nearly 20,000 people with over three quarters of these contacts under the age of 18. Black Rep’s school programs made contact with over 12,000 people. Their production of ‘Round Midnight (A Rapper’s Delight) featured in The Source Magazine & The Projo (Turning Point). The underground wanted to be recognized – this was a performance opportunity for local members of the hip-hop scene. There were over 2100 attendees and over 1100 youth performers. The youth program, Xxodus featuring Miss Fannie’s Soul Food Kitchen, took place in Waterplace Park and featured Broadway star Melba Moore and 14 youth performance groups featuring over 75 local artists. About 5000 people attended the event.
    • From June 4 to June 27, Black Rep produced a play titled The Island written by Athol Fugard, John Kani, and Winston Ntshona, directed by Donald King and starring Jasper McGruder and Raidge. The play focuses around two cellmates in a prison located on Robben Island off the coast of South Africa. The play had a budget of approximately $17,500.
    • From June 20 to June 27, Black Rep offered Scene Study and Script Analysis classes for the week as a companion to a series of play readings in July.
  • 2000
    • Black Rep hired its first Director of Education, Kristen J. Alandydy.
    • Black Rep began discussions for a relocation of its operations to 242 Broad Street.
    • Black Rep began its Public Programs initiative with CapitalArts Providence, co-producing and presenting the Providence Jazz & Blues Festival at WaterPlace park on July 29 and 30. They were involved in a production at the festival titled Mud, written by the Cuban playwright Maria Irene Fornes.
    • On September 19, Don is given signature authority by the Black Rep board of directors to sign off on all Black Rep grant proposals.
  • 2001
    • Black Rep renovated the lobby and reception area at 131 Washington Street.
    • Black Rep celebrated their fifth anniversary and put on their first full theatre season, producing three plays and beginning to offer student matinees.
    • On May 5, Black Rep hosted the final performance of Handle With Care (Instructions Inside): How To Love A Girl, a production done by female students at Shea High School in conjunction with Black Rep’s Youth Arts Education Program.
    • On May 14, Black Rep presented the final performance of There Is A Genius In Me, a creative project facilitated by Black Rep in conjunction with Central Falls High School and the Brown University Arts & Literacy Program.
    • Between May 14 and 18, Black Rep produced a play written by students at Oliver Hazard Perry Middle School in Providence titled Amend This! (Putting Hip Hop On Trial) The production was performed at the school.
    • On May 18, before the final performance of Amend This!, Black Rep held a youth arts showcase titled diaspoDraMa, featuring students from Shea High School, Central Falls High School, Oliver Hazard Perry Middle School, and Bailey Elementary School.
    • Between May 21 and 26, Black Rep presented first looks at new plays by local playwrights Ricardo Pitts-Wiley, Paula Caplan, Nehassaiu DeGannes, and Rose Weaver. They were all directed by Pitts-Wiley or Donald King.
    • Between December 20 and 30, Black Rep produced a play titled A Kwanzaa Song written by one of their company members, Ricardo Pitts-Wiley, directed by Donald King and starring Alonzo Jones and Raidge. The play tells the story of Azu, an African “Futureseer,” through storytelling, music, and dance.
    • On New Year’s Eve, Black Rep officially closed on the purchase of their new property at 276 Westminster Street after receiving $700,000 in city bond allocations, making 276 Westminster the first black-owned commercial property in downtown Providence.
  • 2002
    • This year saw Black Rep’s second official theatre season, presenting four plays again featuring student matinees, a staged reading, and various special events.
    • Latin Jazz & Salsa Nights begin.
    • Black Rep’s education program opened up partnerships with regional institutions like URI’s Alan Shawn Feinstein College of Continuing Education.
    • Black Rep presented their production, A Tribute to Langston Hughes and also demoed Bring in da Noise/Bring in da Funk at PPAC.
    • Black Rep initiated Phase I of its Campaign for the Black Rep with the intention of renovating its new 276 Westminster facility.
    • Between February 10 and March 31, Black Rep presented a production of A Raisin In the Sun directed by a Nigerian director, Chuck Mike.
    • On March 6, The City of Providence approved a $650,000 grant addressed to Donald King and the Black Rep for the purpose of acquiring the property at 276 Westminster Street.
    • Between October 17 and November 24, Black Rep produced an evening of two one-act plays – Siswe Banzi Is Dead by Athol Fugard followed by The Dumb Waiter by Harold Pinter. Both plays were directed by Don King and featured the same two – and only two – actors: Michael Rogers and Ricardo Pitts-Wiley. Siswe Banzi Is Dead is about the struggle of two South African men with Aparthied. The Dumb Waiter is about two hit men in a basement waiting for their assignment.
    • Between December 16 and 29, Black Rep put on A Kwanzaa Song for the second year in a row, and presented it at Rhode Island College.
  • 2003
    • Black Rep received their first site visit from the National Endowment for the Arts.
    • Black Rep’s educational program has now worked with more than 5,000 students at over 75 schools.
    • Black Rep’s education program received the Citizens Bank Community Champion Award which included $25,000 as well as media, volunteer, and PR support.
    • Black Rep started renovating its new property at 276 Westminster after Senator Jack Reed presented Black Rep with $90,000 in senatorial funding.
    • Between January 29 and March 23, Black Rep produced a play by Sam Shepard titled Suicide In B Flat. The play is about two police detectives who are attempting to solve the mysterious murder of a jazz musician.
    • On February 3, 4, 5, 10, and 11, Black Rep produced their original piece A Tribute to Langston Hughes at Rhode Island College. The piece was devised by Donald King and his colleagues.
    • Between April 16 and June 8, Black Rep produced a play by Oliver Mayer titled Blade To The Heat. The play tells the story of two Latino boxers competing for a championship title.
    • On August 8 and 9, Black Rep brought A Tribute To Langston Hughes to the National Black Theatre Festival in Winston-Salem, NC to favorable reviews in the local paper. This was the first time Black Rep ever performed at a theatre festival.
  • 2004
    • Black Rep hired a new Managing Director, Jamie J. Brunson.
    • The Black Rep Music Cafe (later known as the Roots Cafe) opens in January.
    • In February, Black Rep took A Tribute to Langston Hughes on tour.
    • Between January 29 and March 7, Black Rep produced a play by Lanie Robertson titled Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill, directed by Rose Weaver and starring April Armstrong and Dean Marcellana. The play tells the story of Billie Holiday during her final performance at a dive bar in Philadelphia four months before her death.
    • Between April 22 and May 30, Black Rep produced a play by Leroi Jones (Amiri Baraka) titled Dutchman, directed by Julia Murphy and starring Lamar Gregory and Lauren Lovett. The play is a modern, dark take on the story of Adam and Eve, with a black man being murdered by his white mistress.
    • In July Black Rep launched Sound Session, an annual week-long musical festival taking place across Providence featuring several performance sites, parades, and a diverse lineup of musicians and artists. The event was organized in conjunction with the City’s Department of Art, Culture & Tourism and saw more than 9,000 attendees.
    • Between December 2 and 12 Black Rep produced a staged reading of a play written by a local playwright named Whit Wales titled Memorial Day. The reading was directed by Bob Jaffe. The play is about two men who are estranged childhood friends – one is a disabled veteran of the first Gulf War, the other a state attorney general. They recount their youths, some of which the general would prefer to keep secret.
  • 2005
    • Phase I ($2,400,000) of Black Rep’s three phase Comprehensive Campaign for the improvement of the 276 Westminster property is completed. The newly renovated Black Rep space featured a multi-purpose stage, a lobby/gallery, a cafe, classrooms, and offices.
    • Black Rep was selected to be a part of the Kennedy Center Capacity Building Program.
    • Black Rep’s public performance workshops now occur six days a week. Throughout the year, these programs were attended by 52,000 people.
    • Black Rep made almost $500,000 through their public programs and Sound Session.
    • Between January 27 and March 6 Black Rep produced a play by Cheryl J. West titled Jar The Floor, directed by Marla Blakey and starring Cilla Bento and Angela Nash Wade. The play is a dramedy featuring four black women, each of a different generation, plus a white woman friend. They are all celebrating the black matriarch’s 90th birthday with a wild party.
    • Between April 21 and May 29 Black Rep produced a play by Dael Orlandersmith titled Yellowman. It is a memory play focusing on a black woman who wishes to leave her small southern town, and her light-skinned black male partner. They grow up together, forge a relationship and are eventually tragically driven apart.
    • In July, Black Rep once again hosted Sound Session, this time to 35,000 people.
    • Between October 25 and November 20 Black Rep produced a play by Lonne Elder titled Ceremonies in Dark Old Men, directed by Rochel Garner Coleman and starring Keith Mascoll, Raidge, and Ricardo Pitts-Wiley. The story is that of a black family living in Harlem, down on their luck, who hope to become more successful.
    • On December 9, 10, and 11 Black Rep produced a play titled Black Maria that was an adaptation of a book of poetry by Kevin Young with the same title. It was adapted and directed by Donald King, starring Raidge and Cliff Odle. The poems are a film noir story in verse, telling the story of a private investigator and a mysterious woman.
  • 2006
    • Between May 19 and June 11 Black Rep produced a play by Federico Garcia Lorca titled The House of Bernarda Alba, directed by Nadia Madhi and starring Cilla Julia Bento. The play revolves around a family in mourning living in southern Spain; an older matriarch and her daughters. The daughters are all attracted to the same potential suitor, and the mother is trying to keep them away from him.
    • On September 8 Black Rep was granted permission by the city to expand their premises.
    • On September 30 Black Rep participated in the Heritage Festival on the State House lawn, holding a raffle.
    • Between October 12 and November 19 Black Rep produced a play titled The Colored Museum written by George C. Wolfe and directed by Don Mays. The show is a series of 11 vignettes, each dealing with different themes relating to Black American culture and identity.
  • 2007
    • In March Black Rep launched the three-year-long “Phase II” of their comprehensive campaign, intending to raise $2,750,000.
    • Between April 24 and May 20 Black Rep produced a play by Princeton professor R.N. Sandberg titled Done, directed by his daughter, Associate Director Megan Sandberg-Zakian, starring Jonathan Dent and Natalie Hirsch. The play is about a group of high schoolers who are victims of a self-perpetuated cycle of abuse via bullying and retaliation.
    • By October Black Rep exec members have become concerned about their lack of revenue and the implications for their comprehensive campaign. They have plans to hire a director of development. The cost of renovating the facade of 276 Westminster is over $230,000.
    • Between October 4 and November 11 Black Rep produced a play titled Two Can Play written by Trevor Rhone and directed by Michael Rogers. In the play, a man and a woman attempt to escape the dangers of gun crime in Kingston, Jamaica and migrate to the United States.
  • 2008
    • This year Black Rep suffered a partially collapsed ceiling at 276 Westminster, damaging a waiting area for performers and causing thousands of dollars in damage.
    • Between January 31 and March 9 Black Rep produced a play titled The Bluest Eye adapted by Lydia Diamond from the novel of the same name by Toni Morrison, directed by Don Mays.
    • Between April 10 and May 18 Black Rep produced the world premiere of a new play by Zakiyyah Alexander titled The Etymology of Bird, directed by Megan Sandberg-Zakian. The play is a love story that takes place in New York “about our neighbors, our neighborhoods, and the choices we make that can change everything.”
    • By September 20 Black Rep had raised $971,550 of their $2,750,000 Phase II goal.
    • In October Black Rep entered its “survival phase” which involved suspensions and termination of staff and programming.
    • Between October 2 and November 9 Black Rep produced a play by Tracy Letts titled Bug, directed by Megan Sandberg-Zakian and starring Jackie Davis. The play is about a waitress who lives in a motel room and descends into madness due to the insanity of her military veteran partner. This is likely the last play ever produced at Black Rep.
  • 2009
    • Between July 2008 and June 2009 Black Rep earned and spent over $1.5 million.
    • Don was saddled with tens of thousands of dollars in back taxes by the Black Rep Board of Directors in an attempt by the Board to cut their losses. The board exploited a loophole that made Don legally responsible for expenses that were supposed to be paid by the board.
    • The Black Rep goes under, declares bankruptcy, and auctions off all their possessions.