Festival Facilitates Collaborations

Like his counterparts at Crossroads and other companies, Larry Leon Hamlin sees the collective strength and experience of Black theater companies as an asset that has to be tapped and shared. That is why he expects the 1997 National Black Theatre Festival in Winston-Salem, N.C. to draw 40,000 people, the largest gathering ever of theater professionals, students and theater patrons in the biennial festival's five-year history.

The week-long festival will feature some eighty performances by twenty leading Black theater companies this year, including August Wilson's "Jitney." Readings of twenty unproduced plays will occur during the week. Theater workshops and seminars for professionals are scheduled. Hamlin said he expects numerous celebrities, including many prominent Black theater veterans, to attend the festival gala and other events.

The festival is the brainchild of Hamlin, who is also the founder and artistic director of the North Carolina Black Repertory Company. A veteran who has seen the ups and downs of Black theater, Hamlin organized the festival to enable professionals to share their knowledge and resources. He believes theater companies can help each other artistically while sharing cost-saving ideas and programs.

Another benefit of the festival is that it garners national publicity for participants and performances. It draws hundreds of Black students and Black theater educators from colleges and universities. He says students often attend the festival to network and seek employment opportunities. The festivals typically schedules workshops and a big event geared to young people.

Hamlin's interest in tapping the collective strength of the Black theater community has resulted in the festival becoming an ideal venue for HBCUs to connect with Black theater companies.