1st Edition
Career Paths of African American Directors Pushing Boundaries
Career Paths of African American Directors is a collection of in-depth conversations with African American directors.
These conversations provide an insightful overview of the interviewees’ work and artistic vision and explore their personal influences, aesthetic philosophies, directorial styles, and some of the creative successes they achieved while navigating the obstacles, challenges, and biases encountered while establishing their careers in American theatre. The directors are presented with similar core questions as well as pertinent questions related to their own aesthetics, philosophy, and career. Often, these selected directors’ productions are grounded in a non-European aesthetic and philosophy, and their directorial styles are refracted through the prisms of ethnicity, gender, race, and culture, thus bringing a fresh approach to their work and the art of directing.
Career Paths of African American Directors will be of interest to actors, early career and established directors, and students of Acting, Directing, and Theatre Studies.
1. INTENSE: An Interview with Saundra McClain 2. CENTERED: An Interview with Oz Scott 3. DREAMER: An Interview with Sheldon Epps 4. JOYFUL: An Interview with Shirley Jo Finney 5. CONTENT: An Interview with Clinton Turner Davis 6. DEDICATED: An Interview with Chuck Smith 7. CURIOUS: An Interview with Seret Scott 8. SEEKER: An Interview with A. Dean Irby 9. NURTURING: An Interview with Michele Shay 10. TENACIOUS: An Interview with Elizabeth Van Dyke 11. INQUISITIVE: An Interview with Gregg Daniel 12. PRIDE: An Interview with Ruben Santiago-Hudson 13. EMPOWERMENT: An Interview with George C. Wolfe 14. GRATEFUL: An Interview with Ricardo Khan
Biography
Saundra McClain is a theatre professional with more than fifty years of experience. She has performed in plays and musicals, many of them world premieres, on and off-Broadway, and at many notable theatres including The Kennedy Center, New York Shakespeare Festival, McCarter Theatre, A Noise Within, New Federal Theatre, Spoleto Festival, Alliance Theatre, and the Negro Ensemble Company. She also created many recurring and guest-starring roles in films and on television and acted in numerous commercials. A recipient of Ovation, LA Drama Critics, and NAACP Theatre nominations, amongst other awards, Ms. McClain is a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, Screen Actors Guild-American Federation Television and Radio Artists, and Actors Equity Association.
Clinton Turner Davis is a director, playwright, dramaturge, arts consultant, educator, literary manager, board member, casting director, production supervisor, actor, dancer, singer, and puppeteer who has collaborated with world-renowned artists in the United States and abroad. A recipient of the Lloyd Richards Directing Award from the National Black Theatre Festival and numerous national and international awards, Mr. Davis is a noted interpreter of the August Wilson canon. He has mentored many young and mid-career artists and has held residencies and guest-lectured at universities in the United States and Taiwan. A member of the Negro Ensemble Company for 16 seasons, and associate professor at Colorado College for 17 years, Mr. Davis is co-founder of one of the first organizations addressing diversity and inclusion issues in the performing arts.
