Directing Playwright Alice Childress: Revivals and Revisitings
June 11, 2023
Sunday, June 11 at 11am (following the performance)
"How does the work of Alice Childress activate and inspire contemporary theater makers?" How do directors re-examine, interpret, and approach great works to resonate with the world today? This was a conversation about reviving work by Alice Childress, an exploration of her impact on the generations she inspired, and a celebration of her enduring legacy.
Panelists included Christopher D. Betts (Trouble in Mind, Hartford Stage; Hartford Stage's Joyce C. Willis Fellow) as well as members of CLASSIX, who have each engaged deeply with the work of Childress, directors Awoye Timpo (Wedding Band, Theater for a New Audience) and Dominique Rider (Workshops: Wine in the Wilderness, Roundabout Theatre Company; Trouble in Mind, National Black Theatre) and dramaturg Arminda Thomas (Trouble in Mind, Hartford Stage; Wedding Band, Theater for a New Audience) who moderated the conversation.
The conversation included insight into how Childress developed the play, her politics, and the process of bringing the play to Hartford Stage.