CREATIVELY SPEAKING: BLACK THEATRE THEN, NOW, & NEXT
Join the National Black Arts Festival for an evening of bold ideas, honest assessment, and forward vision as we chart the trajectory of Black theatre across regions, institutions, and generations.
This edition of Creatively Speaking brings together two visionary leaders shaping the field today: Kelley Girod, Director of New Works at the Apollo Theater, and Stephanie McKee, Executive Artistic Director of Junebug Productions. The conversation is facilitated by Addae Moon, Associate Artistic Director of Theatrical Outfit.
The discussion begins in the South, exploring the rich legacy of Black Southern theatre as a space for storytelling, resistance, and community truth telling. From grassroots ensembles to movement-based companies, Southern Black theatre has long nurtured artists and narratives that challenge and redefine American culture. From there, the conversation expands nationally, examining the current state of Black theatre across Broadway, regional institutions, and independent stages, asking where breakthroughs are happening, where barriers remain, and what must shift to ensure Black theatre continues to thrive from local communities to the largest platforms in the country.
This program serves as a companion to NBAF’s collaborative staged reading of Echoes of The Storm: 20 Years After Katrina, presented with Spelman College on March 20 and 21 at the Mary Schmidt Campbell Center for Innovation and the Arts. Together, the reading and conversation underscore theatre’s role as a living archive of Black memory, place, and possibility.
Registration required below.
ECHOES OF THE STORM: 20 YEARS AFTER KATRINA
Echoes of the Storm situates one of the nation’s most defining recent events within the continuum of remembrance and resilience. Developed by Junebug Productions and The Apollo Theater, this theatrical commemoration marks the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, a catastrophe that exposed the deep fractures of race, class, and policy in America while revealing the boundless strength of the Black South.
Eight playwrights craft a mosaic of ten-minute plays reflecting on the storm’s enduring impact.
Through intimate storytelling, dramatized memory, and documentary-style narrative, these works explore themes of loss, migration, home, and rebirth, tracing how the storm continues to shape identity and imagination two decades later.
Echoes of the Storm is presented in collaboration with Spelman College and in partnership with The Apollo Theater, and Junebug Productions. Directed by Aku Kadogo.