February 22 5:40 pm
The Hansberry Project 20 Years Later: How We Linked Arms to Blow Shit Up and the Beauty of the Aftermath.
Join us Sunday, February 22nd for a post-show conversation with arts leaders Valerie Curtis Newton & Vivian Phillips.
The conversation is included with a purchase of a ticket to the 3:00pm Matinee of TOPDOG/UNDERDOG on Sunday, February 22nd. This event will take place approximately 5:40pm – 6:30pm.
The Hansberry Project is a professional black theatre company dedicated to the artistic exploration of African American life, history and culture. From initial sketches to fully-realized productions, the Hansberry Project promotes and supports black theatre artists of diverse interests and disciples, speaking on a range of themes and working in a variety of styles.
Founded in 2004 and officially launched in 2006, The Hansberry Project was created as an African American theatre lab, led by African American artists and designed to provide the community with consistent access to the African American artistic voice. A Contemporary Theatre (ACT) was our first incubator and in 2012 we moved out on our own as an independent organization.
The Hansberry Project is rooted in the convictions that black artists should be at the center of the artistic process, that the community deserves excellence in its art, and that theatre’s fundamental function is to put people in relationship to one another. Our goal is to create a space where the entire community can be enriched by the voices of professional black artists, reflecting autonomous concerns, investigations, dreams, and artistic expression.
Vivian Phillips is the founder of ARTE NOIR, a vibrant platform dedicated to celebrating and sustaining Black art, artists, and culture through an online publication, art gallery, and retail space in Seattle’s historic Central District. A lifelong champion of the arts, Vivian has built a career at the intersection of communications, marketing, arts advocacy, and community leadership. Her work spans teaching, consulting, theatre and media production, policy development, and arts curation—locally, nationally, and internationally.
Valerie Curtis-Newton is a currently on faculty at the University of Washington School of Drama. She serves as the Founding Artistic Director for The Hansberry Project, a professional African American theatre lab and has worked with professional theatre’s across the country including: The Guthrie Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre, Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Seattle Rep, Playmakers Repertory Comany, Actors’ Theatre of Louisville, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Intiman Theatre, Seattle Children’s Theatre, The Mark Taper Forum, New York Theatre Workshop, and Southern Repertory Theatre among others. Valerie in on the Executive Board of The Stage Director & Choreographer’s Union has received awards for her creative and community work including being named one of Seattle’s Most Influential People of the Last Decade in 2020.