In
1996, Robey undertook its first production, successfully mounting
Patrick Sheane Duncan's "Souls On Fire". Robey also
became a non-profit, tax exempt 501 (c)(3) organization and hired
a part-time artistic director to oversee operations in 1996.
1999
- 1999
began as a banner year for RTC. Robey co-produced, with East-West
Players, the world premiere of "Yohen", a play by Phillip
Kan Gotanda. August saw the West Coast premiere of Thomas Gibbon's
remarkable play "Bee-Luther-Hatchee".
2000/2001 -
Some years are silver, others are
gold. 2000/2001 was a golden year for the Robey Theatre Company. Robey
Produced two critically-acclaimed productions and won awards for excellence.
Robey joined with the Greenway
Arts Alliance in June of 2001 to mount the epic first installment of "For the
Love of Freedom" by Levy Lee Simon. "Part I: Toussaint (the Soul) Rise and
Revolution" was an enormous undertaking for both theatre companies- a period
piece with more than 30 actors, a set that encompassed the entire theatre and a
theme that revealed the little known history of the successful Haitian Slave
Revolt. Robey and Greenway were nominated for 10 NAACP Image Awards for the
production. We won three awards for directing, ensemble acting and costume
design.
In August, Robey and Legacy
Productions of Chicago joined together to produce Christopher Moore's "The Last
Season" directed by Legacy's Chuck Smith. The production included noted film
actor and Legacy co-founder Harry Lennix and Robey's Artistic Director Ben
Guillory as a part of the ensemble cast. The extended run played to packed
houses with rave reviews.
Your donation will support the
continuation of Robey's Reading Series and Playwrights' Lab. Your gift
will help us produce a season of original and classical works about the Black
experience. Your contribution will encourage multi-cultural artists from
across Los Angeles and the nation to give voice to the powerful experience of
African-Americans.
Gotanda.
