FEB 8 • 7:30/9:30p
I Know Where I've Been: Soulful Expressions Of The Black Experience
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This musical cabaret will celebrate Black culture through song and dance. Our wonderful group of actors will be performing numbers from musicals such as Memphis, The Wiz, Ragtime, Dreamgirls, Once on This Island, The Color Purple, Hairspray, The Lion King, and more.
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Directed by Chanel Bragg, Arizona theatre professional and creator of "The Soul of Broadway"
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Musical direction by Alexander Tom,
a student in ASU's School of Music and music director of Scottsdale Desert Stages Theatre
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​FEB 9-10 • 7:30p
Black & 25 In America
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This one-man show explores issues of race, class, and identity. Through the life stories of his characters, Big Man, Joshua Thomas, Northington III, Darrion, and Marcy, Gillett gives his audience insight on what it is like to be a young Black adult. Using a series of vignettes, the play looks at how each character feels to be invisible and without voice.
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Written and performed by Jeremy Gillett, a graduate student in ASU's School of Theatre & Film
​FEB 15 • 7:30p
​From The Rainbow
To The Mountaintop:
A Forum On Black Theatre
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​Led by a panel of artists, we will discuss where we've been, where we are, and where we're going and if this direction is positive or negative. We will also be discussing how we are portrayed in film and some recent popular films such as Tyler Perry’s Madea series, The Help, and the recent Django Unchained. This will be a wonderful night to connect and socialize with the community.

Interested in being on the panel? Contact us.
FEB 16-17 • 7:30p
​The Face Of Emmett Till
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Co-written by his mother, this play depicts the life and death of Emmett Till, a 14-year-old boy who was brutally tortured, murdered, and thrown into a river after being accused of whistling at a White woman in Mississippi. This play follows Emmett from before he leaves Chicago to his time in Mississippi and into the controversial trial following his murder. This event holds extreme significance in Black history, being one of the major ignitions to the Civil Rights Movement.
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Directed by Asantewa Sunni-Ali, an ASU doctoral student in the School of Theatre & Film

A special 2pm matinee​
Sunday, Feb 17
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​FEB 22-24 • 7:30p
For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When The Rainbow Is Enuf
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A classic Black theatre piece, this play explores the experience of colored women: the beautiful and the tragic. Written as a choreopoem, Ntozake Shange depicts the diversity of the Black experience through beautiful language accompanied with some song and dance.
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Directed by DeAngelus Grisby, a veteran Arizona actress
​FEB 24 • 6p
The ASU Black Theatre Festival Mixer
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This is an opportunity for members of the Black arts community to network and connect and for curious minds to learn more information about Black arts in Arizona.
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This social event will be followed by the closing performance of For Colored Girls.
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Food will be provided.
FESTIVAL EVENTS