What a year this has been for Project1VOICE! I am pleased to announce that we are now incorporated as a 501(c) (3) which means that your donations to us are now tax-deductible. This designation, also, provides us with a firmer foundation as we go about our mission of advocacy, preservation and assistance for Black theaters across the country. Thank you all for your contributions. This could not have been done without you!
During our inaugural year some people asked, “Do we still need Black theater?” Judging from the outpouring of support and encouragement for our first year's efforts the answer is a resounding – YES! This unprecedented collaboration—one that is important among Black theaters,with just under 5,000 people in attendance, at 19 theaters in 15 cities, all in a single day. The stage, screen and television notables who participated in the staged readings included Leslie Uggams, LaTanya Richardson-Jackson, Harry Lennix, Peter Coyote, Bill Irwin, John Mahoney, LaChanze, Andre De Shields, Roger Robinson, Irma P. Hall and Dr. Tonea Stewart. The impact of the day went beyond fundraising, igniting renewed interests in Alice Childress and her literary prowess. We brought TROUBLE IN MIND to Broadway for the first time since its proposed Broadway run was retracted in 1955, after Childress refused to change the ending and title of the show. But most importantly it was a day of solidarity and celebration of the ground on which we all stand!
The Black theater, like the Black church and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU), is a cultural pillar that elevates the African American narrative. Collectively, these bedrock institutions protect, preserve and provide continuity for the community. So we ask, “What awaits the next generation if Black theaters didn’t exist? They tell our stories like no others in the American theater. Working together, we can generate resources, engage in advocacy and build sustainable systems of support for Black theater and insure that these bedrocks of our community's creativity will survive and thrive.
1VOICE! 1PLAY! 1DAY! is Project1VOICE’s annual fundraiser, audience development and awareness campaign. This year, as you know, we have selected James Baldwin’s THE AMEN CORNER as the nationally staged reading. In selecting this piece we honor a prolific novelist, essayist, playwright, poet, and social critic on the 25th year anniversary of his passing. As we move toward our June 18th “day of solidarity” on behalf of Black theater, let us reflect on the power of the collective voice to ignite change and renewal of purpose.
In the coming year Project1VOICE aims to facilitate a national conversation about the challenges facing Black theaters with a focus of identifying “next steps” toward solutions. Compelling ideas and innovative approaches to audience development, community outreach, and fundraising are needed for sustainability. Project1VOICE is proud to be working towards preserving the legacy and tradition of Black theater.
Won't you help keep Black theater strong, vital and ALIVE? Project1VOICE supports the cultivation of artistic excellence, creativity and innovation among Black theaters across the country. Together we can make a difference in the American theater!
Most sincerely and respectfully,
Erich McMillan-McCall
Founder/Executive Director of Project1VOICE, Inc.
http://www.project1voice.org/
preserving the legacy and tradition of Black theater is in all our hands!
