Upcoming Events

Past Events:

February 26, 27 & March 1st  2018

Ruben Santiago-Hudson, the Tony and Obie Award-winning actor/director/playwright, visits Princeton as a Belknap Fellow and will hold a series of events for students! These events are co-sponsored by BAC|Drama  and the Program in Theater. For more information on events http://arts.princeton.edu/news/2018/02/lewis-center-arts-presents-ruben-santiago-hudson-in-residence/

November 10, 11, 16,17 18th   2017  @8pm

Eclipsed by Danai Gurira, the senior acting thesis of BAC Drama President Ugonna Nwabueze ’18 and directed by Shariffa Ali, will have shows in the Berlind McCarter Theatre. It will be the first all black cast in Princeton University’s history to occupy that stage.

November 18 , 2017 @1-3pm

BAC Drama Alum Luncheon in the Drapkin Studio (located in the new Lewis Center for the Arts) at 1-3pm.

April 28-May 5th, 2017 @8pm

BAC Drama Board member, Edwin Rosales will have a workshop production of his new play Spring, On Fire presented by Princeton University’s Program in Theater in the Matthews ’53 acting Studio! The play is set during the Guatemalan Civil War and is a must see!

May 2, 2017 @6:30pm

BAC| Drama Alum and Pulitzer Prize Drama Finalist Brandon Jacob Jenkins will return to Princeton, to watch BAC| Drama actors perform a stage reading of his play Octoroon, followed by a Q&A with the MacArthur Genius  Grant Fellow 2017! This event is in Partnership with the Program in Theater!

May 5th,  2017 @4:30pm

Movie actor Peter Kim will lead an audition workshop for students interested in being a part of the theater community!

About

Overview

The Black Arts Company| Drama is a student theater group celebrating the contributions of black artists, that in just 20 years has produced a Pulitzer Prize Drama Finalist, Obie Award Winner,The Josephine Abady Award Winner, MacArthur Genius Grant Winner, etc… Join the BAC|Drama community, there are amazing events in store.

Mission Statement
The Black Arts Company: Drama consists of an acting troupe and a production management organization that work in tandem to fulfill our company’s creative mission.  Each year, the Black Arts Company: Drama produces a season of showcases, full productions, and/or staged readings based upon decisions made by the Executive Board from the previous year. Through these performances we hope to accomplish the following objectives: 

  1. Expand creative opportunities for theater artists of color within the Princeton University community.
  2. Highlight and celebrate the writing achievements of playwrights of color, including writers from the United States, Canada, Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean Islands, and the mother continent of Africa.
  3. Expand the artistic and cultural influence of Black theatre within the greater Princeton community by working with professional theatre institutions, academic programs and departments on Princeton University’s campus, churches, libraries, schools, and community centers within Princeton, New Jersey.

 

Company History

The Black Arts Company: Drama was founded in 1995 as an outgrowth of the Black Arts Company, a performing arts umbrella organization dedicated to exploring the theatrical and chorographical contributions of people of color to world arts.   Since that time, the Black Arts Company has grown and expanded into two both separate organizations:  The Black Arts Company: Dance, and the Black Arts Company: Drama.  Since its creative and administrative expansion, the Black Arts Company: Drama has become a creative safe haven and champion for the vibrant presence and involvement of thespians of color within Princeton University’s theatre arts community.  

During its Renaissance Season (2004 – 2005), the Black Arts Company: Drama experienced an artistic rebirth under the direction of Lileana Blain-Cruz (Class of 2006).  Blain-Cruz ushered in a separation of administration between the Black Arts Company: Dance and the Black Arts Company: Drama.  She effectively cultivated a model for our company by separating tasks into production and technical administration and those interested in onstage performance.  With our new administration and artistic performers in place, Blain-Cruz presented an excerpt in the fall of 2004 from Ntozake Shange’s for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf.

This performance was met with such acclaim that Blain-Cruz, a major in English and a Program in Theatre Certificate holder, remounted Shange’s play as a senior thesis production that featured the talents of many actors and theatre administrators who were active participants in the Black Arts Company: Drama.  The Company was now revived.

Our next Artistic Director would be Roger Q. Mason (class of 2008). Roger worked as an assistant to Lileana Blain-Cruz during the renaissance process, and has moved forward to widen the presence and exposure of the Black Arts Company: Drama on Princeton University’s campus and within the greater Princeton community.  Under Mason’s administration, the Company has forged close, working alliances with professional regional theatres, in particular the Tony-award winning McCarter Theatre, Princeton University’s Office of the Vice President of Student Life, the Program in African American Studies at Princeton University, the Carl A. Fields Center for Cultural Understanding, and scores of other organizations on and off-campus.  Mason also co-produced and directed the Black Arts Company: Drama’s critically and commercially acclaimed production of August Wilson’s Fences during the winter of 2006.  

The performance was a heart-felt tribute to the legendary playwright who passed months prior.  After the production’s run, Professor Michael Cadden, who had worked with Wilson when he was associated with the Yale School of Drama, Professor Cornel West, Professor Eddie Glaude, and Mason lectured on the significance of Wilson’s work and his contributions to American Theatre.  The Black Arts Company: Drama continues to serve as a vibrant theatrical force and black cultural ambassador to the greater Princeton community.

Our next Presidents would be Morgan Jerkins ’14 and Naimah Hakim ’16.

The fall of 2016, marked the inception of the Revival Period of BACl Drama under the leadership of President Ugonna Nwabueze ’18. The Revival Period (2016-)  is  marked by initiatives in partnership with The Program in Theater, to provide opportunities, events and space for black art to flourish on campus. Some such initiatives have been workshops led by theater & movie professionals, stage readings attended by their award winning playwrights and productions with  McCarter Theatre.

 

Board

 

Meet our new President Ugonna Nwabueze! She's an English Major pursuing certificates in African, African American Studies and Theater. She is the recipient of Princeton University's Alex Adam Award 2017, A.Scott Berg Fellowship 2017, and the A.Scott Berg Fellowship 2016. Passionate about creating opportunities for the often overlooked and marginalized black talent at Princeton, she has developed initiatives in partnership with the Program in Theater to cultivate and support Black student artists. She is stoked to be leading the Revival Period of BAC|Drama and can't wait to give student artists of color a huge platform to create, explore and experiment with theater making!
President: Ugonna Nwabueze ’18 Ugonna Nwabueze is an English Major pursuing certificates in African, African American Studies and Theater. She is the recipient of Princeton University’s Alex Adam Award 2017, A.Scott Berg Fellowship 2017, and the A.Scott Berg Fellowship 2016. Passionate about creating opportunities for the often overlooked and marginalized black talent at Princeton, she has developed initiatives in partnership with the Program in Theater to cultivate and support Black student artists. She is stoked to be leading the Revival Period of BAC|Drama and can’t wait to give student artists of color a huge platform to create, explore and experiment with theater making!
Vice President: Joy Dartey ’18 Joy is a Sociology major pursuing certificates in African Studies and African American Studies. On campus she serves on the Student Advisory Board of the University’s Community Based Learning Initiative, works as a Peer Career Advisor and is an office assistant for Princeton University Preparatory Program. In the past, she has also served as a senior writer for the “Street” section of the Daily Princetonian. She is excited about joining the board of BAC Drama and looks forward to contributing towards the production and celebration of Black art in the Princeton community!
Business Manger: Rachelle Jacques ’18 Rachelle Jacques is a Haitian American student in the Princeton class of 2018 focusing on Race and Public Policy in the African American Studies department. Rachelle is very passionate about giving back to her community and she has served as a Head Fellow for Matriculate and Scholars Institute Fellows Program, two programs committed to ensuring students acceptance and well-being on college campuses. Moreover, Rachelle loves to support endeavors in the Black community. She has worked with BeautyLynk, a Black-owned make-up service, as a business development manager, where she helped create a program policy to achieve the company’s goal. As a new member of the BAC Drama board, she is very excited to serve as the Business Manager because she has always had a strong interest in Black arts and she is committed to contributing to the work that BAC Drama does to showcase Black arts on Princeton campus!

 

 

Special Projects Coordinator: Adetobi Moses ’18 She’s an English Major pursuing an African American Studies Certificate. She is a member of the Undergraduate Advisory Board for the Center for African American Studies, bakes cookies at Murray Dodge :)(: and works at the Carl A Field Center! As a member of the BAC|Drama board, she is looking forward to amplifying and helping to orchestrate productions that celebrate Black Art and talent on campus!
Publicity Chair: Cierra Robson, hailing from Boston, Massachusetts, is ​concentrating​ in African-American Studies​ with a certificate in Global Health and Health Policy​. She is most interested in the ways in which racial and gender identities intersect under the gaze ​science and technology. In addition to her role on the ​BAC| Drama Board, she is a member of the ​Undergraduate Board of Advisors for the African-American Studies Department, an appointed member of the Undergraduate Student Government’s Diversity and Equity Committee​, and the ​Project Leader for the Community House After School Program (CHASA)​, and the Co Editor-in Chief of The Stripes, an online and print publication surrounding minority identity and experience on Princeton’s campus. ​She especially loves reading African American literature, and has recently become infatuated with plays written by Black playwrights on Broadway after watching The Color Purple, Jitney and Fences. For this reason, she is excited to work on the BAC| Drama Board, and to bring plays of this sort to Princeton’s campus.
Secretary: Rasheeda Saka ’20 Rasheeda is a first-year student who is pursuing a concentration in Neuroscience or Molecular Biology with a possible certificate in Creative Writing. On campus she is a student DJ for New Jersey’s only radio station WPRB and is an Advising Fellow for Matriculate, a college access program for high-achieving, low-income high school students. Since her arrival on campus last semester, Rasheeda has always been captivated with Princeton’s BAC| Drama so as historian, she is most excited about learning its history and sharing Black art with the Princeton community!
Senior Representative: Nicole Acheampong ’17 Nicole is a Senior Representative for BAC|Drama who hails from Boston, MA. She is a senior in the Comparative Literature department with certificates in Creative Writing and African Studies. In her time at Princeton, she has acted and directed and was introduced to BAC|Drama when she performed in For Colored Girls… her sophomore year. She is so grateful that this group provides an essential space for black creativity and expression, and she is incredibly excited about the range of projects to come!
Senior Representative: Edwin Rosales ’17 Edwin is originally from Guatemala but now lives in Norwalk, CT. He is a senior in the English department with certificates in Creative Writing, Latin American Studies and Theater. For his senior theses, Edwin wrote a collection of short stories about a Guatemalan family struggling to find their footing after moving to American, as well as a new play, Spring on Fire, based on stories from the Guatemalan Civil War and the Maya tradition. On campus, Edwin works and volunteers for various education groups, working specially with the ESL community in Princeton High School and Trenton. His post-graduation plans include teaching 5th Grade English and Language Arts in a Los Angeles middle school, as well as founding the school’s theater program. Edwin is most excited to facilitate the transition of leadership for BAC drama, and hopes to return to campus over the years to see the company’s growth in productions, telling stories that are not overlooked on our campus and American stages.
Senior Representative: John (Jay) Silvanus Wilson ‘17
Jay is a Philosophy major. On campus he serves as a SHARE Peer, a four-year-long brother to his dear little brother in Big Brother Big Sister, and a research assistant for Professor Gayle Salamon in the English Department. Jay is excited to join the board of BAC Drama as a senior and he looks forward to supporting Ugonna Nwabueze’s vision of Black Arts as a force majeure at Princeton University.