ABSTRACT
In the theatre profession, it is the artistic director’s responsibility to serve as a visionary. The director’s role is to implement the vision and to shape the aesthetics of the play. An artistic director who aims to produce at least one world premiere play per season once shared with me that, in order to produce a new play, he must really care about the play and highly respect the playwright. This chapter offers constructive steps towards reimagining theatre by way of new play development that relies on the traditions and histories of African Americans. While natural talent is good and convenient, the author argues that mere talent cannot be the sole factor in determining an actor’s worth. Rather, worth should be measured by the performer’s overall contribution to the experience. Every artist of color comes to the table with different backgrounds, experiences, training, and resources.
