Newspapers / The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, … / Aug. 17, 1989, edition 1 / Page 11
Part of The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
I Thursday, August 17, 1989 - THE CHARLOTTE POST - Page llA WINSTON-SALEM (AP) — Rep resentatives from many of coun try's black theater companies, the administration of Gov. Jim Martin and the national news media descended on Winston- Salem this week to see If a long and difficult struggle had really been won. To see "... If 1 gained the weight back," Oprah Winfrey said. Jok ingly. In truth, the once-plump talk show host and an array of dis tinguished visitors were In Winston-Salem to throw their collective weight behind a dream realized — the first-ever National Black Theater Festi val. Winston-Salem Is Site Of Attention With Theatre she recalled watching Ruby Dee perform In "A Raisin In the Sun" on her family's small black and white television when she was growing up In rural Mississippi. That production, and participa tion In the black church — with Its theatrical elements — In spired her to build a career she knew would one day Involve act ing, she said. "I let that vision cany me," she said. "If there had not been black theater, there would not be an 'Oprah Winfrey Show.'" Fargas, best known for his re curring role of "Huggy Bear" on the television series "Starsky and Hutch," said he was drawn to acting by watching Adolph Caesar, Clarence Williams and other black actors and actresses practice their craft on the New York stage. He called black theater and the black church "the preservers of our (black) culture." Hholo/CALVIN FERGUSON The Charlotte Friends of the Arts umlversoiy committee plan for their September celebration. The are from left to right: Wanda Reeves, Hester Johnson, founder Vivian Williams , Vanesa Green, executive director of Afro Center , Stephanie Coimts and ciurent president Marie Watkins. ■ Arts Advocacy Group To Celebrate 10th .Anniversary With Dinner, Arts Update special To The Post The Charlotte Friends of the Arts, an affiliate of the Afro- American Cultural Center, a ins to celebrate their tenth nlversary with a formal din ner gala at Windows on Trade, Sunday. Sept. 25. Over the years each Friend has bepfi an avid advocate of the arts and'dedicated to community ser- ,vlce. Members are committed to supporting and promoting art organizations and artists In Charlotte. Many successful fund raising events have been planned and Implemented to provide needed funds for the Afro Center, stu dent scholarships, receptions for artists and showcasing of student talent. Special guests to the gala will be Dr. George Butler, a native Charlottean and presently vice- president/executive producer CBS records. New York, Viv ian Nivens and Shirley Farrar, former directors of the Afro Center and charter members of the Friends. They will give an update on the arts In Charlotte through the years. The six-day event -—conceived by Larry Leon Hamlin, artistic director of the North Carolina Black Repertory Company, and nurtured by author Maya Ange- lou — features plays, workshops and celebrity receptions. It Is de signed to both celebrate and bol ster black theater companies, which historically have been fi nancially strapped and have tended to be Isolated from one another. She has used her popular talk show as a springboard to an ac claimed supporting role In the film "The Color Purple" and a starring role In "The Women of Brewster Place," a TV-movle. Van Peebles, testifying to the traditional fragmentation and Isolation of black theater, said he knew of no one presenting any aspect of the black experi ence on stage when he was be^n- nlng his career. "Black theater took me where I belonged when I didn't even know it," Ms. Winfrey said. "I am grateful to black theater, be cause black theater Is me." She was joined at the news con ference by several prominent figures In black theater. Includ ing director Melvin Van Peebles, producer Woodle King Jr., actor Antonio Fargas and Ms. Ange- lou. He went Into theater, he said, "because I had never seen my Im age" in a profession of white per formers and white themes. The Friends ■wish to thank the Charlotte community for their continued support from 1979 to 1989! Apart from her obvious draw ing power, Ms. Winfrey might have seemed an odd choice as special guest for Monday night's opening dinner. She stressed, however, that black theater was Instrumental In her rise to tele- ■vislon superstardom. At a news conference Monday, With plans to repeat the festi val eveiy two years In Winston- Salem, Hamlin sees a continua tion and strengthening of the unity being displayed this week. "Black theater will never be come Isolated and fragmented again," he vowed. ■, . Oprah Credits Black Theater With Show WINSTON-SALEM (AP) —Talk .show hostess Oprah Winfrey says she couldn't have created the "Oprah Winfrey Show" with out the Influence of black thea ter. Me, I Can't Cope," by the North Carolina Black Repertory Com pany. The National Black Theatre Festival opened In Winston- Salem Monday -with a reception featuring Ms. Winfrey as guest of honor. The reception Included a performance of "Don't Bother The festival -will showcase pro ductions from 16 of the top black theater companies In the nation this week. The festival also includes seminars on black theater. Ms. Winfrey said. "I remember sitting on the kitchen floor, watching 'A Raisin In the Sun' on my little black and white TV. That was when I decided acting was what I wanted to do with my life and I let that vision carry me." "If there had not been a black theater, there would not have been an Oprah Winfrey show," "1 hope the festival will benefit and strengthen our spirituality, focus and direction," said festi val producer Larry Leon Ham lin. V^nfrey "God Is Our Very Best Friend" Read You King James Bible, Pray and Thank God Every Day. I on dry cleaning only silk not Included Monday-Saturday Offer Expires Augusf 24.1989 Minimum $5. After Rebate COUPON MUST ACCOMPANY ORDER Full Price After 30 Days Expert Alterations • We Work Saturdays Too! AMERICAN DRY CLEANERS & LAUNDRY 1806 North Graham Street • 333-6111 (Next to Hutchison Shopping Center) Minority Suppliers: Make the connection. at the 12th Annual Carolinas Minority Supplier Development Councils Trade Expo Don't miss this once-a-year opportunity to meet purchasing representatives from corporations all over North and South Carolina! Make the connection at the CMSDC Trade Expo, Wednesday and Thursday September 27 & 28, at the Charlotte Marriott City Center Hotel. Booths and banquet tickets must be reserved in advance. For more infromation or to make reservations, call (704)372-8731. Or write: Malcolm Graham, Executive Director, 700 E. Stonewall, Street Suite 340 Charlotte, NC 28202 Contributing Exhibitors m.i Mi'll V’.y A & G Engineering Co. ADOLPH COOKS COMPANY Aluminum Company of America American Express TRS AT&T Babcock & Wilcox Bali Company BASF Structural Materials, Inc. Burlington Industries, Inc. Burroughs Wellcome Co. Carolina Power & Light Company City of Durham Duke Power Company E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., Inc First Union National Bank Frito-Lay, INC. General Tire Glaxoi Inc Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company (The) IBM Corporation (RTP) IBM Corporation (Charlotte) Karistan Bigelow (Division of Fieldcrest Cannon, Inc.) Kayser-Roth Hosiery, Inc. Liggett & Myers Tobacco Co. Michelin Tire Corporation Miller Brewing Company NCNB Corporation Northen Telecom Phillip Morris USA Peidmont Natural Gas Co., Inc. R. J. Reynolds Tobacco USA Royal Insurance Sara Lee Corporation South Carolina Electric & Gas SOUTHERN BELL/BELLSOUTH SERVICES Westinghouse - Savannah River Company , \ js',' k-' ■1
The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Aug. 17, 1989, edition 1
11
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75