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AART: 15 Years of Remarkable Theater for North Texas
Dallas's own African American Repertory Theater (AART) has established a resident theater home in downtown Dallas at El Centro Community College on Main Street. AART is thrilled to have resident theater space and we look forward to bringing a season of plays to Dallas!
Breath & Imagination, a musical, was produced to rave reviews February, 2020 and the production of the The Bluest Eye, original postponed from April to July, has now been postponed until the pandemic is over. We know that this play, based on Toni Morrison's debut novel, will be a big hit. With your support, we are going to tell more stories, support talented actors, and enhance the culture of our city.
AART was founded in 2007 by stage and screen legend Irma P. Hall together with Dallas-area actors Regina Washington and Vince McGill.
The non-profit theater explores and deepens insights into what African American lives reveal of human nature and the human spirit.
The inaugural season included A Soldier's Play by Charles Fuller, A Raisin in the Sun by Loraine Hansberry, and Neat by Charlayne Woodard, a Dallas Observer's top five show pick. From its start, AART won high critical acclaim.
In 2015, AART was selected by ATTPAC's Elevator Series to produce August Wilson's Radio Golf at the Dallas Theater Center. AART has been a TACA grant recipient for seven years and was the first to be awarded TACA's prestigious Donna Wilhelm Family New Works Fund. For five years, AART has been selected for Project1Voice, the national program to foster excellence in African American theater.
Regional Premiers focused on little-known stories:
1) Harriet Jacobs - the first slave to write her own autobiographical novel, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl published in 1861.
2) Pure Confidence - the story of slave jockeys who dominated the sport in the 1800's.
3) FLY - the story of the Tuskegee Airmen, the First African American aviators in the United States Armed Forces.
In honor of the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, AART and the Dallas Historical Society collaborated to bring to the stage, The Meeting.
In 2018, AART produced the regional premier of Too Heavy for Your Pocket, by the award-winning playwright Jere'h Breon Holder. The play depicts the impact of the civil rights movement.
The first production in July for our 2019/2020 season was the regional premier of Father Comes Home from the War
Support for general operating funds
To produce engaging, culturally diverse theater from an African American perspective while educating our community on African American history and the arts.
Introduction
The African American Repertory Theater (AART) understands the importance of being committed to racial equality both internally with our work environment and externally with our programming. AART strives to create a sense of belonging that is universally experienced.
Acknowledgement and the pursuit of justice benefit everyone. As such, it is imperative to be attentive to any systems that do not ensure fairness across multiple demographics, conditions, and experiences.
Racial Equity Statement
A. We are committed to ensuring our policies, beliefs, and decisions reflect principles of equity and justice.
B. We understand that making decisions in a just and equitable manner involves considering critical issues of implicit bias and discrimination that will require our deliberate and purposeful action.
C. We commit to ensuring that our programs, activities, and use of resources are administered to avoid discrimination and barriers to access, as well as to avoid disproportionate adverse effects on communities of color.
D. We are firm in our belief that bringing together board members, volunteers, staff, and any other personnel with differing backgrounds and life experiences enhances our ability to be sensitive to the needs of our audience.
E. Accountability is important and we understand the significance of evaluating our decisions and programming efforts in the spirit of continuous improvement.
F. We will obtain relevant information as necessary and appropriate to our goals to evaluate the impact of our equity goals. This information includes population served and/or affected by various diversity dimensions (e.g., race, color, national origin, gender, income level).
Ensuring a race equity culture requires intention and effort. It is intended that this AART Racial Equity Statement inspire collaboration and strengthen our resolve to develop programming with a commitment to advance equity. We will fully integrate race equity into every aspect of our operations and programs. In addition, we will work toward dismantling any structural racism we encounter, which will result in area and global improvement.
Organization name
African-American Repertory Theater
Causes
Arts & Humanities
Operating Budget
Less than $100,000
Counties Served
Cooke, Tarrant, Rockwall, Parker, Johnson, Hood, Ellis, Denton, Dallas, Collin
BIPOC Serving
Other, Native American, Hispanic or Latinx, Asian/Pacific Islander, Black or African American
BIPOC Leadership
Both the Executive Director/CEO and Board Chair
Equity Statement
Equity Statement
Address
Sammons Center for the Arts 3630 Harry Hines Blvd