Born and raised in New York, French began his career in community theater. It wasn’t long before he was also performing in street plays in Harlem for Amiri Baraka’s Black Arts Repertory Theater. In 1967 French was one of the founding members of the Negro Ensemble Company. His career however, was not limited to theater. He also has appeared in such notable films as “Malcolm X”, “Crooklyn”, “Car Wash”, “Round Midnight”and “Kinsey”, and on television programs such as “Law and Order”.

In light of his contributions to theatre, Actor’s Equity Association has named him the 2015 recipient of the Paul Robeson Citation award.

BRAVO to the great Arthur French who will receive the Actors' Equity Foundation 2015 Paul Robeson Citation Award http://t.co/UKjFOYJhi3

— Actors' Equity (@ActorsEquity) October 9, 2015

French joins other notable recipients of the award such as Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee, Maya Angelou and Sidney Poitier, among others. According to the website,

Created in 1971, the award honors individuals or organizations that best exemplify and practice the principles to which Mr. Robeson devoted his life:  dedication to the universal brotherhood of all humankind, commitment to the freedom of conscience and of expression, belief in the artist’s responsibility to society, respect for the dignity of the individual and concern for and service to all humans of any race or nationality.

Actors’ Equity Association is the U.S. labor union that represents more than 50,000 Actors and Stage Managers. Equity seeks to foster the art of live theatre as an essential component of society and advances the careers of its members by negotiating wages, working conditions and providing a wide range of benefits, including health and pension plans.  Actor’s Equity Association has committed to “…present annual citations to the individual or organization that, during the preceding year or years, best exemplified and practiced the principles and ideals of the great humanitarian, Paul Robeson.”

French will be presented with the award at 2:00 pm on Friday, October 16, 2015 at the Eastern Regional Membership Meeting of Actors’ Equity Association.  We are thrilled to express our appreciation to Arthur French for his contribution to Black Broadway and our congratulations on receiving this well deserved award!

The post Arthur French Honored with the Paul Robeson Citation Award appeared first on Broadway Black.

Among the veteran artists are: playwright/screenwriter Richard Wesley, 70; founding director of New Federal Theatre Woodie King Jr., 78; and actor/director Arthur French, 84. They will share memories and reflections chronicling their rich, artistic lives.

Wesley, associate professor at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and chair of the Rita and Burton Goldberg Department of Dramatic Writing.  His 1971 play The Black Terror, produced at the New York Shakespeare Festival’s Public Theatre, was a Drama Desk winner, produced at the New York Shakespeare Festival’s Public Theatre. He wrote the screenplays for Uptown Saturday Night (1974) and it’s follow-up Let’s Do It Again (1975), both which starred Bill Cosby and Sidney Poitier.  His The Mighty Gents, an Audelco Award winner, premiered on Broadway in 1978, while The Talented Tenth (1989)  was inspired by W.E.B. Du Bois’ 1903 article of the same name.

French, an original member of Negro Ensemble Company led by Douglas Turner Ward, made his Broadway debut in Melvin Van Peebles’ Ain’t Supposed To Die a Natural Death. Having films credits with “Car Wash” (1976), Julie Delpy’s “2 Days In New York” (2012) and Spike Lee’s “Red Hook Summer” (2012), French has thrived on smaller stages. He received a Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in Peter Norton Space’s 2006 production of Two Trains Running.

King, who founded New Federal Theater in 1970, received Atlanta Black Theatre Fesitival’s 2014 Theatre Legend Award and was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 2011. His production work has included several installments of Ron Milner’s Checkmates; August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson and Joe Turner’s Come and Gone; Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun; Samm-Art Williams’ Home; and Howard Simon’s James Baldwin: A Soul on Fire.

Other artists to be celebrated include: photographer Dwight Carter and founding member of The Last Poets Abiodun Oyewole, 67. Interestingly, Oct. 17 is recognized as National Black Poetry Day. All the featured artists are poets in their own right.

Scott, an actress, director, playwright and cultural historian, has Off-Broadway and regional theater credits that include The Old Globe in San Diego, Yale Rep and Roundabout Theater in New York. She won a Drama Desk Award for her Broadway debut in My Sister, My Sister.

The event starts at 7pm. The National Black Theatre is located at 2031 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10035.

For more information visit the VENUE or EVENT PAGE.

The post Veteran Black Artists Reflect On Artistic Lives In INSIGHT/SECOND SIGHT appeared first on Broadway Black.

The Morningside Players was founded in 1974 with a mission to present “vibrant, meaningful new works and classic plays to our Morningside Heights community and beyond”. Using community and professional actors, the company has seen great success over the decades and was the recipient of the 2014 AUDELCO Award for Best Revival for their production of The Old Settler.

Their current production of the Pulitzer and Tony Award winning Fences has been moving audiences for the past few weeks with its deft direction and sterling performances. This timeless story of love, family, and redemption is not to be missed.

The added performances of The Morningside Players production of Fences by August Wilson are Friday, June 5th and Sunday, June 7th. For tickets and more information, visit www.morningsideplayers.org

Watch a clip from the 2010 Broadway production starring Denzel Washington and Viola Davis below.

The post August Wilson’s Fences Extends At Morningside Players appeared first on Broadway Black.