Playbill: Conceived by inaugural playwright Erika Dickerson-Despenza, the two-year playwriting residency is named in honor of the late Public Theater artist and Barnard alum Ntozake Shange. Awarded to a distinguished woman, femme, trans, or non-binary playwright of the African diaspora, the residency will include a salary with benefits and full support to selected playwrights.
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“And what better honor than to continue to support women, femmes, and non-binary playwrights of the African Diaspora?” This quote sums up what I think is so so important about this article - honoring the folks who have made revolutionary contributions to our world and industry should come in the form of continuing their legacy and dreams. This residency is the perfect example of that. Ntozake Shange was a revolutionary theatre maker and human, and it is incredible to see that the Public Theater and Barnard have come together to create the resources and support for future change makers like Shange. The artistic director of the Public added that “this is what both universities and non-profit theatres need to do: provide jobs for writers and artists which are not dependent on capitalism and the tyranny of the market,” and I couldn’t agree more. This is exactly the steps that theaters and organizations need to be taking in order to create a more just industry for the incredible Black woman, femme, trans, non-binary artists of our time.
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