Contemporary Black Theatre and Performance: Acts of Rebellion, Activism, and Solidarity

Editors: DeRon S. Williams, Khalid Y. Long, Martine Kei Green-Rogers
Series Editors: William C. Boles and Anja Hartl

How are Black artists, activists, and pedagogues wielding acts of rebellion, activism, and solidarity to precipitate change? How have contemporary performances impacted Black cultural, social, and political struggles? What are the ways in which these acts and artists engage varied Black identities and explore shared histories?

Contemporary Black Theatre and Performance: Acts of Rebellion, Activism, and Solidarity investigates these questions to illuminate the relationship between performance, identity, intersectionality, and activism in North America and beyond. It features contributions from scholars, artists, and activists across disciplines who explore the nuances and varied forms of Black performance in the 21st century while incorporating performance-based methodologies and queer and Black feminist theories.

Among the many topics addressed are antiracist pedagogy, Black queer identity formation in Black playwriting, digital blackface, and Black women's subversive practices within contemporary popular culture. The collection includes analysis of Lynn Nottage's Sweat, Tarell Alvin McCraney's Choir Boy, and acts of resistance during the Black Lives Matter summer 2020 highway protests.

View the book at Bloomsbury

guest journal editor

“The Role of Theatre at Historically Black Colleges and Universities,” co-edited with Khalid Y. Long. The Black Theatre Review. Vol. 3. No. 2.

The Ground Beneath the Craft: Directing, Process, and Practice (monograph)

“Crafting Collaboration: Stage Direction as a Tactical Practice of Creative Partnership” (article)

book(s) and articles in progress

articles, book chapters, and essays

“Directing Wilson: A Roundtable with Ron OJ Parson, Mark Clayton Southers, Derrick Sanders, Timothy Douglas, Seret Scott, and Bartlett Sher.” August Wilson in Context, edited by Khalid Y. Long and Isaiah M. Wooden. Cambridge University Press.

“Tarell Alvin McCraney,” Contemporary Literary Criticism. Gale-Cengage.

“New Possibilities: The evolution of Black stories in US and UK theatre – and the Black theatre-makers who are leading a profound shift in the narratives we see on stage.” Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) Programme for Fat Ham, Stratford-upon-Avon, United Kingdom.

“In the Trenches: A Conversation with Christina Anderson.” Contemporary Black Theatre and Performance: Acts of Rebellion, Activism, and Solidarity, edited by DeRon S. Williams, Khalid Y. Long, and Martine Kei Green-Rogers. London: Methuen Drama.

dramaturgical essays

“The Interview: Lili-Anne Brown,” Backstory: Your Guide to TimeLine Productions, TimeLine Theatre, Chicago, IL.

“Skepticism, Survival, and the State: Race and the Politics of Public Health Trust,” Backstory: Your Guide to TimeLine Productions, TimeLine Theatre, Chicago, IL.

“Before The Outbreak: Jonathan Spector And The Making Of Eureka Day,” Backstory: Your Guide to TimeLine Productions, TimeLine Theatre, Chicago, IL.

“The Timeline: Vaccine Development,” Backstory Magazine, Eureka Day by Jonathan Spector, TimeLine Theatre, Chicago, IL.

“Words Of America: Notes On Anna Deavere Smith,” Backstory: Your Guide to TimeLine Productions, TimeLine Theatre, Chicago, IL.

“America’s School-to-Prison Pipeline,” Backstory: Your Guide to TimeLine Productions, TimeLine Theatre, Chicago, IL.

“Echoes Of Reality: The Transformative Power of Documentary Theatre,” Backstory: Your Guide to TimeLine Productions, TimeLine Theatre, Chicago, IL.

“The Interview: Mikael Burke,” assisted by Camille Rose Pugliese, Backstory: Your Guide to TimeLine Productions, TimeLine Theatre, Chicago, IL.

“African Americans, Cotton, and Capitalism,” Backstory Magazine, The Lehman Trilogy by Stefano Massini and adapted by Ben Powers, TimeLine Theatre, Chicago, IL.

“Co-Directors Vanessa Stalling and Nick Bowling,” Backstory Magazine, The Lehman Trilogy by Stefano Massini and adapted by Ben Powers, TimeLine Theatre, Chicago, IL.

“The Timeline: An Annotated History of Lehman Brothers,” Backstory Magazine, The Lehman Trilogy by Stefano Massini and adapted by Ben Powers, TimeLine Theatre, Chicago, IL.

“The Timeline: African American Achievements in Film,” Backstory Magazine Boulevard of Bold Dreams by Ladarrion Williams, TimeLine Theatre, Chicago, IL.

“Black Pioneers of America’s Film Industry,” Backstory Magazine, Boulevard of Bold Dreams by Ladarrion Williams, TimeLine Theatre, Chicago, IL.

“Hattie McDaniel and the Night of Dreams,” Backstory Magazine, Boulevard of Bold Dreams by Ladarrion Williams, TimeLine Theatre, Chicago, IL.

“Alice Childress, Her Plays, and the American Negro Theatre,” Backstory Magazine, Trouble in Mind by Alice Childress, TimeLine Theatre, Chicago, IL.

“The Timeline: The African American Experience and Civil Rights Movement from 1950 to 1959,” Backstory Magazine, Trouble in Mind by Alice Childress, TimeLine Theatre, Chicago, IL.

“Black Creators on the Great White Way,” Backstory Magazine, Trouble in Mind by Alice Childress, TimeLine Theatre, Chicago, IL.

“The Interview, An Interview with Ron OJ Parson,” Backstory Magazine, Trouble in Mind by Alice Childress, TimeLine Theatre, Chicago, IL.

book reviews

Tarell Alvin McCraney: Theater, Performance, and Collaboration by Sharrell D. Luckett, David Román, and Isaiah M. Wooden. Journal of American Drama and Theatre (JADT). Vol. 33.2.

Blackeyed: Plays and Monologues by Mary E. Weems. Continuum: The Journal of African Diaspora, Theatre, and Performance. Volume 5.1.

Black Acting Methods by Sharrell D. Luckett with Tia M. Shaffer. Journal of American Drama and Theatre (JADT). Vol. 31.2.

Approaches to Teaching the Plays of August Wilson, edited by Sandra Shannon and Sandra Richards. Continuum: The Journal of African Diaspora, Theatre, and Performance. Volume 4.2.

public lecture

HYMN as Healing: Black Masculinity and Diasporic Memory in Chicago. Pre~Amble Lecture Series. Chicago Shakespeare Theatre. May 10, 17, & 18, 2025

DeRon S. Williams presents a PRE-AMBLE Lecture on US premiere of HYMN at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre

DeRon S. Williams, PhD, Assistant Professor of Theatre at Loyola University Chicago, presents a lecture as part of the PRE-AMBLE Lecture series at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre for the US premiere of HYMN, written by Lolita Chakrabarti and directed by Ron OJ Parson. The lecture, "HYMN as Healing: Black Masculinity & Diasporic Memory in Chicago," explores Chicago's historical backdrop and the creation of Black urban identity, the cultural power of music, and Black masculinity and intergenerational Trauma.

Watch on YouTube