Acting Black- A History of Black Performing Arts in Rhode Island

“Stages of Freedom: Black Performing Arts in Rhode Island” will explore the contributions Black artists have made to the performing arts, specifically on stage and screen, in Rhode Island. The project will help us look at performing arts as a tradition of dynamic cultural, ritual and identity exercises that tell important stories about the Black past and inform the present. While Blacks have used acting, dance, and storytelling to entertain, the act of forgetting, they’ve also used it in equal measure to build community, to be seen and heard, and to pass story and identity on to others. By extension, this project will collectively honor the RI makers of performance art, and “pass it on.”