Bishop John Heath with his daughter Bethany.
Unless you are new to the area or have been hiding under a rock, you know that the National Black Theatre Festival (NBTF) is set to make its 20th appearance in Winston-Salem August 3-8.
The festival, founded in 1989, was the brainchild of the late Larry Leon (Mr. Marvtastic) Hamlin, founder and artistic director of the North Carolina Black Repertory Company (NCBRC) based in Winston-Salem. His goal was to unite black theater companies in America and ensure the survival of the genre into the next millennium.
Winston-Salem State University has maintained its connection to the biennial event since its inception in myriad ways. In one way this year, the festival has come full circle. For example, Bethany Heath was just seven years old in 1989 when she watched her father, Bishop John H. Heath, from the wings in the rehearsals and performance of the musical production Don’t Bother Me I Can’t Cope, which opened the festival. When the festival opens this year, Bethany, a music education major at WSSU and a member of the University Choir and the Burke Singers, will be a featured performer in the 2009 NBTF production of COPE, along with her father, who is recreating his role in the production. Bethany has been a standout performer for the NCBRC and has appeared in Black Nativity, Mahalia – The Queen of the Gospel, and the Martin Luther King Birthday Celebration.
The festival has other ties to WSSU as well. Several members of NCBRC’s board are WSSU graduates or have ties to WSSU. Sylvia Sprinkle Hamlin, the wife of Larry Leon Hamlin, is an NCBRC/NBTF board member and a graduate of WSSU. Former WSSU Board of Trustees chair Nigel Alston is a NCBRC board member. Dr. Elwanda Ingram, WSSU professor of English, is a NCBRC board member and has been a supporter and volunteer for nearly 25 years. Michelle Cook, WSSU Vice Chancellor for University Advancement, serves on the NCBRC board. RaVonda Dalton Rann, Executive Assistant to the Chancellor and Secretary of the University, has also been a member of the board.
Kenneth R. Williams Auditorium and Dillard Auditorium in the Anderson Center have both served as performance venues for NBTF productions and the WSSU Foundation has been a sponsor and supporter of the festival’s International Colloquium since its inception.
The 20th anniversary of the National Black Theatre Festival surely will be an international celebration and reunion of spirit and Winston-Salem State will be a part of it.
