A generous grant from the Henry Luce Foundation has fueled a partnership among Wake Forest's School of Divinity, the University's Wake the Arts Center, and Winston-Salem's NC Black Repertory Theatre (NC Black Rep). The grant provided funding for two plays to be written for and premiered during this year's International Black Theatre Festival (IBTF)
JuCoby Johnson
The project, "Finding Holy Ground: Performing Visions of Race and Justice in America," was announced in January 2022 with a $250,000 grant received by Wake Forest from the Henry Luce Foundation. The following September, playwrights JuCoby Johnson and Eljon Wardally were selected to each receive a $10,000 commission, developmental workshop support and fully-staged productions of their plays.
Johnson's play, "Heritage," and Wardally's play, "I Am… a Shepherdess," will be performed on Wake Forest University's Reynolda Campus in the Ring Theatre and on the Harold C. Tedford Mainstage. A full schedule of productions is available on the IBTF website.
Eljon Wardally
"We are absolutely thrilled about our partnership with NC Black Repertory Company and Wake the Arts for this year's International Black Theatre Festival," said Corey D. B. Walker, dean of the School of Divinity and Wake Forest Professor of the Humanities. "The arts are central to graduate theological education at Wake Divinity, and this initiative promises to be a catalyst for expanding the public conversation on faith and the arts in our challenging times."
Plays were selected based on their ability to encourage community conversations on race, justice and religion in the U.S.
"By bringing stories to life on stage, theatre allows people to connect emotionally with characters and their experiences. It has the power to foster empathy and can motivate people to take action towards positive change," said Reynolds Professor of Dance Christina Soriano. "We are honored to help create this important bridge for our community and for the 65,000 festival attendees."
The International Black Theatre Festival runs from July 29 through Aug. 3. Wake Forest University's Wait Chapel and Allegacy Stadium will join the City of Winston-Salem in using purple lighting to celebrate the week-long festival.
Download the NC Black Rep app for easy access to the six-day festival schedule.
Soriano and Walker will share insights on the Finding Holy Ground project at the opening-day news conference hosted by the 2024 International Black Theatre Festival on July 29 at noon in the Marriott Lobby (425 N. Cherry St. Winston-Salem) and will be available for additional media questions following the event.
