How much do we love The Foundry? Oh, I don’t know, a lot!!

This looks like a really great series of salons they’re presenting, curated by Talvin Wilks. Here are the basics:

THE TESTAMENT PROJECT SALON SERIES

Three Conversations Addressing Issues of Black Theatre in the 21st Century

Curated by Talvin Wilks, Scholar-in-Residence, the Foundry Theatre

in collaboration with members of

The Collective (Tisch School of the Arts/NYU) and The Movement

Sponsored by The Foundry Theatre’s Civic Dialogue Series

Funded in part by the Ford Foundation

April 14, 21 and 28, 2008

Location:

Tisch School of the Arts/New York University

The Dean’s Conference Room, 12th Floor

721 Broadway

The Testament Project is an ongoing research component of Testament: 40 Years of Black Theatre History in the Making, (1964-2004), a collection of essays, critical analyses and interviews that reflect the dynamic and immediate history of the Black Theatre tradition in America. Beginning with the Black Arts Movement and the landmark rise of such theatres as the Negro Ensemble Company, the National Black Theatre and the New Federal Theater and ending with the closing of a series of Black regional theatres and the explosion of the Hip Hop Theatre Movement, this 40 year testimonial is an attempt to provide a cohesive and connective discourse between generations in order to support a continuum of thoughts, aesthetics and practices in the 21st Century.

More detailed info after the jump:

APRIL 14, 2008

6:30 – Social Gathering

7-9 Conversation

A Now Generation of African American Women Playwrights

What is the climate like for African American Women playwrights today? How are these dynamic writers finding their way in the 21st Century? Hear their perspectives on the state of the art.>

Featuring a conversation with Kia Corthron, Cassandra Medley, Lynn Nottage Katori Hall, and more…

APRIL 21, 2008

6:30-Social Gathering

7-9 Conversation

The Future of the Art: Black Theatre Institutions in the 21st Century

Following a dynamic history of thriving black theatre companies what is the current climate? How are companies managing in the new century and what are their new strategies for survival? Celebrate this cultural history as we launch a new intergenerational and collective era.

Featuring a conversation with Woodie King, Jr. (New Federal Theatre), Voza Rivers (Harlem Arts Alliance), Ricardo Khan (Crossroads Theatre), Karen Baxter (Rites and Reasons, Providence, RI), Dominic Taylor (Penumbra, St. Paul, MN) Steven Sapp and Mildred Ruiz (Universes), Susan Watson Turner (Negro Ensemble Company) and Paul Cater Harrison (Playwright), and more…

APRIL 28, 2008

6:30- Social Gathering

7-9 Conversation

The Now Generation Network

Celebrate a new era of dynamic new producers and theatre practitioners. How do they navigate the demands of a new multicultural era? Who are the new leaders and what are the new forms?

Featuring a conversation with Steven Sapp and Mildred Ruiz (Universes), Kamilah Forbes and Clyde Valentine (Hip Hop Theatre Festival), Debra Ann Byrd (Take Wing and Soar), Michael Wiggins (Mud/Bone) and Monica Williams (Zipper Theatre), and more…