Kuntu Repertory Theatre
Encyclopedia
Kuntu Repertory Theatre is an African-American
repertory theatre based at the University of Pittsburgh
in Pittsburgh
, Pennsylvania
, United States
.
Dr. Vernell A. Lillie founded it in 1975 as a way of showcasing the playwright Rob Penny
. The next year Penny's friend, August Wilson
, brought his play Homecoming to Kuntu; it was his first play to be produced by a resident company.
Wilson, Penny, and poet Maisha Baton also started the Kuntu Writers Workshop to bring African-American writers together in discussion and to assist them in publication and production.
The Kuntu Repertory Theatre has won multiple awards, including several Onyx and People's Choice awards from the African American Council of Theatre The company has also participated in the Pittsburgh New Works Festival
.
The primary venue for the Kuntu Repertory Theatre is the seventh-floor auditorium of the university's Alumni Hall
.
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
repertory theatre based at the University of Pittsburgh
University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of...
in Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Dr. Vernell A. Lillie founded it in 1975 as a way of showcasing the playwright Rob Penny
Rob Penny
Robert Lee "Rob" Penny was an African American playwright, poet, social activist, and professor.-Early life:Penny was born in Opelika, Alabama on August 6, 1941. He moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania's Hill District as a toddler, where he was raised...
. The next year Penny's friend, August Wilson
August Wilson
August Wilson was an American playwright whose work included a series of ten plays, The Pittsburgh Cycle, for which he received two Pulitzer Prizes for Drama...
, brought his play Homecoming to Kuntu; it was his first play to be produced by a resident company.
Wilson, Penny, and poet Maisha Baton also started the Kuntu Writers Workshop to bring African-American writers together in discussion and to assist them in publication and production.
The Kuntu Repertory Theatre has won multiple awards, including several Onyx and People's Choice awards from the African American Council of Theatre The company has also participated in the Pittsburgh New Works Festival
Pittsburgh New Works Festival
Pittsburgh New Works Festival is an annual festival that produces original one-act plays utilizing the resources of Pittsburgh-area theatre companies. Established in 1990 by Donna Rae, the Festival features four weeks of productions of new plays as well as two weeks of staged readings...
.
The primary venue for the Kuntu Repertory Theatre is the seventh-floor auditorium of the university's Alumni Hall
Alumni Hall (University of Pittsburgh)
Alumni Hall at the University of Pittsburgh is a Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation Historic Landmark that was formerly known as the Masonic Temple in Pittsburgh. Constructed in 1914-1915, it was designed by renowned architect Benno Janssen of Janssen & Abbot Architects...
.