Tazewell Thompson
Encyclopedia
Tazewell Thompson is a playwright
, a director
, and former Artistic Director of the Westport Country Playhouse
in Westport
, Connecticut
.
He was born in New York City
.
As an actor, he was a cast member of the original Broadway productions of The National Health (1974) and Checking Out
(1976).
He wrote and directed, among many others, the play Constant Star, which has toured the United States. A musical about the life of Ida B. Wells
, Constant Star uses five actresses to play her as well as other persons in her life. Although primarily a drama, it includes about 20 negro spirituals sung by the actresses. Of his play, Thompson says
For the televised performance of his production of Porgy and Bess
, he was nominated for an Emmy as Best Director. In the early 1990s, he was artistic director of Syracuse Stage
. He also won an NAACP Theatre Award for Director of a Musical in the 16th Annual NAACP Theatre Awards
.
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
, a director
Theatre direction
A theatre director or stage director is a practitioner in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production by unifying various endeavours and aspects of production...
, and former Artistic Director of the Westport Country Playhouse
Westport Country Playhouse
Westport Country Playhouse, is a not-for-profit theater in Westport, Connecticut. Under the artistic direction of Mark Lamos the Playhouse produces new and classic plays for the public....
in Westport
Westport, Connecticut
-Neighborhoods:* Saugatuck – around the Westport railroad station near the southwestern corner of the town – a built-up area with some restaurants, stores and offices....
, Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
.
He was born in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
As an actor, he was a cast member of the original Broadway productions of The National Health (1974) and Checking Out
Checking Out (play)
Checking Out is a 1976 Broadway play written by Allen Swift. It opened on September 14, 1976 at the Longacre Theatre and closed on September 25, 1976 after 16 performances.-Original Production:...
(1976).
He wrote and directed, among many others, the play Constant Star, which has toured the United States. A musical about the life of Ida B. Wells
Ida B. Wells
Ida Bell Wells-Barnett was an African American journalist, newspaper editor and, with her husband, newspaper owner Ferdinand L. Barnett, an early leader in the civil rights movement. She documented lynching in the United States, showing how it was often a way to control or punish blacks who...
, Constant Star uses five actresses to play her as well as other persons in her life. Although primarily a drama, it includes about 20 negro spirituals sung by the actresses. Of his play, Thompson says
- My first introduction to Ida B. Wells was the PBSPublic Broadcasting ServiceThe Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
documentary on her life. Her story gnawed at me. A woman born in slavery, she would grow to become one of the great pioneer activists of the Civil Rights movement. A precursor of Rosa ParksRosa ParksRosa Louise McCauley Parks was an African-American civil rights activist, whom the U.S. Congress called "the first lady of civil rights", and "the mother of the freedom movement"....
, she was a suffragist, newspaper editor and publisher, investigative journalist, co-founder of the NAACP, political candidate, mother, wife, and the single most powerful leader in the anti-lynching campaign in America. A dynamic, controversial, temperamental, uncompromising race woman, she broke bread and crossed swords with some of the movers and shakers of her time: Frederick DouglassFrederick DouglassFrederick Douglass was an American social reformer, orator, writer and statesman. After escaping from slavery, he became a leader of the abolitionist movement, gaining note for his dazzling oratory and incisive antislavery writing...
, Susan B. AnthonySusan B. AnthonySusan Brownell Anthony was a prominent American civil rights leader who played a pivotal role in the 19th century women's rights movement to introduce women's suffrage into the United States. She was co-founder of the first Women's Temperance Movement with Elizabeth Cady Stanton as President...
, Marcus GarveyMarcus GarveyMarcus Mosiah Garvey, Jr., ONH was a Jamaican publisher, journalist, entrepreneur, and orator who was a staunch proponent of the Black Nationalism and Pan-Africanism movements, to which end he founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League...
, Booker T. WashingtonBooker T. WashingtonBooker Taliaferro Washington was an American educator, author, orator, and political leader. He was the dominant figure in the African-American community in the United States from 1890 to 1915...
, W. E. B. Du Bois, President McKinleyWilliam McKinleyWilliam McKinley, Jr. was the 25th President of the United States . He is best known for winning fiercely fought elections, while supporting the gold standard and high tariffs; he succeeded in forging a Republican coalition that for the most part dominated national politics until the 1930s...
. By any fair assessment, she was a seminal figure in Post-Reconstruction America.
- On her passing in 1931, Ida B. Wells was interred in the Oak Woods Cemetery, Chicago. Her formidable contributions to the Civil Rights movement have, until most recently, been under-appreciated. Until now; almost, but not quite, an historical footnote.
- This play with song is my attempt to let her story breathe freely on stage - to give it a symphonic expression - to give her extraordinary persona an audience, something she always craved.
For the televised performance of his production of Porgy and Bess
Porgy and Bess
Porgy and Bess is an opera, first performed in 1935, with music by George Gershwin, libretto by DuBose Heyward, and lyrics by Ira Gershwin and DuBose Heyward. It was based on DuBose Heyward's novel Porgy and subsequent play of the same title, which he co-wrote with his wife Dorothy Heyward...
, he was nominated for an Emmy as Best Director. In the early 1990s, he was artistic director of Syracuse Stage
Syracuse Stage
Syracuse Stage is a professional non-profit theatre company in Syracuse, New York, U.S.A. It is the premier professional theatre in Central New York. It was founded in 1974 by Arthur Storch, who was its first artistic director. The company grew out of the Syracuse Repertory Theatre that was...
. He also won an NAACP Theatre Award for Director of a Musical in the 16th Annual NAACP Theatre Awards
NAACP Theatre Awards
The NAACP Theatre Awards is an award presented annually by the Beverly Hills-Hollywood branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People to honor outstanding people of color in theatre....
.
Other sources
- Variety, Tue., Jun. 21, 2005 - Thompson in at Westport: Artistic director to begin new role Jan. 1 - by Frank Rizzo
- Westport Now, June 20, 2005 - Westport Playhouse Names Tazewell Thompson Artistic Director