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A Season of Celebration:
Signature Founding Artistic Director James Houghton
Looks Back on the NEC Season.
Ruben Santiago-Hudson first introduced the idea to me of presenting a season of work from the Negro Ensemble Company here at Signature. I immediately responded to it as an inspired and creative opportunity to celebrate and honor the legacy of this invaluable company. Douglas Turner Ward, Robert Hooks, and Gerald S. Krone made an indelible mark on theatre history when they founded the NEC over forty years ago as a place where black theatre artists, and playwrights in particular, could thrive and tell their own stories. Reviewing the distinguished list of playwrights that Signature has celebrated over the years, all of whom have contributed substantially to our American theatrical landscape, it is clear that the body of work and company of writers produced by the NEC is an essential part of that history.
Doug programmed a rich and varied array of playwrights over the course of his twenty-five years as the first Artistic Director of the NEC. We have been honored to have three of these writers in residence with us this season. Leslie Lee's The First Breeze of Summer was a timeless portrait of legacy, family, and coming of age. Samm-Art Williams's Home presented a man's epic journey through a changing and turbulent America. As I write this, we are preparing for our final offering of the NEC Season, Charles Fuller's Zooman and the Sign - a story of the havoc and trauma wreaked on a family and community by an act of gang violence, a tale that is, unfortunately, still very timely.
This past season has allowed Signature to forge new connections and relationships, whether they were with our three Playwrights-in-Residence, members of the NEC both past and present, or new artists. But over the years we have been extremely fortunate at Signature to welcome back many returning artists, and this season has been a particularly rich one of alumni returning to help celebrate the NEC. I want to thank Ruben Santiago-Hudson in particular, who typically gave his heart and soul to this process, both as director of The First Breeze of Summer and as the NEC Season's Associate Artist. I also want to recognize Charles Weldon, the current Artistic Director of the NEC, for his unflagging support of this season. Lastly, I want to thank Douglas Turner Ward for sharing his vision, time, and memories with us throughout the season.
From the beginning, our hope was to celebrate the remarkable achievements of the Negro Ensemble Company by offering a sampling from their diverse and deep body of work and in doing so bring the proper attention and context to their legacy and contribution to the American theatre. Their work is alive and well and reflects profoundly on our shared American story.
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