St. Louis Black Repertory Company

Saint Louis, Missouri

Producing Director Ron Himes founded St. Louis Black Repertory Company (The Black Rep) in 1976 while a student at Washington University because many of his peers were not receiving practical experience in campus productions due to the lack of roles for African-Americans. The company began touring to college campuses and eventually found a home in Greely Presbyterian Church's former sanctuary in 1981, which was later converted into the 23 rd Street Theatre. In 1992, the company moved into the newly renovated Grandel Theatre, located in the Grand Center, St. Louis' arts and entertainment district. As a result of Himes' leadership, The Black Rep has become highly respected both locally and nationally for its quality productions from the African-American perspective. The Black Rep offers educational and community programs to assist educators and community groups in efforts to provide holistic academic experiences for young people. These programs include touring productions that illustrate math, communication arts, history, and literature; theater workshops that encourage creative expression, technical, set, costume, and sound engineering; a summer youth performing arts program that features instruction in speech and movement techniques, costume, acting, dance, and music; student matinees of mainstage productions; and a teen tech program that offers opportunities for teens to work behind the scenes of mainstage productions.

s part of Shakespeare for a New Generation, St. Louis Black Repertory Company will produce a mainstage production of Romeo and Juliet and a touring production of Hamlet for youths of Hamlet. Students from the greater St. Louis region will attend the mainstage production and students from throughout Missouri and Illinois will have access to the touring production. The mainstage production of Romeo and Juliet will be viewed through the prism of the black experience in America and will give students a rare opportunity to see a mainstage production identical to the evening performances. Hamlet will be a text-based, abridged version performed by The Black Rep's professional touring company, which will go directly to students in schools across Missouri and Illinois.

Visit them at: www.theblackrep.org