Woodie King Jr. (born July 27, 1937) is an American director and producer of stage and screen, as well as the founding director of the New Federal Theatre in New York City.[1]
Woodie King Jr. | |
|---|---|
 King at the 74th Tony Awards in 2021 | |
| Born | July 27, 1937 Baldwin Springs, Alabama, U.S. |
| Education | |
| Occupation(s) | Director, producer |
Early life and education
editKing was born in Baldwin Springs, Alabama.[2] He graduated high school in 1956 in Detroit, Michigan, United States, and worked at the Ford Motor Company there for three years. He then worked for the City of Detroit as a draftsman.
In 1970, he founded the New Federal Theatre.[1] He earned a B.A. in Self-Determined Studies, with a focus on Theatre and Black Studies, at Lehman College in 1996, and an M.F.A. at Brooklyn College in 1999.[2]
Credits
editKing has a long list of credits in film and stage direction and production, including the following:
Film
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | Sweet Love, Bitter | Performer | [3] | |
| 1972 | Together for Days | Jerry | [3] | |
| 1973 | Serpico | Larry | [3] | |
| 1976 | The Long Night | Steely | Director; Film debut | [3] |
| 2012 | Men in Black 3 | MIB HQ Guard | [3] | |
| 2015 | Staten Island Summer | Mr. Stewart | [3] |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 | N.Y.P.D. | Lewis | Episode: "Which Side Are You Own?" | [3] |
| 1981 | Death of a Prophet | — | Director; Television film | [3] |
| 1983 | Love to all, Lorraine | — | Director; Television film | [3] |
| 1994 | Law & Order | Clayton | Episode: "Wager" | [3] |
| 2009 | Law & Order: SVU | Parking Attendant | Episode: "Perverted" | [3] |
| 2011 | Treme | Performer | Episode: "Slip Away" | [3] |
| 2014 | Unforgettable | Barry | 2 episodes | [3] |
Theatre
edit| Year | Title | Playwright | Venue | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | Sizwe Banzi Is Dead | Athol Fugard | Pittsburgh Public Theater | |
| 1989 | God's Trombone | James Weldon Johnson | Ford's Theater | |
| 1987 | Splendid Mummer | Lonne Elder | American Place Theatre; Arena Stage | |
| 1987–1988 | Checkmates | Ron Milner | Inner City Cultural Center (Los Angeles) | |
| 1988 | Checkmates | Ron Milner | 46th Street Theatre, Broadway | [4] |
| 1990 | Joe Turner's Come and Gone | August Wilson | Detroit Repertory Theater | |
| 1992 | The Member of the Wedding | Carson McCullers | Indiana Repertory Company | |
| 1993 | Good Black Don't Crack | Rob Penny | Billie Holiday Theatre (Brooklyn) | |
| 1993 | Checkmates | Ron Milner | St Louis Black Repertory Theatre | |
| 1994 | A Raisin in the Sun | Lorraine Hansberry | Alliance Theater (Atlanta, Georgia) | |
| 1994 | Mudtracks | Regina Taylor | The Ensemble Studio Theater | |
| 1995–1996 | Checkmates | Ron Milner | New Federal Theatre | [1] |
| 1995–1996 | Eyes | Mari Evans | American Cabaret Theater, Indiana | |
| 1995–1996 | Checkmates | Ron Milner | Bermuda International Theatre Festival | |
| 1996–1997 | Joe Turner's Come and Gone | August Wilson | Brooklyn College | |
| 1996–1997 | Home | Samm-Art Williams | Center Stage of Baltimore | |
| 1998–1999 | Angels in America | Tony Kushner | Ohio State University | |
| 2000 | James Baldwin: A Soul on Fire | Howard Simon | New York Shakespeare Festival | |
| 2012 | The Piano Lesson | August Wilson | Seminole State College of Florida |
Co-produced plays
edit- For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf by Ntozake Shange
- What the Wine Sellers Buy
- Reggae
- The Taking of Miss Janie, which earned the Drama Critics Circle Award
Awards and recognition
edit- 1985: Joseph Jefferson Award nomination for Appear and Show Cause
- 1988: NAACP Image Award for directing Checkmates at the Inner City Cultural Center
- 1993: AUDELCO awards for Best Director and Best Play for Robert Johnson: Trick The Devil
- 1997: Obie Award for Sustained Achievement
- 2003: Paul Robeson Award
- 2005: Rosetta LeNoire Award
- 2011: Induction into American Theater Hall of Fame[5]
- 2014: Theatre Legend Award, Atlanta Black Theatre Festival
- 2020: Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre[6]
Bibliography
edit- Woodie King; Earl Anthony (1972). Black Poets and Prophets: The Theory, Practice, and Esthetics of the Pan-Africanist Revolution. New York: New American Library.
- Woodie King (1981). The Forerunners: Black Poets in America. Washington, D.C: Howard University Press. ISBN 0-88258-093-0.
- Woodie King (1981). Black Theatre: Present Condition. New York: National Black Theatre Touring Circuit. ISBN 0-89062-133-0.
- Ron Milner; Woodie King (1986). Black Drama Anthology. New York: New American Library. ISBN 0-452-00902-2.
- Woodie King (1989). New Plays for the Black Theatre. Chicago: Third World Press. ISBN 0-88378-124-7.
- Woodie King (1996). The National Black Drama Anthology: Eleven Plays from America's Leading African-American Theaters. Applause Theatre & Cinema Book Publishers. ISBN 1-55783-219-6.
- Woodie King Jr (2000). Voices of Color: 50 Scenes and Monologues by African American Playwrights (Applause Acting Series). New York: Applause Books. ISBN 1-55783-174-2.
- Woodie King Jr (2004). The Impact of Race. New York: Applause Books. ISBN 1-55783-579-9.
- Chuck Smith; Woodie King; Leslie Lee; Mark Clayton Southers; Kim Euell; Lisa Ebright (2007). Best Black Plays: the Theodore Ward Prize for African American Playwriting. Evanston, Ill: Northwestern University Press. ISBN 978-0-8101-2390-8.
References
editExternal links
edit- Historymakers Biography
- The New Federal Theater in New York
see also inspiring purposes of previous 20th-century African-American theatre projects:
Federal Theatre Project, American Negro Theater - Rosetta LeNoire Award
- Theatre Hall of Fame induction