Hits & Bits: Alice Childress

The Schomburg Center’s new Centennial program series, Century of Black Theater Making, will explore a century of Black theater through conversations and readings of plays that are part of the Schomburg Center’s collection. Hits & Bits takes its title from a variety show presented by the legendary theater company American Negro Theatre, Hits, Bits & Skits, and is an afternoon series of staged readings of plays found in the Schomburg Center collections. Our first installment, Hits & Bits: Alice Childress produced in collaboration of New Federal Theater, will feature one-act plays by Alice Childress, including plays that are unpublished and being presented for the first time in decades.

ABOUT ALICE CHILDRESS

Alice Childress (1916–1994) was an American playwright, novelist, and actress known for her sharp explorations of race, class, and gender. She became the first African American woman to have a play professionally produced in New York with Trouble in Mind (1955). Childress also wrote the young adult novel A Hero Ain’t Nothin’ but a Sandwich (1973), tackling themes of drug addiction and systemic inequities. Throughout her career, she combined artistry with activism, using theater and literature to challenge injustice and amplify Black voices. Today, the Schomburg Center holds her papers, including manuscripts for nearly every published book and playscript, such as A Hero Ain’t Nothin’ but a Sandwich, Wedding Band, Trouble in Mind, and Moms: A Praise Play for a Black Comedian. The collection also contains personal correspondence, an oral history, Childress's FBI file, diaries, calendars, interviews, educational materials, and biographical information.

Image credit: Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Photographs and Prints Division, The New York Public Library. "Alice Childress, author." The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1960 - 1989.

Accessibility requests can be made by e-mail [email protected].

NEW FEDERAL THEATRE Producing over 400 plays integratIng artists of color and women into the mainstream of American theater, NFT trains artists for the profession, presenting plays by writers of color and women to integrated, multicultural audiences. Learn more about New Federal Theatre by visiting www.newfederaltheatre.com.

This year, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture is celebrating the 100th anniversary of its founding! Century of Black Theater Making, curated by Schomburg Center Librarian A.J. Muhammad, will spotlight selected plays from the Schomburg’s rich archives, offering a living connection to the voices, stories, and styles that have shaped Black theater across generations. Join us all year long for a wide array of special events, exhibitions, and more as we celebrate this milestone and continue the legacy of Arturo Schomburg.

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FIRST COME, FIRST SEATED Events are free and open to all, but due to space constraints registration is requested. Registered guests are given priority check-in 15 to 30 minutes before start time. After the event starts all registered seats are released regardless of registration, so we recommend that you arrive early. We generally overbook to ensure a full house.

GUESTS Please note that holding seats in the Langston Hughes Auditorium is strictly prohibited and there is no food or drinks allowed anywhere in the Schomburg Center.

ACCESSIBLILITY Accessibility requests can be made by e-mail [email protected].

E-TRANSPORTATION NYPL policy prohibits electric transportation devices (e.g., motorbikes, e-bikes, e-scooters, e-skateboards) from being brought into or stored at library sites for any length of time, as this is the best way to keep our spaces & people safe.

AUDIO/VIDEO RECORDING Programs are photographed and recorded by the Schomburg Center. Attending this event indicates your consent to being filmed/photographed and your consent to the use of your recorded image for any all purposes of the New York Public Library.

PRESS Please send all press inquiries (photo, video, interviews, audio-recording, etc) at least 24-hours before the day of the program to Leah Drayton at [email protected].

Please note that personal and professional video recordings are prohibited without expressed consent.

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Host or Publisher Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture