October 4, 2017 will be the first day of the sixth annual Atlanta Black Theatre Festival.
This year's catchphrase is "40 Plays in Four Days," according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The festival, which will include comedies, dramas, musicals, one-man performances and even shows for kids, feature 40 different plays within the four-day festival.
It’s getting easier and it’s also getting a lot harder,” producing director Toni Simmons Henson said about the selection process. “The reputation around the country is growing and people know about us, so we get a lot of submissions. Each year they’re better quality. We’re attracting folks that are really good at what they do.”
Though black performing art is everywhere, there are only three major festivals that focus on African American theater in the United States.
These festivals include the National Black Theatre Festival in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, the D.C. Black Theatre Festival of Washington, D.C. and, of course, the ABTF.
Audiences can look forward to productions such as A Soldier's Play, a Charles Fuller Pulitzer Prize-winning drama starring T.C. Carson.
Carson played Kyle Barker in Living Single, and will take the main stage on Friday night.
A Solider's Play tells the story of an investigation into the murder of a black soldier who was killed while returning to his base during World War II.
The director Chris Scott expressed his excitement for the play's spotlight with ABTF.
“It’s a perfect time for the play,” said Scott. “We are debuting it at the Atlanta Black Theatre Festival because it’s a time when we’re able to honor the contributions of black writers, producers and performers. Charles Fuller wrote a beautiful piece of literature, and we just want a new generation to experience his work.”
Another feature also includes a children's play called, Black Girls (Can) Fly about a 10-year-old girl living in Chicago, and the violence that distorts her neighborhood.
According to Henson, the festival is responsible for shining the spotlight on more than 100 emerging playwrights and 1,300 performing artists' work.
“There’s just so much great work out there that’s not getting produced,” she says. “To be able to open this platform for emerging playwrights is just a joy."
Henson also shared insight into the importance of self-expression through the arts and African American theater.
“Theater gives people an opportunity to process,” says Henson. ”The beautiful thing about art is that it always reflects society. It comes from the pain or pleasure of people who have lived it and experienced it.”
To order tickets and learn more about the festival's four-day itinerary, visit www.atlantabtf.org.
