Research Catalog

Title

Negro Ensemble Company records, 1967-1993.

Author

Negro Ensemble Company.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Additional Authors

• Ward, Douglas Turner.
• Krone, Gerald S.
• Denmark, Leon B.

Description

180.8 linear. ft. (217 archival boxes, 4 flat boxes).

Summary

The records of the Negro Ensemble Company (NEC), 1967-1993, document the work of the most successful African American theatrical company in the United States to date. In addition to information about the productions, the records also document the growth of the company through the development of its administrative structure and of the funding base that keeps a theatrical company alive. The collection is divided into three series, thirteen subseries, and eighteen sub-subseries.

Subjects

• African American theater
• Harrison, Paul Carter, 1936-2021 > Great MacDaddy
• Walker, Joseph A., 1935-2003 > River Niger
• Theater > New York (State) > New York
• Plays
• Theater programs
• Walcott, Derek > Dream on Monkey Mountain
• Williams, Samm-Art > Home
• Scripts
• Rhone, Trevor D., 1940-2009 > Two can play
• Ward, Douglas Turner > Happy endings
• Walcott, Derek > Isle is full of noises
• Theater management
• Lee, Leslie, 1930-2014 > Colored people's time
• American drama > African American authors
• Holland, Endesha Ida Mae, 1944-2006 > From the Mississippi Delta
• African American actors
• Theatrical companies > New York (State) > New York
• American drama > 20th century
• Audience Development Committee
• Negro Ensemble Company
• Fuller, Charles > We : Jonquil/Burner's Frolic
• Dramatists, American > 20th century
• African Americans in the performing arts
• Scrapbooks
• Ward, Douglas Turner > Day of absence
• Fuller, Charles > We : Sally and Prince
• Photographic prints
• African American dramatists
• Carter, Steve, 1929-2020 > Nevis mountain dew
• Authors > United States
• Elder, Lonne > Ceremonies in dark old men
• Weiss, Peter, 1916-1982 > Song of the Lusitanian bogey
• African American authors
• Dean, Phillip Hayes > Sty of the blind pig
• Theatrical productions > New York (State) > New York
• African American theater > New York (State) > New York
• Theater > Production and direction
• Lee, Leslie, 1930-2014 > First breeze of summer
• Fuller, Charles > Soldier's play
• McDonalds Literary Awards Contest

Genre/Form

• Scripts.
• Theater programs.
• Plays.
• Scrapbooks.
• Photographic prints.

Note

• The Negro Ensemble Company records were accessioned by the Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in 1990 and 1995. Twenty-seven cartons of scripts arrived in August 1990, and seventy-six cartons of scripts and financial records arrived in December that same year. Additionally, fifty-five boxes, which had been stored by NEC at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts were accessioned in 1995. Some material was damaged during storage and was not recoverable. The records were divided into "Administrative" and "Financial" groups by the company.
• Playscripts by playwrights with more than one play in the collection are cataloged in CATNYP, and are accessible by playwright's name, title of play, or by the call number Sc MG 345.
• Photographs, slides and negatives have been transferred to the Photographs and Prints Division.
• Posters have been transferred to the Art and Artifacts Division.
• Video and audio tapes, reel-to-reel and films have been transferred to the Moving Image and Recorded Sound Division.

Access (note)

• Personnel files and other files that contain private information are restricted and require permission of the Curator of the Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division.

Source (note)

• Negro Ensemble Company

Biography (note)

• The Negro Ensemble Company (NEC) was a Black repertory company that presented works on social themes that were germane to Black life and expanded opportunities for experienced Black theatre artists. NEC was founded in 1967 by actor/playwright Douglas Turner Ward, actor Robert Hooks, and theatre administrator Gerald Krone, with a $434,000 grant from the Ford Foundation. The company offered professional training to potential new talent and for a brief time had a training company for both actors and technicians, thus promoting Black professionals in front of and behind the scenes.

Processing Action (note)

• Accessioned
• Processed
• Cataloged

Call Number

Sc MG 345

OCLC

NYPW03-A14

Author

Negro Ensemble Company.

Title

Negro Ensemble Company records, 1967-1993.

Access

Personnel files and other files that contain private information are restricted and require permission of the Curator of the Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division.

Biography

The Negro Ensemble Company (NEC) was a Black repertory company that presented works on social themes that were germane to Black life and expanded opportunities for experienced Black theatre artists. NEC was founded in 1967 by actor/playwright Douglas Turner Ward, actor Robert Hooks, and theatre administrator Gerald Krone, with a $434,000 grant from the Ford Foundation. The company offered professional training to potential new talent and for a brief time had a training company for both actors and technicians, thus promoting Black professionals in front of and behind the scenes.

The original NEC resident company included among its ranks Esther Rolle, Rosalind Cash, Hattie Winston, Moses Gunn, and Denise Nicholas. The Playwrights' Workshop trained and honed the writing skills of many playwrights, among them Charles Fuller ("A Soldier's Story"); Lonnie Elder, III ("Ceremonies in Dark Old Men"); Samm-Art Williams ("Home"); Derek Walcott ("Dream on Monkey Mountain"); and Steve Carter ("Nevis Mountain Dew").

The company formally inaugurated its first season in 1967-1968, with Peter Weiss' "Song of the Lusitanian Bogey," followed by "Summer of the Seventeenth Doll" by Ray Lawler, "Kongi's Harvest" by Wole Soyinka, and "Daddy Goodness" by Richard Wright. These plays were produced at NEC's first home theatre, St. Mark's Playhouse. In 1969, the company made its international debut during the World Theatre Season in London, England. That same year they also performed at Italy's "Premio Roma" Festival where they were awarded the "Premio Roma Award for Artistic Excellence and Production" for "Song of the Lusitanian Bogey." Throughout their existence, NEC's most popular productions such as "Ceremonies in Dark Old Men," "Home," and "Colored People's Time," either moved to Broadway and/or toured nationally and internationally.

"A Soldier's Play" was the most successful production mounted by the company. The property was also made into a film titled "A Soldier's Story" in 1984, starring Denzel Washington and Adolph Caesar, who originated his role on Broadway. NEC also brought several of their productions to television including "Sty of the Blind Pig," by Philip Hayes Dean, (PBS, 1974); "Ceremonies in Dark Old Men," by Lonnie Elder, III (ABC-TV, 1975); and "First Breeze of Summer," by Leslie Lee, (PBS, 1976).

Despite box office successes, by the mid 1980s losses in earned and contributed revenue led to an extreme drop off in activity. The 1986-1987 season was suspended and by the 1990s the company's production schedule was severely reduced.

Nevertheless the Negro Ensemble Company was the most successful Black theatrical company in the United States. It was the recipient of over 40 major theatre awards, including a Pulitzer Prize, two Tony Awards, thirteen Obie Awards, and the NAACP Image Award. Their most substantial contribution to the theatrical field was helping to train or launch the careers of dozens of actors, playwrights, directors and other theatrical professionals, many of whom achieved success, such as Denzel Washington, Samuel Jackson, and Charles Fuller. From 1967 to 1992, the NEC produced over 200 productions which includes full-length and one-act plays, and playwriting workshops.

Connect to:

Finding Aid

Added Author

Ward, Douglas Turner.

Krone, Gerald S.

Denmark, Leon B.

Negro Ensemble Company.

Research Call Number

Sc MG 345