The 51ɫ Theatre’s fall production of “Single Black Female” earned a Citizen Artist Award at the 2021 Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival held virtually on May 22. The national festival is sponsored by The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
The Kennedy Center Citizen Artist Award recognizes programs in higher education using theatrical production to promote long-term societal impact through an artistic lens, to encourage empathetic exploration of the complex cultural and physical world and to advocate for justice on campus and throughout the world.
Based on the two-woman play by Lisa B. Thompson, “Single Black Female” explores the lives of two 30-something African American middle-class women “as they search for love, clothes and dignity in a world that fails to recognize them among a parade of stereotypical images.”
MFA student Richon May directed the play, which starred fellow graduate students Alexandria Miles as a university English literature professor who commiserates with an attorney played by Danielle James.
UNO also earned recognition for a second fall production, “The Emperor Jones.”
“Both shows in the fall were big winners,” film and theatre professor David Hoover said.
The Kennedy Center also recognized UNO students and theater professor Diane Baas in these categories:
Special Achievement in Overall Production Design
“The Emperor Jones”
Special Achievement in Lighting Design
“The Emperor Jones” – Diane Baas
Special Achievement in Performance
“Single Black Female” – Alexandria Miles
“Single Black Female” – Danielle James
“The Emperor Jones” – Justin Davis
Special Achievement: Overall Production
“Single Black Female”
“The Emperor Jones”
Special Achievement in Directing
“The Emperor Jones” – Bill Ware
