American Negro Theatre Records

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Creator

American Negro Theatre.

Location

Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division

Extent

• .4 lin. ft.

Scope/Contents Note

The records contain ANT's constitution and by-laws; correspondence by Frederick O'Neal, Abram Hill, Maxwell Glanville, Hilda Sims, Alice Childress, and Harry WagstaffGribble; assorted programs; minutes of the board of directors; financial records; articles; ANT's School of Drama; Planning, Administrative, Reorganization, Playreading and Audience Building Committees minutes and notes; and Theatre Renovations information.

Biographical/Historical Notes

The American Negro Theatre (ANT) co-founded by Frederick O'Neal and Abram Hill, was established to provide black actors, playwrights, directors and other theatre-related professionals with opportunities to work in productions that illustrated the diversity of black life. ANT's program was essentially divided into three categories: stage productions, a training program and radio programs.

From 1940-1949, nineteen plays, twelve of them original,were produced by ANT. "On Striver's Row," "Walk Hard--Talk Loud," (both written by Hill), and "Rain" were well-received plays. However, commercial success struck with Philip Yordan's "Anna Lucasta." ANT also exhibited the talents of several now well-known actors and actresses, some for the first time, including Ruby Dee, Sidney Poitier, Harry Belafonte, Alvin and Alice Childress, HildaSimms, Earl Hyman, Isabel Sanford, Vinie Burroughs, Helen Martin, Roger Furman, Maxwell Glanville, Clarice Taylor, Gordon Heath and Hilda Hayes.

For the first five years (1940-1945) ANT was housed in the basement of the 135th Street Branch Library of the NewYork Public Library, known as the "Harlem Library Little Theatre." In 1945, ANT moved to the Elks Lodge at 15 West 126th Street, which was renamed the American Negro TheatrePlayhouse. In 1950, ANT made its final move to a loft on West 125th Street, and according to O'Neal, officially went out of business a year later.

Controlled Access Terms

• O'Neal, Frederick, 1905-1992.
• American Negro Theatre.
• African American theater.
• African American actors.
• Acting -- Study and teaching -- New York (State) -- New York.
• African Americans in the performing arts.
• Harlem (New York, N.Y.)

Additional Creator Names

• O'Neal, Frederick, 1905-1992.
• Hill, Abram, 1911-1986.
• Simms, Hilda, 1920-
• Glanville, Maxwell.
• Childress, Alice.
• Gribble, Harry Wagstaff, b. 1896.
• Schomburg NEH Blacks on Stage: African-American Theater Arts Collections Project.