Penumbra Theatre Company

[5] Due to displacement and segregation in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, many African Americans were aided by settlement homes for not only economic and social services, but programming for the arts as well.

[6] These centers were not only a popular outlet for entertainment, but also a critical part of the Black Arts Movement where African Americans spoke out about racial inequalities and allowed them to shape a sense of identity.

Brown Community Center's second executive director, Henry R. Thomas, drafted a construction plan to incorporate a fully functional theater within its Martin Luther King Jr. facility to support these demands.

Another relation to the movement is Ed Bullins, a prominent editor, theorist, and playwright[12] who wrote Penumbra's second production, the 1975 Broadway transfer of The Taking of Miss Jane.

The third production, Heartland, Louisiana, showcases original work by Penumbra's resident playwright, Horace Bond, who was Bellamy's former graduate advisor and mentor.

This proved successful in captivating and connecting African-American audiences who either grew up in the heavily segregated south and moved to northern cities or had relatives that had done so.

Penumbra chose to actively produce plays that dealt with the implications and practices of minstrelsy in an effort to further investigate the history of African-American theatre.

[14] Twin Cities theater critic Peter Vaughan attributed Penumbra's national success to these factors: strong artistic quality, solid long-range strategic plan, emphasis on hiring experienced administrators, and increased corporate and foundation support.

Without that background, Bellamy says, a director is likely to overlook or misread clues embedded in the text – everything from West-African story motifs to the tendency of a race cowed by slavery to hide learning rather than to celebrate it.

"[16] Estelene Bell, Phil Blackwell, Danny Clark, Gordon Cronce, Laura Drake, Mazi Johnson, Ruth Lasila, Tia Mann, Jay Patterson, Claude Purdy, Faye M. Price, Abdul Salaam El Razzac, G. Travis Williams, James A. Williams, Marion McClinton, and August Wilson Ken Evins, W. J. E. “Strider” Hammer, Scott Peters, Scott Price, Anne Deem, Craig Theisen, Richard Thompson, Ron Schultz, and Mary Winchell August Wilson.

Programs include the Fund for Improvement of Post-Secondary Education, workshops on race, a summer institute for teenagers, and performances and internships for students.