Behind the Curtain - Valerie Curtis-Newton (Founding Artistic Director, The Hansberry Project)

Our guest in this episode of Behind the Curtain is Director and Educator Valerie Curtis-Newton. Valerie is also the Founding Artistic Director of The Hansberry Project, a professional African American theatre lab, with which she's worked with theaters large and small in the Seattle area to bring unique and important stories that amplify African American voices and experiences to the stage. Her latest directorial effort, Blues for an Alabama Sky, is running on stage at Seattle Rep through February 23 and as Valerie tells us is a play that feels timely in our current political and social climate.

Valerie chatted with us about Blues for an Alabama Sky, the birth of The Hansberry Project and how it's evolved since its beginning, and what's coming up next for her. We also discussed the state of the union from her perspective when it comes to black representation both on stage and in the stories we see, as well as what we can all do better to improve and participate in her vision and that of The Hansberry Project.

For more information about Blues for an Alabama Sky, head to the Seattle Rep website at https://www.seattlerep.org/, to follow The Hansberry Project, visit http://hansberryproject.org/, and to keep up with Valerie and her work, visit http://www.valeriecurtisnewton.com/home.html. And for more coverage of the performing arts around the Puget Sound, including reviews and interviews, head to our website at https://www.thesoundonstage.org/.