Come join the launch of the Black Theatre Lab! This symposium on May 8, 2026 brings together thinkers and artists of Black theatre in North America to consider the productive tensions and possibilities that performance offers in conditions of social and political strife. What is opened up in these cross-border and trans- or extra-national conversations? What rehearsals for an otherwise can be imagined? How does Black theatre play a critical role in combating dystopia and building trust?

• Registration - Open at 9:00 am 

• Welcome & Registration: 9:30 am - 9:45 am

• First panel: 9:45 am - 11:15 am - Lineages of Black Performance in Practice

  • Panelists: Djanet Sears, Lisa Karen Cox, Kaja Dunn 

• Second Panel: 1:30 pm - 3 pm - Documenting Black Performance

  • Panelists: Dr. Faedra Chatard Carpenter, Dr. Cheryl Thompson, Dr. Naila Keleta-Mae 

• Keynote: 3:15 - 4:45 pm  - Black Performance Now: Artistic Directors Reflect  (Sponsored by UTM English & Drama)

  • Panelists: Mumbi Tindeybwa Otu (Obsidian Theatre) and Dr. d’bi.young anitafrika (Watah Theatre)

• Staged Reading by BCurrent (directed by Natasha Adiyana Morris) : 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm