Welcome to the Tampa Bay Area Black Theatre Archive
Contributors: Kiana Outen, Rachel Lorfils, Lexi Warden
Completed in Fall of 2017 for Theater 22, taught by Professor Ndounou

What is Black Theatre?
Black theatre is a form of performance written by, for, and about African Americans that serves to influence or imitate the experiences of life as a black American . Black theatre can serve numerous functions including joyful entertainment, social commentary, political expression, or a redirection of pain and rage, frequently containing elements of music, spirituality, and dialect.

Themes over the Archive

Over the course of the archive, though there are some gaps, we see native, black Tampa artists in the early centuries establishing their roots in Florida but taking their acts throughout the country, particularly in vaudeville acts. However, over the centuries more and more black artists begin to establish themselves in Tampa creating a diverse amount of black performance institutions in the area.

Other themes include the interconnected growth of music and theatre, especially jazz, in Tampa. Many venues doubled as dance and concert halls and many actors found their beginnings in musical theatre or dance.