Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe Shines During International Black Theatre Festival

August 14, 2024 | Sarasota

Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe (WBTT) was thrilled to be recognized with its sixth invitation to perform during the prestigious International Black Theatre Festival (formerly the National Black Theatre Festival), which took place July 29-August 3 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. This year, WBTT brought two shows to the festival – original musical “Soul Crooners: Solid Gold Edition” and one-act play “Float Like a Butterfly” – and collaborated on a third, the one-act play, “From Birmingham to Broadway.”

By the end of the festival, WBTT had presented “Soul Crooners: Solid Gold Edition” five times over the course of three days, and one-act plays “Float Like a Butterfly”/”From Birmingham to Broadway” four times over the course of two days. In total, more than 2,200 people attended WBTT’s performances.

“Soul Crooners” is an original musical revue – a celebration of the most renowned soul and R&B artists and hottest hit songs of the late 1960s and through the 1970s. “Float Like A Butterfly,” which was written by Michael Jacobs, premiered during WBTT’s 2021-2022 season; original star Darius Autry returned to star in the play that pays tribute to the greatest-of-all-time heavyweight boxer Muhammad Ali. Written and starring frequent WBTT artist Tarra Conner Jones, “From Birmingham to Broadway” – which also premiered during WBTT’s 2021-2022 season, presented in tandem with “Float” – is a tour-de-force tribute to Broadway singer and TV actress Nell Carter; director was WBTT Founder/Artistic Director Nate Jacobs.

“Attending the International Black Theatre Festival this year was a huge endeavor but one that WBTT staff was totally up for,” said Jacobs. “I have been privileged to be involved with the festival since 2001, when founder Larry Hamlin invited me to perform – and produced – my one-man show, ‘Aunt Rudele’s Family Reunion.’ Having an international stage to showcase our work never fails to be a thrill for all involved.”

To present the three shows, WBTT brought the following to Winston-Salem:

• Nine performers
• Five musicians and their instruments/equipment
• Two costumers
• Fourteen backstage and technical crew
• Scenery for all three shows, transported in a 26-foot rental truck

Returning home proved to be a bit difficult due to Hurricane Debby, which left much of WBTT’s crew stranded in Atlanta, Ga., Charlotte, N.C., and Jacksonville, Fla. Thankfully, everyone eventually made it home safely.

“It was a tremendous honor for our organization to enjoy our sixth consecutive invitation to this renowned international event,” added WBTT Executive Director Julie Leach. “We were immensely proud of our artists, musicians, creative team and crew for representing Sarasota so well in front of theater fans from around the globe!”

In advance of its departure for the festival, on July 25, WBTT  presented a sold-out, one-act festival send-off performance of “Soul Crooners Solid Gold Edition”; proceeds from the event helped to defray the expenses related to its attendance at the festival.

The International Black Theatre Festival is a renowned outreach program of the North Carolina Black Repertory Co., founded in 1979. Except for the pandemic interruption, the festival has been held biennially since 1989 and attracts tens of thousands of national and international patrons, theater professionals, and scholars.

For more about WBTT, visit westcoastblacktheatre.org.