Shows
Folger Shakespeare Library: Shakespeare UnlimitedDebra Ann Byrd on Becoming Othello: A Black Girl's JourneyTheater-maker Debra Ann Byrd has played Othello in three different productions: first, in a staged reading in 2013, then again in 2015 and 2019. Each time, she learned a little bit more about Othello, and about herself. In her one-woman show Becoming Othello: A Black Girl’s Journey, Byrd recounts her experience discovering herself while playing Shakespeare’s tragic hero. The show reaches back to her childhood in Spanish Harlem, her mother’s tragic death, and her own struggles with depression. She also tells the story of how she was inspired to start the Harlem Shakespeare Festival after seeing how few opportunities there were f...
2023-01-1735 min
Folger Shakespeare Library: Shakespeare UnlimitedDebra Ann Byrd on Becoming Othello: A Black Girl's JourneyDebra Ann Byrd has played Othello in three different productions: first, in a staged reading in 2013, then again in 2015 and 2019. Each time, she learned a little bit more about Othello, and about herself. In her one-woman show Becoming Othello: A Black Girl's Journey, Byrd recounts her experience discovering herself while playing Shakespeare's tragic hero. The show reaches back to her childhood in Spanish Harlem, her mother's tragic death, and her own struggles with depression. She also tells the story of how she was inspired to start the Harlem Shakespeare Festival after seeing how few opportunities there were for actors o...
2023-01-1735 min
The Arts Scene Podcast with Lynette & AriEp. 2 - Debra Ann Byrd from Southwest Shakespeare Debra Ann Byrd, artistic director for Southwest Shakespeare Company talks about the upcoming production of "King Lear," starring Tony Award-winning actress Trezana Beverley.
2022-10-0414 minThe Arts Scene Podcast with Lynette & AriEp. 2 - Debra Ann Byrd from Southwest Shakespeare Debra Ann Byrd, artistic director for Southwest Shakespeare Company talks about the upcoming production of "King Lear," starring Tony Award-winning actress Trezana Beverley.
2022-10-0414 min
Reduced Shakespeare Company Podcast'Owning Shakespeare' PodcastThe first season of Rob Myles' extraordinary Owning Shakespeare podcast is now available on all the usual platforms, and it's a fantastic collection of six noted Shakespeare actors tackling (in real time) a speech they've never looked at before, and sharing their process, stumbles, and successes with the listener. Rob's a wonderful guide, and he joins us to discuss how the podcast came together; how the RSC's Austin Tichenor was a briefly unwitting test subject; what this and future seasons will accomplish; how he blushes at praise for his knowledge of Shakespeare and skills as a director; the joy...
2022-09-2926 min
Badass WomenMurder & Assault: My Unlikely Path to Becoming a Celebrated ActressRobin Lane interviews Debra Ann Byrd, a classical actor, writer, and director. Support the show
2022-04-1228 min
Why I‘ll Never Make ItElizabeth Swain Leads a New Generation of Theater ArtistsIn the final episode of Season Five, I spoke with a talented and passionate actress and producer Debra Ann Byrd. In our conversation, she mentioned Elizabeth Swain as one of the professors who had a significant impact on her own training and understanding theater. She spoke so highly of this mentor that I looked her up and decided to ask her to come on his podcast as well.What I came to learn is that Elizabeth Swain is so much more than just a professor of theater—she is a Broadway actress with national tours, television credits, an...
2022-03-1459 min
Why I‘ll Never Make ItDebra Ann Byrd (Part 2) - A Black Girl‘s Journey to Becoming OthelloThe experiences of our lives influence the paths we choose and shape who we are. In Part One of my conversation with Debra Ann Byrd, she revealed the ups and downs of her own life that eventually ignited a desire to perform and pursue a life on the stage. In this second half of our conversation, we discuss how Debra’s path toward becoming an actor was slow, but steady, and how her first steps as a producer started from very meager beginnings.At her very core, Debra is a storyteller and that is on full display in...
2021-12-2041 min
Why I‘ll Never Make ItDebra Ann Byrd (Part 1) - Classically-Trained Actress Shares Her Bumpy Road to TheaterI first found out about Debra Ann Byrd through an article in the Guardian titled “Black Shakespeare champion working to change views on color blind casting.” She was just starting a residency at Stratford upon Avon, and this article talked about one of Debra's college professors who discouraged her from getting into classical theater. That story alone piqued my interest, so I reached out to her and the conversation that we ended up with certainly had many more stories than that one instance.Most actors can talk about how they got into theater and then trained and grew...
2021-12-1339 min
Act Two New YorkBecoming Othello at Lincoln CenterLincoln Center is the great city on the hill of performing arts in the United States, home to arguably the most distinguished opera company, ballet company, and symphony orchestra in the country, as well as our most famous music school, the world’s largest performing arts library, and much, much more… But for all of the highbrow excellence of these institutions, none of them had much to offer a city taking its first tentative steps out of quarantine, which craved ways to come together, inclusively and outdoors.
So Lincoln Center threw open its massive and under-utilized outdoor campu...
2021-12-0826 min
Baring It All with Call Me AdamDebra Ann Byrd Returns: Lessons Learned, Actress, Playwright, Producer, Becoming Othello: A Black Girl's JourneyDebra Ann Byrd is back on Baring It All with Call Me Adam! Today we are discussing the lessons Debra Ann has learned about her life and career.Debra's play, Becoming Othello: A Black Girl's Journey will perform LIVE, in-person outdoors at The Roman Garden Theatre, as part of Shakespeare and Company's 44th Season. July 16-25, 2021.Listen to Part 1 of our interview! This is where we talked about Debra Ann's one-woman autobiographical play Becoming Othello: A Black Girl's Journey.Becoming Othello: A Black Girl's Journey is a personal, poignant & powerful story of perseverance...
2021-07-0820 min
Baring It All with Call Me AdamDebra Ann Byrd: Becoming Othello: A Black Girl's Journey, Actress, Writer, MotherDebra Ann Byrd is Baring It All with Call Me Adam about how she defied race, gender, and a tough upbringing to achieve her dreams of performing Shakespeare Classics and becoming one of the most sought out actors to play Othello.Debra's memoir play, Becoming Othello: A Black Girl's Journey will stream via Livermore Shakespeare Festival from May 27-May 30, 2021. Join Debra Ann Byrd on Saturday, May 29, 2021 at 5pm for a special virtual live Q&A.Listen to Part 2 of our interview!More on Debra Ann:Debra Ann is the Founding Artistic...
2021-05-2733 min
Shakespeare Alive3. Becoming Othello, with Debra Ann ByrdPaul chats to Debra Ann Byrd, the entrepreneurial artistic director of the Harlem Shakespeare Festival, about why she founded her company, what it does, and about her important and inspiring memoir; Becoming Othello, A Black Girl’s Journey.Support the showWe ask our guests and listeners to share one modern-day item that they think should be included in an imagined Shakespeare museum of the future. What do you think of their choices, and what would you choose? Let us know at shakespeare.org.uk/future Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Instagram
2020-12-0130 min
Welcome To My VaginaWarren or Bust, Bitches!Don’t Count Out Warren!In this special Super Tuesday release of Welcome To My Vagina, Jessy and Rebekah talk about Elizabeth Warren, our by far #1 pick for president of the United States. Seriously, we love her. She is badass and she got Chris Mathews fired! SUPER HERO STATUS! Before we get started, donate to us at glow.fm/welcometomyvagina BUT ALSO give some money to Elizabeth Warren if you can. And come to our live even this Sunday at Threes Brewing!
00:45: Come to our live event! It is part of...
2020-03-0349 min
The State of ShakespeareDebra Ann ByrdOthello: Act 5, Scene 2OthelloNovember 30, 2015
From Henrietta Vinton Davis to Paul Robeson to The Harlem Shakespeare Festival, African American Shakespeare has a long rich history. Debra Ann Byrd, the delightful HSF Founding Artistic Director, continues the tradition with an all-female production of Othello that hit the stage this November. She shares with us her inspiration for taking on this most racially and sexually charged of Shakespeare's plays, and giving it such a radical twist.
Click here to follow along with the text.
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Contributing editor: Lucy Freyer
2015-11-3024 min
The Gist of Freedom Preserving American History through Black Literature . . .Harlem Shakespeare Festival, Founder Debra Ann Byrd with Antonia BadonJoin The Gist of Freedom, Arts and Activism with Antonia Badon and Harlem Shakespeare Festival founder DEBRA ANN BYRD!
Ms. Byrd [Festival Founder & Producing Artistic Director] is the Founder of Take Wing And Soar Productions where she currently serves as Chief Executive and Producing Artistic Director. Ms. Byrd has guided the company's growth from its birth in 1999 into a viable support organization serving women, youth, classical artists of color and theater arts groups throughout New York.
The African Grove Theater was A Shakespearean Playhouse Founded in 1816 by Activist William Brown. It was mysteriously burned to the ground.
In 1816 William Brown a ret...
2014-09-1727 min