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Creator
New Federal Theatre (New York, N.Y.)
Call number
Sc MG 930
Physical description
5.47 linear feet (13 boxes, 1 volume); 624.1 mb (81 computer files)
Preferred Citation
[Item], New Federal Theatre records, Sc MG 930, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division, The New York Public Library
Repository
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division
Access to materials
Request an in-person research appointment.Restrictions apply

The New Federal Theatre records document several decades of the New Federal Theatre founded by Woodie King Jr., mostly through production scripts.

Biographical/historical information

Woodie King Jr. is an African-American director and producer who founded the New Federal Theatre in 1970, on the Lower East Side of New York City. The Theatre was initially funded by the Henry Street Settlement. The early performances during the 1960s were produced with Mobilization for Youth (MFY), a social services program. The performance space offers a place for actors, directors, and playwrights to develop their creative talents. The theatre has been a proving ground for many established and emerging African-American artists to work on the national stage.

In 1974, King founded The National Black Touring Circuit to broaden the appeal of theatre to African-American audiences.

Scope and arrangement

The New Federal Theatre records, dated 1971 to 2015, document the history of the Theatre through scripts, many of which were for productions adapted for the National Black Touring Circuit. Scripts were solicited or unsolicited and may not have been produced at the theater. Scripts may also be annotated or accompanied by other materials, including lighting and stage blueprints, actors' sign-in sheets, contact sheets, playbills, rehearsal reports, and audio recordings. A few productions are comprised of both electronic and physical files.

Productions represented in the collection include The Balm Yard by Don Kinch; Boy and Tarzan Appear in a Clearing by Amiri Baraka; In My Many Names and Days by Charles Fuller; Lost in Language and Sound: a Choreoessay Envisioned by Ifa Bayeza by Ntozake Shange; and Zion by Beverly Trader.

Arrangement

The arrangement is alphabetically by script title.

Administrative information

Source of acquisition

Donated by Woodie King and New Federal Theatre, 2016.

Processing information

Compiled by Valerie Wingfield, 2017.

Using the collection

Location

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division
515 Malcolm X Boulevard, New York, NY 10037-1801
Second Floor

Access restrictions

Access. All reproduction requests subject to limitations noted in divisional policies on reproduction. Sound and video materials are unavailable pending digitization. Electronic records are currently unavailable.