Woodie King Jr.
# Woodie King Jr.

Woodie King Jr. (born July 27, 1937) is an American director and producer of stage and screen, as well as the founding director of the New Federal Theatre in New York City.

## Early life and education

King was born in Baldwin Springs, Alabama. He graduated high school in 1956 in Detroit, Michigan, United States, and worked at the Ford Motor Company there for three years. He then worked for the City of Detroit as a draftsman.

In 1970, he founded the New Federal Theatre. He earned a B.A. in Self-Determined Studies, with a focus on Theatre and Black Studies, at Lehman College in 1996, and an M.F.A. at Brooklyn College in 1999.

## Film and stage direction

King has a long list of credits in film and stage direction and production, including the following:

| Stage | Play | Year |
| - | - | - |
| Alliance Theater (Atlanta, Georgia) | A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry | 1994 |
| American Cabaret Theater (Indianapolis,Indiana) | Eyes (based on Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes were Watching God) by Mari Evans | 1995–1996 |
| American Place Theatre | Splendid Mummer | 1987 |
| Arena Stage | | |
| Bermuda International Theatre Festival | Checkmates by Ron Milner | 1995–1996 |
| Billie Holiday Theatre (Brooklyn) | Good Black Don't Crack | 1993 |
| Broadway (New York) | Checkmates | 1988 |
| Brooklyn College | Joe Turner's Come and Gone by August Wilson | 1996–1997 |
| | Home by Samm-Art Williams | 1996–1997 |
| Center Stage of Baltimore | | |
| Cincinnati Playhouse | | |
| Cleveland Play House | | |
| Crossroads Theatre Company (New Brunswick, New Jersey) | And The World Laughs With You | 1994 |
| | Ali | 1998–1999 |
| Detroit Repertory Theater | Joe Turner's Come and Gone by August Wilson | 1990 |
| The Ensemble Studio Theater | Mudtracks by Regina Taylor | 1994 |
| Ford's Theater | God's Trombone | 1990 |
| GeVa Theatre | A Raisin in the Sun | 1991 |
| | The Member of the Wedding | 1992 |
| Indiana Repertory Company | | |
| Inner City Cultural Center (Los Angeles) | Checkmates | 1987–1988 |
| Jomandi Theatre | | |
| New Federal Theatre | Checkmates | 1995–1996 |
| | James Baldwin: A Soul on Fire by Howard Simon | 2000 |
| New York Shakespeare Festival | | |
| Northlight Theatre | | |
| Ohio State University | Angels in America | 1998–1999 |
| Pittsburgh Public Theater Sizwe Banzi Is Dead 1976 |
| SUNY Purchase |
| St Louis Black Repertory Theatre | Checkmates | 1993 |
| Stage West | | |
| Studio Arena in Buffalo | | |
| Virginia Museum Theatre | | |
| Seminole State College of Florida | The Piano Lesson by August Wilson | 2012 |

## Co-produced plays

* For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf by Ntozake Shange
* What the Wine Sellers Buy
* Reggae
* The Taking of Miss Janie, which earned the Drama Critics Circle Award

## Awards and recognition

* 1985: Joseph Jefferson Award nomination for Appear and Show Cause
* 1988: NAACP Image Award for directing Checkmates at the Inner City Cultural Center
* 1993: AUDELCO awards for Best Director and Best Play for Robert Johnson: Trick The Devil
* 1997: Obie Award for Sustained Achievement
* 2003: Paul Robeson Award
* 2005: Rosetta LeNoire Award
* 2011: Induction into American Theater Hall of Fame
* 2014: Theatre Legend Award, Atlanta Black Theatre Festival

## Works

* Woodie King; Earl Anthony (1972). Black Poets and Prophets: The Theory, Practice, and Esthetics of the Pan-Africanist Revolution. New York: New American Library.
* Woodie King (1981). The Forerunners: Black Poets in America. Washington, D.C: Howard University Press. ISBN 0-88258-093-0.
* Woodie King (1981). Black Theatre: Present Condition. New York: National Black Theatre Touring Circuit. ISBN 0-89062-133-0.
* Ron Milner; Woodie King (1986). Black Drama Anthology. New York: New American Library. ISBN 0-452-00902-2.
* Woodie King (1989). New Plays for the Black Theatre. Chicago: Third World Press. ISBN 0-88378-124-7.
* Woodie King (1996). The National Black Drama Anthology: Eleven Plays from America's Leading African-American Theaters. Applause Theatre & Cinema Book Publishers. ISBN 1-55783-219-6.
* Woodie King Jr (2000). Voices of Color: 50 Scenes and Monologues by African American Playwrights (Applause Acting Series). New York: Applause Books. ISBN 1-55783-174-2.
* Woodie King Jr (2004). The Impact of Race. New York: Applause Books. ISBN 1-55783-579-9.
* Chuck Smith; Woodie King; Leslie Lee; Mark Clayton Southers; Kim Euell; Lisa Ebright (2007). Best Black Plays: the Theodore Ward Prize for African American Playwriting. Evanston, Ill: Northwestern University Press. ISBN 978-0-8101-2390-8.
