ONLINE: Africa at Noon

UW African Studies lecture series: "The Way of the NeoGriot: A Journey Towards a Truly African American Theater,” by Mark Hairston, via Zoom. Free.

media release: A weekly Wednes­day event since 1973. Fall 2020 semester will take place via Zoom. Please click the link below to join the webinar:

https://uwmadison.zoom.us/j/97624151198

Or iPhone one-tap :

US: +13017158592,,97892921030# or +13126266799,,97892921030#

Or Telephone: Dial(for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location):

US: +1 301 715 8592 or +1 312 626 6799 or +1 929 205 6099 or +1 346 248 7799 or +1 669 900 6833 or +1 253 215 8782

Webinar ID: 978 9292 1030

International numbers available: https://uwmadison.zoom.us/u/adBMJaQm7l

This series is free and open to the public.

In this presentation – part personal narrative, part artistic statement – theater artist and UW-Madison professor, Mark H. (a.k.a. The NeoGriot) offers a special glimpse into his life and work as he recounts how the empowering journey to uncover and reclaim a lost personal history led him on a mission to draw on that same history in developing his own unique African American theater, one firmly rooted in and guided by both African and American philosophies and practices.

Brief Bio

A native of Washington, DC, Mark H. is a director, performer and educator with a primary focus on American theater and theater of the African diaspora. His directing highlights include Julius Caesar, The Escape; or, A Leap for Freedom, King Lear, The Cherry Orchard, The Henry Dumas Project, and Dontrell Who Kissed the Sea. Along with directing, Mark has worked extensively as a professional actor with some of the nation’s leading theater companies. His most recent theater credits include We Are Proud to Present a Presentation… (Artistic Producer) and Ms. Blakk for President (Assistant Director to Tina Landau), both with Steppenwolf Theatre Company, as well as Deep Blue Sea (Dramaturg), a special collaboration with dance legend Bill T. Jones. Mark received his BFA in Acting with high honors from Rutgers University, and is a graduate of the MFA Directing program at Columbia University School of the Arts, where he was the Dean’s Fellow and studied under the mentorship of Anne Bogart and Brian Kulick. He was classically trained at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London.