What's Inside?
Full Catalogue
Explore our selection of over 40 uniquely Black stories, vividly performed and expertly crafted.
Backstage
Get a deeper dive into the history and making of some of your favorite stories.
Interviews with Icons
Hear directly from some of the most influential talents in Black culture.
Listen Magazine
Enjoy a monthly magazine that contains sneak peeks, insightful information, and other tidbits.
First Monday Releases
Ron OJ Parson hit Chicago in the late 80’s looking for new opportunities. In a leap of faith and on the word of a trusted friend Ron relocated, and in doing so, he began a process of reinvention. Always a restless performer, in Chicago Ron would diversify his craft, becoming a producer, director, and theater founder. He co-founded Onyx Theater with Alfred Wilson – the same trusted friend that lured him to Chicago. The Onyx ensemble included luminary talents such as Lydia Diamond and Daniel Bryant and with its founding, Ron introduced a “story-centered, language rich” approach on par with Chicago’s stellar reputation for great story and great acting in intimate spaces. Over the next 4 decades, Ron forged a legacy of partner-ship with August Wilson, and Court Theater (among others) that made him one of the most celebrated directors of the August Wilson cycle. Join us for a candid talk about Ron’s life and his art.
King Davis is a recovering addict whose only legacy is the six-flat building in Bronzeville (Chicago) that his mother owns. The six-flat is in immediate threat of being taken from King’s family due to mounting back taxes. King swoops in to save the day only to find out his mama has entrusted the building’s future to a new neighbor. How can King finally show who he is – when the people around him only see him for who he once was? This searing drama is about survival, loss, and redemption. Dandelions is about who gets to stay and who gets weeded out.
Get an inside look into the world and creation of critically-acclaimed “Dandelions”, by Tina Fakhrid-Deen. Found exclusively on MPAACT Podcast Plays.
Returning to Our Roots
From the time of our ancestors, our story and our history has been told orally. The Griot in our villages kept and told the oral history of our people, and passed it down to the next generations. More recently, our transplanted elders gathered the family around the victrola radio in the living room and listened to the news and stories of the world, as well as weekend episodes of the family’s favorite radio serials.
Birthed during the global pandemic which shuttered our theatre doors for a year, we took heart in the ability to return to our elders’ tradition. MPAACT invites you to stream our Podcast Play Series- radio plays presented for your enjoyment. Gather around with family and enjoy dynamically Black stories presented comfortably in your home.
Who We Are
MPAACT exists to develop, nurture, and sustain Afrikan Centered Theatre [ACT], an artistic expression grounded in the many cultures and traditions of the Afrikan continent and its Diaspora. With a vision focused on creating new work and collaborative art, MPAACT produces and educates with the goal of increasing understanding and appreciation of [ACT] and its interrelated disciplines.
MPAACT has grown from a collective of like-minded individuals who shared an artistic vision, to an organization that has produced a formidable body of work. This work includes: main stage productions, a playwright’s laboratory, standing productions, original music, a publishing company [Sakhu Publications], an arts education program, and many workshops and master classes.
It is important to us as a company that we, in everything we do, pull from the disparate cultural elements which unite artists in the Afrikan Diaspora. Drawing from the well that nourished artists such as Wole Soyinka, Charles Mingus, Adrienne Kennedy, Amiri Baraka and Bob Marley among others, we create and perform work, which examines and celebrates the many facets of Afrikan theatre.
Want to learn more? Visit our official website mpaact.org!
Contact
Greenhouse Theatre Center
2257 N Lincoln Ave
Chicago, IL 60614
information@mpaact.org
661.373.3089
Mail: P.O. Box 10039
Chicago IL, 60610