Kamilah Forbes is an American curator, producer, and director. She created and directed the Hip Hop Theater Festival from 2000 to 2016. She has held directing roles for television and theater productions such as ''Holler if Ya Hear Me'', ''

The Wiz Live! ''The Wiz Live!'' is an American television special that aired live on NBC on December 3, 2015. Produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, it is a performance of a new adaptation of the 1975 Broadway musical ''The Wiz'', a soul/ R&B reinterpretation ...

'', and the 2014 revival of

Lorraine Hansberry Lorraine Vivian Hansberry (May 19, 1930 – January 12, 1965) was a playwright and writer. She was the first African-American female author to have a play performed on Broadway. Her best-known work, the play ''A Raisin in the Sun'', highlig ...

's ''

A Raisin in the Sun ''A Raisin in the Sun'' is a play by Lorraine Hansberry that debuted on Broadway in 1959. The title comes from the poem "Harlem" (also known as "A Dream Deferred") by Langston Hughes. The story tells of a black family's experiences in south Chi ...

''. Forbes was named executive producer of the

Apollo Theater The Apollo Theater is a music hall at 253 West 125th Street between Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard (Seventh Avenue) and Frederick Douglass Boulevard (Eighth Avenue) in the Harlem neighborhood of Upper Manhattan in New York City. It is a not ...

in 2016.

Early life and education

Forbes was born and raised in Chicago to Jamaican immigrant parents. She attended

Howard University Howard University (Howard) is a private, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity" and accredited by the Middle States Commissi ...

with the intention of attending medical school but changed her major to theater to pursue acting. While at Howard she met

Chadwick Boseman Chadwick Aaron Boseman (; November 29, 1976August 28, 2020) was an American actor. During his two-decade career, Boseman received two Screen Actors Guild Awards, a Golden Globe Award, a Critics' Choice Movie Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award, ...

and they collaborated on a play about their generation.

Career

Theater

In 2000, Forbes wrote and directed ''Rhyme Deferred'', a play that used a mythic fairy tale format to explore the existential nature of hip-hop. That year, she also created the Hip Hop Theater Festival in 2000 citing the need to feature work created for and by her generation. Forbes oversaw the development of the nonprofit called Hi-ARTS, which produces the festival. In 2014, Forbes was associate director for the Broadway show ''

Holler if Ya Hear Me "Holler If Ya Hear Me" is a song by American rapper 2Pac from his second solo studio album, '' Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z.'' (1993). It was released on February 4, 1993 as the album's lead single. The track, which samples " Do It Any Way You Wanna ...

'' and assistant director for the revival of

's ''

''. In 2019 she directed the revival of ''

By The Way, Meet Vera Stark ''By the Way, Meet Vera Stark'' is a play by Lynn Nottage. The play concerns an African-American maid in the 1930s who becomes a film star. Background Nottage received the 2010 Edgerton Foundation New American Play Award for this play. Producti ...

'' by

Lynn Nottage Lynn Nottage (born November 2, 1964) is an American playwright whose work often focuses on the experience of working-class people, particularly working-class people who are Black. She has received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama twice: in 2009 for he ...

for Signature Theatre. Forbes left Hi-ARTS in 2016 and became executive producer for Harlem's

that year. She stated that her goal as director would be to preserve the heritage of the Black cultural institution, and has made efforts to add a diversity of Black art to the Apollo Theater's offerings. In 2016, the Theater began hosting the New York premiere of the annual

Women of the World Festival Women of the World Festival (WOW, WOW Festival) is an annual arts and science festival based in London, that celebrates the achievements of women and girls, as well as looking at the obstacles they face across the world. As a global feminist mov ...

. Forbes was one of 300 signatories of a public letter directed at addressing systemic racism in American theater, along with others such as

Sandra Oh Sandra Miju Oh (born July 20, 1971) is a Canadian–American actress. She is best known for her starring roles as Rita Wu on the HBO comedy '' Arliss'' (1996–2002), Dr. Cristina Yang on the ABC medical drama series ''Grey's Anatomy'' (2005� ...

, Sterling K. Brown, and

Viola Davis Viola Davis (; born August 11, 1965) is an American actress and producer. The recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Tony Awards, she is the only African-American to achieve the Triple Crow ...

. The letter was released in June 2020, in the aftermath of the

George Floyd protests The George Floyd protests were a series of protests and civil unrest against police brutality and racism that began in Minneapolis on May 26, 2020, and largely took place during 2020. The civil unrest and protests began as part of internati ...

. Forbes is set to direct the Broadway musical ''Soul Train'' based on the

variety television series Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

, which was originally scheduled to be released in 2021, but due to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

production delays, is now scheduled for a fall 2022 debut.

TV and film

Forbes has directed and produced several television productions that center the intersection of Black narratives and music. She produced the HBO television series ''

Def Poetry Jam ''Russell Simmons presents Def Poetry'', better known as simply ''Def Poetry Jam'' or ''Def Poetry'', is a spoken word poetry television series hosted by Mos Def and airing on HBO between 2002 and 2007. The series features performances by establ ...

'' (2002) and ''

Brave New Voices Brave New Voices was created by Youth Speaks Inc in 1998 (a non-profit organization from San Francisco promoting youth intellectual and artistic self-development) after the inaugural Youth Speaks Teen slam poetry in San Francisco – the first po ...

'', PBS's ''The Women's List'', and was associate director for NBC's ''

'' In 2020, Forbes directed the HBO adaptation of ''

Between the World and Me ''Between the World and Me'' is a 2015 nonfiction book written by American author Ta-Nehisi Coates and published by Spiegel & Grau. It is written as a letter to the author's teenage son about the feelings, symbolism, and realities associated wi ...

'' based on

Ta-Nehisi Coates Ta-Nehisi Paul Coates ( ; born September 30, 1975) is an American author and journalist. He gained a wide readership during his time as national correspondent at ''The Atlantic'', where he wrote about cultural, social, and political issues, parti ...

book of the same name. She previously directed the 2018 stage show adaptation. In 2021, it was announced that she will produce a film adaptation of Coates' novel ''

The Water Dancer ''The Water Dancer'' is the debut novel by Ta-Nehisi Coates, published on September 24, 2019, by Random House under its One World imprint. It is a surrealist story set in the pre–Civil War South, concerning a superhuman protagonist named Hiram ...

'' with

Harpo Films Harpo Productions (or Harpo Studios) is an American multimedia production company founded by Oprah Winfrey and based in West Hollywood, California. It is the sole subsidiary of her media and entertainment company Harpo, Inc. The name "Harpo" is ...

and

Plan B Plan B typically refers to a contingency plan, a plan devised for an outcome other than in the expected plan. Plan B may also refer to: * Plan B, a brand name of levonorgestrel, an emergency contraception drug Film and television * Plan B En ...

Accolades

On June 23, 2021, President Joe Biden nominated Forbes to be a member of the National Council of the Arts. The

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

confirmed her on February 17, 2022 via

voice vote In parliamentary procedure, a voice vote (from the Latin ''viva voce'', meaning "live voice") or acclamation is a voting method in deliberative assemblies (such as legislatures) in which a group vote is taken on a topic or motion by responding vo ...

Personal life

Forbes has a daughter (b. 2016).

Awards and nominations

* 2019 – Winner, NBTF Larry Leon Hamlin Producer Award * 2019 – ''

The Root "The Root" is a song by American recording artist D'Angelo. It is the eighth track on his second studio album, ''Voodoo'', which was released on January 25, 2000, by Virgin Records. "The Root" was recorded and produced by D'Angelo at New York's ...

'' 100 Honoree * 2021 – Nominee, Outstanding Directing in a Television Movie or Special,

NAACP Image Awards The NAACP Image Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the U.S.-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People ( NAACP) to honor outstanding performances in film, television, theatre, music, and literature. Similar to ...

(for ''Between the World and Me'')

Filmography

References

External links

*
Kamilah Forbes
on Twitter {{DEFAULTSORT:Forbes, Kamilah Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American people of Jamaican descent Howard University alumni Theatre managers and producers American theatre directors Women theatre directors American television producers American directors American women dramatists and playwrights 21st-century American women writers Businesspeople from Chicago