Rose Weaver is an American actress, singer, director and writer in Rhode Island. Weaver is described as a "major figure in Rhode Island entertainment," and she is known for her role in the film ''
Poetic Justice
Poetic justice, also called poetic irony, is a literary device with which ultimately virtue is rewarded and misdeeds are punished. In modern literature, it is often accompanied by an ironic twist of fate related to the character's own action, henc ...
''.
Early life
Weaver grew up in
McDonough
McDonough is an Irish surname.
Origins and variants
The surname is an Anglicized form of the Gaelic name "Mac Donnchadha", which means son of Donnchadh or son of Donough. The name itself consists of elements meaning "brown (donn)" or Donn “t ...
outside of Atlanta, Georgia. Her family were
sharecroppers
Sharecropping is a legal arrangement with regard to agricultural land in which a landowner allows a tenant to use the land in return for a share of the crops produced on that land.
Sharecropping has a long history and there are a wide range ...
. She was one of the first black people to attend
Joseph Emerson Brown High School, an all-white high school in
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...
and participated in the
Emory University
Emory University is a private research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1836 as "Emory College" by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory, Emory is the second-oldest private institution of ...
Upward Bound
Upward Bound is a federally funded educational program within the United States. The program is one of a cluster of programs now referred to as TRiO, all of which owe their existence to the federal Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 (the War on ...
program in her youth.
Career
Weaver began singing in Boston and Rhode Island clubs in the 1970s.
She graduated from
Wheaton College in 1973 and was awarded a three-year fellowship by
Trinity Repertory in 1973. She spent 11 seasons acting at Trinity, including roles as Silvia in
Two Gentleman of Verona, Dussie Mae in
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
''Ma Rainey's Black Bottom'' is a 1982 play – one of the ten-play Pittsburgh Cycle by August Wilson, and the only one not set in Pittsburgh – that chronicles the 20th-century African-American experience. The play is set in a recording stu ...
, and Billie Holiday in Lady Sings the Blues. In 1994, she returned to Trinity in 1994 for another 11 seasons, taking roles such as the Witch in
Into the Woods
''Into the Woods'' is a 1987 musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine.
The musical intertwines the plots of several Brothers Grimm fairy tales, exploring the consequences of the characters' wishes and quests. T ...
and Billie Holiday in
Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill. In addition to her time at Trinity, Weaver was the producer and host of the television program "Sunday Sunday" on
WJAR TV in the 1980s.
In 1993 she played Aunt Audrey in the film ''
Poetic Justice
Poetic justice, also called poetic irony, is a literary device with which ultimately virtue is rewarded and misdeeds are punished. In modern literature, it is often accompanied by an ironic twist of fate related to the character's own action, henc ...
'' alongside
Janet Jackson and
Tupac Shakur
Tupac Amaru Shakur ( ; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. Shakur is among the b ...
.
Weaver continues to act, sing, write and direct. She performed at the state inauguration in Rhode Island, 1999. In 2000, she earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing from
Brown University. She was an artist in residence at Brown University's
Rites and Reason Theatre
Rites and Reason Theatre is a theater within the Africana Studies department of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. It was founded in 1970 by Professor George Houston Bass, and Professor Rhett Jones, is one of the longest-running cont ...
in 2015 where she developed her play about
Alzheimer's disease and memory, ''Skips The Record''. Her play ''Menopause Mama'', which she wrote, directed and starred in toured internationally and earned her a fellowship in play writing at the
Rhode Island State Council for the Arts in 2017.
Awards and distinctions
2019,
Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame
2018, Rhode Island Woman of the Year, GoLocalProv
2018, Wheeler School Community Spirit Award
2018, Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts,
Wheaton College
2016, Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts,
Providence College
2002, Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts,
Marymount Manhattan College
Marymount Manhattan College is a private college on the Upper East Side of New York City. As of 2020, enrollment consists of 1,571 undergraduates with women making up 80.1% and men 19.9% of student enrollment. The college was founded in 1936.
Hi ...
2001,
Rhode Island Historical Society
The Rhode Island Historical Society is a privately endowed membership organization, founded in 1822, dedicated to collecting, preserving, and sharing the history of Rhode Island. Its offices are located in Providence, Rhode Island.
History
Found ...
History Makers
2000,
Pell Award for Excellence in the Arts
1991, "Who's Who in Rhode Island Jazz"
1973,
Miss Massachusetts
The Miss Massachusetts competition is a scholarship pageant put on annually by the Miss Massachusetts Scholarship Foundation, Inc. The winner of the pageant receives the title of Miss Massachusetts and represents the state of Massachusetts at th ...
- Miss Congeniality
1973, Miss Foxboro
Selected film and television roles
A Snow White Christmas, 2018, Mrs. Woods
Brotherhood
Brotherhood or The Brotherhood may refer to:
Family, relationships, and organizations
* Fraternity (philosophy) or brotherhood, an ethical relationship between people, which is based on love and solidarity
* Fraternity or brotherhood, a mal ...
, 2006, Mrs. Lynch
Poetic Justice
Poetic justice, also called poetic irony, is a literary device with which ultimately virtue is rewarded and misdeeds are punished. In modern literature, it is often accompanied by an ironic twist of fate related to the character's own action, henc ...
, 1993, Aunt Audrey
Tales From The Crypt
Tales from the Crypt may refer to:
* ''Tales from the Crypt'' (album), by American rapper C-Bo
* ''Tales from the Crypt'' (comics), published by EC Comics during the 1950s
** ''Tales from the Crypt'' (film), a 1972 Amicus film starring Ralph Ric ...
, "Mute Witness to Murder", 1990, Desk
The Accused
Accused or The Accused may refer to:
* A person suspected with committing a crime or offence; see Criminal charge
** Suspect, a known person suspected of committing a crime
* The Accüsed, a 1980s Seattle crossover thrash band
*''The Accused'', a ...
, 1988, Nurse
Go Tell It On The Mountain, 1984
In the Heat of the Night, 1989
''Brother to Dragons,''
Great Performances
''Great Performances'' is a television anthology series dedicated to the performing arts; the banner has been used to televise theatrical performances such as plays, musicals, opera, ballet, concerts, as well as occasional documentaries. It is p ...
, 1975, Family Slave
Published works
"Mama's Helper" and "Chips on My Shoulder", ''Monologues for Women by Women'', Tori Haring-Smith ed., 1994
''NuMuse: an anthology of plays from Brown University's New Plays Festival'', 1994
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weaver, Rose
Singers from Rhode Island
Actresses from Rhode Island
20th-century African-American women singers
African-American actresses
Singers from Georgia (U.S. state)
Actresses from Georgia (U.S. state)
20th-century American singers
20th-century American actresses
21st-century American singers
21st-century American actresses
People from McDonough, Georgia
21st-century American dramatists and playwrights
American women dramatists and playwrights
20th-century American dramatists and playwrights
20th-century American women writers
21st-century American women writers
American film actresses
American stage actresses
American television actresses
Writers from Georgia (U.S. state)
Writers from Rhode Island
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
Wheaton College (Massachusetts) alumni
Brown University alumni
20th-century American women singers
21st-century American women singers
21st-century African-American women writers
21st-century African-American writers