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 The New Federal Theatre is a theatre company named after the African-American branch of the Federal Theatre Project, which was created in the United States during the Great Depression to provide resources for theatre and other artistic programs. Th ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Early life and education

King was born in Baldwin Springs,

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

, United States. He graduated high school in 1956 in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, and worked at the

Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational corporation, multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. T ...

there for three years. He then worked for the City of Detroit as a draftsman. In 1970, he founded the

. He earned a B.A. degree in Self-Determined Studies, with a focus on Theatre and Black Studies, at

Lehman College Lehman College is a public college in New York City, United States. Founded in 1931 as the Bronx campus of Hunter College, it became an independent college in 1967. The college is named after Herbert H. Lehman, a former New York governor, United ...

in 1996, and an M.F.A. at

Brooklyn College Brooklyn College is a public university in Brooklyn in New York City, United States. It is part of the City University of New York system and enrolls nearly 14,000 students on a campus in the Midwood and Flatbush sections of Brooklyn as of fall ...

in 1999.

Credits

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

Film

Television

Theatre

Co-produced plays

*''

For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf #REDIRECT For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf {{R from move ...

'' by

Ntozake Shange Ntozake Shange ( ;
FilmReference.com. Retrieved October 27, 2018. October 18, 1948 – October 27, 2018 ...

*''What the Wine Sellers Buy'' *''Reggae'' *''The Taking of Miss Janie'', by

Ed Bullins Edward Artie Bullins (July 2, 1935November 13, 2021), sometimes publishing as Kingsley B. Bass Jr, was an American playwright. He won awards including the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award and several Obie Awards. Bullins was associated wit ...

, which earned the Drama Critics Circle Award

Awards and recognition

*1985:

Joseph Jefferson Award The Joseph Jefferson Award, more commonly known informally as the Jeff Award, is given for theatre arts produced in the Chicago area. Founded in 1968, the awards are named in tribute to actor Joseph Jefferson, a 19th-century American theater st ...

nomination for ''Appear and Show Cause'' *1988:

NAACP Image Award 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. The over 40 ...

for directing ''Checkmates'' at the Inner City Cultural Center *1993:

AUDELCO AUDELCO, the Audience Development Committee, Inc., was established in 1973 by Vivian Robinson to honor excellence in African American theatre in New York City. AUDELCO presents the Vivian Robinson/AUDELCO Recognition Awards (also known as Viv aw ...

awards for Best Director and Best Play for ''Robert Johnson: Trick The Devil'' *1997:

Obie Award The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards given since 1956 by ''The Village Voice'' newspaper to theater artists and groups involved in off-Broadway and off-off-Broadway productions in New York City. Starting just after th ...

for Sustained Achievement *2003: Paul Robeson Award *2005: Rosetta LeNoire Award from

Actors' Equity Association The Actors' Equity Association (AEA), commonly called Actors' Equity or simply Equity, is an American trade union, labor union representing those who work in Theatre, live theatrical performance. Performers appearing in live stage productions w ...

*2011: Induction into

American Theater Hall of Fame The American Theater Hall of Fame was founded in 1972 in New York City. The first head of its executive committee was Earl Blackwell. In an announcement in 1972, he said that the new ''Theater Hall of Fame'' would be located in the Uris Theatre, ...

*2014: Theatre Legend Award
Atlanta Black Theatre Festival
*2020:

Tony Tony may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tony the Tiger, cartoon mascot for Frosted Flakes cereal * Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer * ...

Honors for Excellence in the Theatre

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * *

References

External links

The New Federal Theater in New York
br>see also inspiring purposes of previous 20th-century African-American theatre projects:

Federal Theatre Project The Federal Theatre Project (FTP; 1935–1939) was a theatre program established during the Great Depression as part of the New Deal to fund live artistic performances and entertainment programs in the United States. It was one of five Federal ...

, American Negro Theater
Theatre Hall of Fame induction
{{DEFAULTSORT:King, Woodie 1937 births 20th-century African-American people African-American theater directors American theatre directors American theatre managers and producers Brooklyn College alumni Living people People from Baldwin County, Alabama