Advice to a Young Black Actor: Conversations with Douglas Turner Ward

by Gus Edwards, Gus Edwards

Cofounder and artistic director of the famed Negro Ensemble Company, Douglas Turner Ward is also the country's foremost authority on African Americans in theatre. Playwright and educator Gus Edwards talked with Ward about the opportunities for African American actors. The result is the first book to address the creative and professional challenges of acting from a specifically African American perspective.

For the actor of color, these conversations reveal much about important topics, including:

ethnic specificity colorblind casting cultural honesty of roles. The talks also provide immediately usable personal advice on establishing and maintaining a professional career on stage, TV, and film, and covering everything from auditions and acting workshops to dealing with and learning fromaudiences and sustaining long runs. Advice to a Young Black Actor is an indispensable book pioneering effort that is long overdue.

144 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2004