do it, while we still have the grandmother that says, ‘You go there.’ It is an important time, while that legacy is still around,” Hemphill said. Luckily, that legacy runs deep. Janice Williams, the stage manager at BTT, has grown up with the organization. Her mother was one of Hemphill’s first stage managers and her grandmother was an early board member. Cloves Campbell, the owner of The Arizona Informant newspaper, was an early supporter, and all of his children have come up through the ranks. “There are families here that have been with us from the beginning,” Hemphill said. Indeed, many actors, directors and technicians talk about BTT as their family, a place they feel at home. Many have fond memories appearing on stage as children in “Black Nativity,” BTT’s annual holiday show. Beloved as it is, BTT is more than a place where African American artists and playwrights can perform and develop their work. It has become a bridge for understanding through shared experience. BTT provides a welcoming place, where audiences from all backgrounds can see stories told through an African American lens, depicting emotions and experiences everyone can recognize. “Stories are stories,” Hemphill said. “A story about an African American family is very easily translated into a story about a non-African American family. All families in all cultures have heroes, tragedies and triumphs.” By providing productions that illuminate the African American experience, BTT serves as a cultural bridge. “Cultures are what’s going to keep our civilizations going,” Hemphill said. “If people can see the importance of our culture, it makes it easier for them to recognize their own importance, or recognize the importance of their neighbor’s culture.” Indeed, in these divided days, Hemphill sees the need for Black Theatre Troupe as clearly as Helen Mason saw it nearly six decades ago. “I know that the arts are a great force within this world, but how much do you care about art if you hate your neighbor? What does it take to make you put down your shield and let the arts in?” Hemphill asked. COVER STORY 46 | FRONTDOORS MAGAZINE BTT’s home, the Helen K. Mason Performing Arts Center, was built to meet the specific needs of the troupe. The 145-seat theater is located at 1333 E. Washington St. in downtown Phoenix. BTT has been providing training, employment and performance opportunities for multiethnic and underserved artists since 1970.

September 6-22, 2024 The Trial of One Short-Sighted Black Woman vs. Mammy Louise and Safreeta Mae BY KARANI MARCIA LESLIE October 18 - November 3, 2024 The Color Purple BY MARSHA NORMAN December 6 -15, 2024 Black Nativity BY LANGSTON HUGHES Febuary 7-23, 2024 The African Company Presents Richard III BY RICHARD CARLYLE March 28 - April 13, 2024 Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill BY LANIE ROBERTSON Black Theatre Troupe’s 55 th season starts in September. Here are the productions that will be featured: On the Bill BTT has found the answer by looking to the past. “We’re lucky because it has come full circle. We just have to do what we did in the 70s,” Hemphill said, referring to the active listening and open-door communication that were legacies of the Black Arts civil rights movement. “All of those things that are rooted in activism that we did as the foundation for the theater, we just have to repeat them — with louder music,” Hemphill laughed. So, as Hemphill prepares for BTT’s new season — aka its “senior year” — his thoughts veer between business issues and social ills; fundraising duties and ordering playbills; sudden crises and the million-and- one details of theater management. In other words, he is preparing for his child to launch. And like many transitions, this one is making him nostalgic. For Hemphill and his team, this season is all about sustainability, so BTT can remain a significant piece of the city’s cultural fabric for generations to come. “I believe in theater,” Hemphill said. “We’ve trusted the process, and we’ve done the work, but it’s like having a child. I would like to see the theater go on for another 54 years. Will it do well? That’s what I’m looking forward to this year, just watching.” To learn more, visit blacktheatretroupe.org . FRONTDOORS MAGAZINE | 47 BTT conducts educational workshops, outreach programs and produces quality plays, while fostering understanding outside the Black community.