St. James African Methodist Episcopal Church

St. James African Methodist Episcopal Church

St. James African Methodist Episcopal Church (3600 Snelling Avenue, Minneapolis), 1975.

Irene Paull, Joe Paszak, and unidentified person

Irene Paull, Joe Paszak, and unidentified person

Irene Paull, Joe Paszak, and an unidentified person, 1937.

a photograph: lovers in motion

Promotional artwork created by Daniel Alexander Jones for Ntozake Shange's play a photograph: lovers in motion, ca. 1994. From folder 7 of box 5 of Penumbra Theatre Company records (GV002), Archie Givens, Sr. Collection of African American Literature, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.

Seven Guitars

Seven Guitars

Actors in August Wilson's play Seven Guitars, ca. 2002. From folder 14 of box 6 of Penumbra Theatre Company records (GV002), Archie Givens, Sr. Collection of African American Literature, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.

Slippery When Wet program

Slippery When Wet program

The program for S. H. Murakoshi's Slippery When Wet, 2005. From folder 23 of box 6 of the Penumbra Theatre Company records (GV002), Archie Givens, Sr. Collection of African American Literature, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.

Forty Years of Penumbra Theatre: Lou and Sarah Bellamy Reflect

In this video produced by the Minnesota Historical Society, Lou Bellamy and his daughter Sarah sketch out the history of Penumbra Theatre.

Penumbra Theatre Company

Penumbra Theatre is one of the premier legacy Black theaters in the United States, and one of the few founded during the Black Arts Movement that survived into the twenty-first century. Penumbra's plays examine universal themes rooted in the daily lives and perspectives of Black folks across a spectrum of African American theater ideologies.

MN90: August Wilson: Shining a Light on Black Life

August Wilson (1945–2005) is among America’s most critically acclaimed playwrights. He penned several groundbreaking plays while living in St. Paul in the 1980s, including Pulitzer Prize winners Fences and The Piano Lesson. They are both part of Wilson’s magnum opus: a series of ten historical plays called the Pittsburgh Cycle. In the series, each decade of the twentieth century is represented through a play, exploring the cultural, spiritual, and daily lives of African Americans. MN90 producer Marisa Helms reports.

Penumbra Theatre Company, 2010s

Penumbra Theatre Company, 2010s

Penumbra Theater Company, ca. 2010s. From Penumbra Theatre Company records (GV002), Archie Givens, Sr. Collection of African American Literature, University of Minnesota Libraries, Minneapolis.

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

Actors in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, by August Wilson, at the Penumbra Theatre, 2014. Photograph by Michael Daniel. CC BY-SA 2.0

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