What is the Black Album Mixtape?
Golden Globe-winning actress, director and playwright Regina Taylor is partnering with SMU Meadows School of the Arts and its Division of Theatre in a unique, three-part theatrical project titled the black album. 2020. Conceived by SMU Distinguished Alumna Taylor, who earned a theatre degree from Meadows in 1981, the project explores and addresses the question of what it is to be Black in 2020.
“2020 is of historical significance, defined by COVID-19, social protest ignited by the murder of George Floyd and this year’s presidential election process,” says Taylor, a Dallas native.
“We are on the brink – re-examining our past and challenging who we believe ourselves to be. How we deal with these events will affect generations to come.”
Part One: Resistance
The first part of the project – the black album. 2020. resistance. – featured a 75-minute presentation, written and directed by Taylor and performed by undergraduate and graduate acting students. The presentation debuted with two live performances, streamed on the SMU Meadows YouTube channel, on October 27 and October 29. Sets, costumes, lighting and sound for the production were created by Meadows theatre design students, alumni, and faculty in collaboration with guest artists.