International Black Theatre Festival returns to the Triad

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. —The International Black Theatre Festival kicks off Monday in Winston-Salem.

The event pulls in tens of thousands of visitors every year, according to leaders with the Winston-Salem Tourism Authority.

Theater companies from across the world also participate.

Organizers said the International Black Theatre Festival gives actors a chance to connect with industry professionals and share their skills in classes and showcases all week long.

University of North Carolina School of the Arts graduate Chelsea Gabrielle Rose is one of seven young actors who received the Mabel P. Robinson Emerging Artist Award this year, earning a free ticket to more than 100 theatrical performances at the International Black Theatre Festival.

“Because of that award, they’re allowing us to partake in this at this point in our lives, as high school and college grads and, you know, postgraduates. They’re allowing us to be a part of this,” she explained.

The North Carolina Black Repertory Company was the first professional Black theater company in the state of North Carolina and has been organizing the festival since 1989.

“We are the biggest Black theater festival, period. We have some of the best emerging artists from across the globe. We are really breaking into that international market,” NC Black Rep Managing Director Brittany Giles-Jones said.

Along with performances, the festival will also include workshops, panel discussions and a gala.

Giles-Jones said they are preparing to welcome more than 40,000 people and more than 100 vendors from dozens of countries.

“The International Black Theatre Festival is an economic driver, of course, here in Winston-Salem, bringing over $14.2 million in 2024 alone and over $200 million since our inception in 1989,” Giles-Jones said. “We see a lot of hotels, restaurants and retailers in Greensboro, High Point and even extended out throughout really North Carolina,” Giles-Jones said.

One of the festival’s most attended events, the Midnight Poetry Jam, is also returning this year.

Actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner, who drowned in an accident last year, helped to start that event. It will be held on July 30 and July 31 at the Benton Convention Center.

The event kicks off at 5:45 p.m. Monday with the opening gala at the Salem Ballroom in Winston-Salem. The festival ends on August 1.

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