The FAMU Essential Theatre will be the recipient of a compilation of 15 plays by prominent Black writers including Slave Play, which have received a historic 12 Tony Award nominations, more than any other play in Broadway history. The donation is being made by Jeremy O. Harris, a playwright himself who dubbed the collection as “The Golden Collection.”
In all, the Golden Collection, totals 800 individual scripts and is named for Harris' grandfather --- Golden Harris who passed away two weeks before Jeremy learned that Slave Play would play Broadway’s Golden Theatre.
The collection is being awarded to libraries, community centers and universities, including three Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), in the United States, Washington D.C., Guam and Puerto Rico. FAMU is the only institution in the state of Florida to receive the collection.
"Many of the recipient libraries and community centers spotlight historical sites of racial progress, sites of continued racial violence and inequity, and serve predominantly Black communities," said Harris. "Ultimately, the collection was donated to libraries that were passionate about bringing these plays into their communities."
As detailed on Slave Play's website, organizers selected FAMU's Essential Theatre to receive the collection due to its committment to "providing students with well-rounded formal preparation necessary for advanced academic or professional study, and exposing the broader student body and the surrounding Tallahassee community to the arts."
The website also states, "sending these plays to libraries in a diverse range of communities, we trust that they will empower the next generation of artistry and invite all voices into the discussion."
In addition to Slave Play, the following is a list of the plays included in the Golden Collection:
Les Blancs by Lorraine Hansberry
The Colored Museum by George C. Wolfe
An Octoroon by Branden Jacobs Jenkins
Sweat by Lynn Nottage
A Collection of Plays (Wedding Band and Trouble in Mind) by Alice Childress
Fucking A by Suzan-Lori Parks
We Are Proud to Present a Presentation by Jackie Sibblies Drury
The Mountaintop by Katori Hall
Is God Is by Aleshea Harris
Fires in the Mirror by Anna Deavere Smith
Funnyhouse of a Negro by Adrienne Kennedy
For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf by Ntozake Shange
Bootycandy by Robert O’Hara
Dream on Monkey Mountain by Derek Walcott.