Theater Company Opens In Atlanta To Showcase Black Talent
Rob Connor, the founder of Dominion Entertainment Group, chose “Jar the Floor” by Cheryl West for its first theater production. The cast includes Bernadine Mitchell, Donna Biscoe, Cycerli Ash, Cara Mantella and D. Woods.
SHOCCARA MARCUS
In the past few years, Atlanta has seen several theater companies close, but Atlanta-native Robert Connor is trying to fill that void.
“The audiences are thirsty for great work with great talent, and there’s a lot of great talent here in Atlanta,” said Connor. “I slept on it for a couple of days, and I said, ‘you know what, I am going to make my own production company.’ … I told myself, ‘you are absolutely insane.’”
Connor intends to create a threefold production company under the name Dominion Entertainment Group. In addition to full theater productions, he wants to produce music and films.
So far, Dominion has two theater shows on the schedule: “Jar the Floor” by Cheryl West, which will open on Sept. 16, and “Black Nativity,” the classic by Langston Hughes, which will open on Dec. 2.
While not exclusive to African-American talent, Connor said Dominion will be dedicated to showcasing the works of black playwrights and actors.
“There’s so many limited performance opportunities for actors of color, to now provide a company that is going to expand on what these other companies are doing [like Kenny Leon’s True Colors Theater Company] is just giving work to really deserving actors and then giving the audiences the opportunity to see works that they never knew about or they saw years ago.”
Referencing August Wilson, Connor said, “Black theater is its own idiom … We can’t lose that cultural contribution that black theater, black playwrights, black actors bring to the tapestry. That’s what’s important to me.”
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