22 • February 24, 2022 - March 2, 2022
THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS
IN
THE
CLASSROOM
Abram Hill, playwright, director and avatar of Black theater
By HERB BOYD Special to the AmNews
Federal Theater Project where among his duties was one as a script reader; the FTP soon gave him opportunity to write for the group, including “Stealing Lightning” and “Hell’s Half-
and his voice? How did he carry himself?” Rivers: “Every time I was in his presence, I always thought that I was around a professor at a college, because that’s the kind of stature that he held.
It was quite predicable in writing an obituary on Sidney Poitier as we recently did that Abram Hill would get at least a mention since he played a crucial role in the great actor’s early years at the American Negro Theater. Like Frederick O’Neal, Hill was inextricably connected with creating the theater, and under his supervision a countless number of aspiring thespians learned the craft and went on to Abram Hill rehearsing scenes with performers in one of his plays greater acclaim. Acre.” Success followed when He was a very conservative guy, Abram, sometimes known his plays were produced by the always in a suit. Never saw him as Ab Hill, was born on Jan. 20, Unity Players of the Bronx, all without his suit and tie on.” Lee: 1910, in Atlanta and spent most of which proved rewarding and “Never. Never once.” Rivers: “He of his early years there. He was helped him to receive the The- was dapper. He held up that traseven when he first stepped on resa Helbrun Scholarship at dition of what esteemed Black stage in a Morehouse College the New School for Social Re- men during that period would Theatre production. At the age search where he studied under look like. Everything about him of 13 his family moved to Harlem John Gassner and Erwin Pisca- was very serious. and he enrolled at DeWitt Clin- tor. He continued to be a reader “Not only did Abram Hill talk ton High School in the Bronx. of plays but found time to write about the fundamentals of theCity College was his next stop for his own productions—“Walk ater, he also talked about the retwo years before he moved on Hard,” “Liberty Deferred” and, sponsibility of being advocates to Lincoln University in Penn- the most popular of his cre- for our culture, to also articulate sylvania from which he grad- ations, “On Strivers Row.” and advance the Black moveuated with a B.A. in 1937. Even In an interview conducted by ment in arts and culture and in as a college student, Abram was Trymaine Lee of MSNBC with civil rights.” Lee: “Mr. Rivers deindustrious and was hired to theater authority Voza Rivers, cided to follow the example set teach drama with the CCC (Ci- ANT and Abram were evoked. by Abram Hill.” Rivers: “The first vilian Conservation Corps). He Lee: “So you actually had Mr. thing that I knew was I had to also directed several plays at this Hill there with you, helping to, have a commitment to the comprogram created to provide the like, shape this thing. What was it munity. Most of my work was unemployed with some form of like, actually working with him?” done, and there was no admisfinancial assistance. Rivers: “Well, he gave notes and sion at all.” His stay at Lincoln was re- you listened. ‘I want to change Abram was among a coterie markable and he was soon an this setting. I want to change the of artists who found themselves assistant in the school’s Theater lighting. This is the kind of cos- without meaningful employArts program. Lucrative, too, tume that I want the costume de- ment after the government’s was his stint with the signer to dress people in.’” Lee: relief program closed “What was his personality like,
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down. He soon was working with Frederick O’Neal at the American Negro Theater that was based at the Schomburg Center. Not only was it established to help the beleaguered theatrical workers but it was a place where a fine competitive spirit was established, thereby allowing those involved to refine their skills. This was certainly a vital benefit for Poitier, his close friend and often rival for parts, Harry Belafonte, Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis. At ANT budding young actors, directors, and producers had a path that otherwise existed in the New York world of drama. ANT’s motto was: “to break down the barriers of Black participation in the Theater; to portray Negro life as they honestly saw it; [and] to fill the gap of a Black Theater which did not exist.” At the very start of this pursuit, ANT garnered considerable praise, particularly in Black theater. They produced more than 20 plays from 1940 to 1950, the bulk of them original. Impressive numbers also occurred for those interested in attending one of the shows, and it was cited that more than 50,000 people were in the audience for the productions. Abram often stated that ANT: “… Sent a wagon up and down the streets of Harlem with somebody beating a drum…We passed out handbills on the street corners. And we had a family night. We let in five members of the family for a dollar.” It was very similar to the free plates, bowls, and kitchen items given on special occasions by the movie houses in the ’40s and ’50s to expand the audience. By the late 1940s Abram ended his affiliation with ANT and began working as a director with the Lincoln University Players as well as teaching in the New York public school system. He was active in this behalf when he died October 13, 1986. He and ANT were recalled in 2015 when the Schomburg Center launched an exhibit entitled, “The 75th Anniversary of the American Negro Theater.”
ACTIVITIES FIND OUT MORE There are extensive discussions on Abram and the ANT on practically every website dealing with Black theater. DISCUSSION The attempt to present excerpts from “On Strivers Row” were unsuccessful, though there are several places online to get some idea of how he handled this satire in Harlem. PLACE IN CONTEXT The significant development about Abram and the ANT occurred in Harlem in the ’40s and ’50s.
THIS WEEK IN BLACK HISTORY Feb. 21, 1965: The great leader Malcolm X was gunned down at the Audubon Ballroom in upper Manhattan. Feb. 23, 1868: Eminent scholar and activist W.E.B. Du Bois was born in Great Barrington, Mass. Feb. 23, 1942: Dr. Haki Madhubuti, acclaimed poet and publisher, was born in Little Rock, Ark.
