The Pan-African Theatre Ensemble (The PATE)
Theatre Practice-as-Research
Artistic Director: D. Amy-Rose Forbes-Erickson
"I am so glad to see the fine work you are doing on behalf of our students and the university.
Your artistry and activism are appreciated, especially now. Great show!
Proud to call you colleague!" -- Daniel Nadon, Professor of Theatre, School of Theatre and Dance,
Kent State University, Kent, Ohio - Venus Production, March 2017
The [Pan-African Theatre Ensemble] always puts on distinctive productions, and The Purple Flower is no exception. This play should be seen for its unique and nuanced writing, themes and elements of production. Ashlynn Thompson, The Burr, March 2018
“A people without knowledge of their history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.”
Marcus Garvey
Our Mission
Established in the fall 2016 by D. Amy-Rose Forbes-Erickson, the Pan-African Theatre Ensemble is a community-based, practice-led, theatre practice-as-research project for pedagogy, scholarship, and for directing inspiring theatre seasons, curated from a repertoire of plays from Africa, U.S.A., Canada, England, Latin America and the Caribbean. Theatre practice-as-research (PaR) refers to creative practices as key research methodologies, and includes theatre/performance as substantial evidence of research inquiry (Nelson 9). The primary mission of the Pan-African Theatre Ensemble is to promote Black theatre in the United States and around the world and to locate a Pan-African aesthetic. Pan-Africanism is a concept and principle of unity among Africans on the continent of Africa and people of African descent worldwide who share in the traumatic history of trans-Atlantic slavery and scattering of African peoples throughout the world. The Pan-African Theatre Ensemble is the first company of its kind anywhere - dedicated to Black theatre from everywhere. The goal of the Pan-African Theatre Ensemble is to produce engaging, inspiring, experimental, and eclectic theatre and performance styles from the Pan-African world, including the continent of Africa, the United States, the Caribbean, Latin America, and Europe. The Pan-African Theatre Ensemble extends Efua Sutherland’s vision for Pan-African cultural activism with the Pan-African Historical Theatre Festival (PANAFEST) Biennial in Ghana, uniting emerging and established theatre and performance by Africans on the continent and peoples of African descent.
Pan-African Theatre Ensemble -Community-based, Theatre Practice-as-Research Project
The Pan-African Theatre Ensemble is a community-based, practice-led, theatre practice-as-research group for with Pan-African theatre aesthetics and sensibilities, open to community volunteers, interested in participating in theatre research, and to anyone committed to Black theatres.
The Pan-African Theatre Ensemble incorporates new media and technologies with elements of performance art, installations, video, digital works in theatre for cultural activism – African, African-descent, Indigenous, and Middle Eastern cultures and peoples.
The Pan-African Theatre Ensemble for pedagogy, scholarship, and for directing theatre seasons, curated from a repertoire of plays from Africa, U.S.A., Canada, England, Latin America and the Caribbean.
Our Vision
The Pan-African Theatre Ensemble’s vision is:
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To be an African-aesthetic community-based collective and ensemble in Black communities.
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To produce a repertoire of emerging and canonical theatre from Africa and the Pan-African world, including the United States, Caribbean, Latin America, North America and Europe.
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To experiment with a rich reservoir of Pan-African theatre and performance forms to create new methods – music and mime, physical theatre, storytelling, ethnographic folk, and other African, African American, and Caribbean forms
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To promote innovation and creativity in the use of space, performance styles, design, and directorial methods
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To encourage open membership to all people regardless of race, gender, sexuality, nationality, disability, and others.
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To collaborate with local and regional artists and communities to produce theatre and performance
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To promote civic engagement and social justice issues of gender, race, sexuality, and nationality through a selection of plays and performances.
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To explore a variety of Black expressions in non-Western and Western performance styles
Our Mandate
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The Pan-African Theatre Ensemble’s mandate is:
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To be for, by, about and within Black communities with African aesthetics and spiritually grounded.
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To produce inspiring annual theatre seasons with Pan-African themes through theatre
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To forge links with African and African Diasporic theatre companies for traditional folk, experimental performance styles, and contemporary works using Western and non-Western forms
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To participate in national and international theatre festivals, including PANAFEST (Pan-African Historical Theatre Project), Carifesta (Caribbean Music and Arts Festival), Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and others.
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To promote volunteerism in the Pan-African Theatre Ensemble for community building
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To encourage and promote emerging talents in the field.
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To provide opportunities and outlets for all, and especially for under-represented theatre artists in all areas of theatre production.
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To educate and empower audiences and communities
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To promote the role of theatre in community, society and the world
