The Columbia College Chicago Theatre Department proudly congratulates the Columbia College alumni and current and former students who were honored with 2019 Black Theatre Alliance/Ira Aldridge Awards at the 25th annual Black Theatre Alliance Awards ceremony on October 14. Hearty congratulations to:
former Theatre Department Acting program student AnJi White, who received the Ethel Waters Award for Best Actress in an Ensemble for her performance in For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When The Rainbow Is Enuf at Court Theatre. The production’s entire cast also received the Target Community Relations Award for Best Ensemble.
Bre Jacobs, a senior in the Theatre Department’s BFA Program in Musical Theatre Performance, who received the Phylicia Rashad Award for Most Promising Actress for her performance in Caroline, or Change, presented by Firebrand Theatre in association with TimeLine Theatre Company.
Therese Ritchie (right) receives her Black Theatre Alliance Award from BTAA founder/president Vincent Williams.
Columbia College alum Therese Ritchie ’18, a graduate of the Theatre Department‘s BA Program in Theatre Design, who received the Ed Burbridge Award for Best Set Design for No Child . . . , presented by the Definition Theatre Company.
The Black Theatre Alliance Awards were established in 1995 by Columbia College Chicago alumnus Vincent Williams ’03, a graduate of the BA Program in Performing Arts Management from what is now the Columbia College Chicago Business and Entrepreneurship Department. The 2019 awards recognize Chicago-area stage productions produced and presented between August 1, 2018, and July 31, 2019. The awards also pay homage to Ira Aldridge (1807-1867), an African American actor famed for his performances in Shakespearean roles in Europe. The 25th Annual Black Theatre Alliance Awards ceremony was held October 14, 2019, at Columbia College Chicago‘s Conaway Center, located at 1104 S. Wabash in Chicago’s South Loop.
