September 1995
LOVE AWAITS
An adaptation of a book by Courtney Long
August 1996
1ST ANNUAL NEW PLAY FESTIVAL: SIMPLY BLACK
Featuring plays written by Guinea Bennett, Chadwick Boseman, Jeremy Manzay, Anyika McMillan, and Keith Price
““With their first new play festival, Soul Rep brings in some fresh faces and voices.” ”
December 1996
ALLEGRA SPAIN
Written by Keith Price
Directed by Guinea Bennett
Performed at Teatro Dallas’ International Festival
January 1997
ALLEGRA SPAIN By Keith Price
Directed by Nedra James
February 1997
HER STORIES Based on Virginia Hamilton’s book
Adapted and Directed by Tonya Davis
““Soul Rep and director Tonya Davis have pulled together some extraordinary talent in a cozy, informal atmosphere evocative of a welcoming porch.” ”
March 1997
WORKS OF AN UNDERGROUD MIND
An evening of poetry by Keith Price
April 1997
WOMEN IN EXILE
Based on Mahnaz Afkhami’s book
Adapted by Anyika McMillan
Directed by Billy Jones
May 1997
THE COLORED MUSEUM
Written by George C. Wolfe
Directed by Dee Smith
““Dee Smith’s direction is incisive, and performers Guinea Bennett, Anyika McMillan, and Tonya Davis are all deliciously good in the variety of roles the show demands. This is also the first Soul Rep production in which the men are as good as the women!” ”
July 1997
SECOND ANNUAL NEW PLAY FESTIVAL
Featuring plays written by Guinea Bennett, Chris Herod, Billy Jones, Stuart Litchfield, Jeremy Manzay, and Anyika McMillan
““…Soul Rep has grown enough to fulfill and surpass the promise shown by last year’s inaugural festival.” ”
October 1997
SLIM Written by Stuart Litchfield and Anyika McMillan
Directed by Guinea Bennett
December 1997
HABARI GANI
Written by Soul Rep’s Writing Consortium
Directed by Dee Smith
““The original play is a slice-of-life look at how Kwanzaa fits into the everyday world and makes a case for its value…” ”
February 1998
First Café Negro Arts Series Collaboration
FOR COLORED GIRLS WHO CONSIDERED SUICIDE WHEN THE RAINBOW IS ENUF
Presented in partnership with Cara Mia Theatre
Written by Ntozake Shange
Directed by Guinea Bennett
““The full-house of every age, color, and gender clapped and shouted approval for ten minutes following the show at a recent matinee performance.” ”
““Seven gifted women perform the 20 poems, which add up to a heady fantasia on the female experience.” ”
June 1998
Second Café Negro Arts Series Collaboration
AMBIENT LOVE RITES
Written by Daniel Alexander Jones
Directed by Tim Johnson
““Director Tim Johnson has shaped the piece into a series of haunting, naturalistic scenes surrounded by gulfs of mystery. Most of the moments in this play about the aftermath of a gay man’s murder are extraordinarily good.” ”
August 1998
THIRD ANNUAL NEW PLAY FESTIVAL
Featuring plays by Tonya Davis, Reggie Hanna, Laura Henry, Chris Herod, Willie Holmes, Anyika McMillan, and Jamie Pachino
““Soul Rep delivers a series of declarations made about African-American identify, black-Anglo, and black-Latino relationships, the fragile nature of masculinity, and the co-opting of black culture by the mainstream.” ”
““Soul Rep’s festival presents an emotional and political roller-coaster ride, from hopeless pain to helpless laughter.” ”
November 1998
THE FREEDMANS
Written by Soul Rep Writing Consortium
Directed by Guinea Bennett
““The play almost comes across as an ancestor-worship ritual, honoring the dead, fearing their wrath and welcoming their wisdom and mercy.””
December 1998
HABARI GANI
February 1999
TREES DON’T BLEED IN TUSKEGEE
Written by Duane Chandler
Directed by Khary Payton
““The play seduces us, rather than lecturing, as did the earlier Tuskegee drama Miss Evers’ Boys, to which Trees is in many ways superior.” ”
““Soul Rep brings a streamlined, intimate production to the Clarence Muse Theater…director Khary Payton does get a lot of mileage from some talented actors, especially the marvelous Wilbur Penn as the dirt farmer who clings proudly to his property.” ”
May 1999
LEGACY: FROM RENAISSANCE TO REVOLUTION
Written and Directed by Roz White
July 1999
4TH ANNUAL NEW PLAY FESTIVAL: The Spirit of Humanity
Featuring plays written by Christel Blake, Vicki Cheatwood, C.J. Critt, Courtney Monique Hampton, Victor San Miguel, and Norma J. Thomas
““All of the plays – written, performed, and directed by local or Texas talent – deal with some aspect of respecting others…there isn’t a stinker among the bunch.” ”
““It would be easy to like Soul Rep for what it is: a small, open-minded company with high principles. But it’s far more accurate to praise it for what it does: thoughtful, incisively written original work that stand up just fine on its own.””
November 1999
BREAKFAST IN HARLEM
Written by Mike Malone
Directed by Guinea Bennett
February 2000
REP TALES
Written by Guinea Bennett-Price and Keith Price
Directed by Tonya Davis
ROLL OF THUNDER, HEAR MY CRY
Based on Mildred D. Taylor’s book
Adapted by Ed Shockley
Directed by Guinea Bennett-Price
A collaboration with Dallas Children’s Theater
““There are many things to laud about this production, but Soul Rep Artistic Director Guinea Bennett-Price deserves the most acclaim for coaxing on-target performances from all the actors.” ”
May 2000
FROM THE MISSISSIPPI DELTA
Written by Dr. Endesha Ida Mae Holland
Directed by Bob Devin Jones
““Never has theater been so powerful through such simple means. Dr. Holland’s text and three gifted performers are sewn into a seamless whole by director Bob Devin Jones…the storytelling is intoxicatingly vivid and delightfully funny throughout.””
““The actresses are so compelling that when they sang a gospel song, the audience joined in…you walk away feeling you’ve been made better somehow by being in the presence of a vision larger than a single personality or race…””
June 2000
3rd Café Negro Arts Series Collaboration
THE TROJAN WOMEN
Written by Euripides
Directed by Anyika McMillan
““No fancy modern-day touches of ethnic pride are applied in this production, just a keen awareness of how some shimmering talent can be applied to ancient words and keep audience awake, engaged, even agitated and apprehensive about what they know is ordained but pray will be prevented anyway.” ”
““McMillan has choreographed the production exquisitely. It evokes the look of a finely tuned word of modern dance – except that dance is rarely as profoundly moving as this.” ”
August 2000
5th ANNUAL NEW PLAY FESTIVAL: This, That We’ve Become
Featuring plays written by Marisela Barrera, Kewanta Greer, Jonathan Norton, Evelyn O’Neal, Steven Tribe, and Dianne Tucker
““Soul Rep cuts loose in this festival, leaving an indelible impression.””
““Soul Rep doesn’t give the audience a chance to look at their watches. All six works are exceptionally written, and accented with fine direction and acting. This festival is an excellent mix of comedy, drama, and pure entertainment.” ”
November 2000
RHYME DEFERRED
Written by Hip Hop Theater Junction’s Company Members
Directed by Kamilah Forbes
““If you have every enjoyed stagings of Gertrude Stein or the more deliberately nonsensical works of Beckett or Ionesco, you will not be a stranger to the incantations performed in this production.””
February 2001
IN THE BLOOD
Written by Suzan-Lori Parks
Directed by Guinea Bennett-Price
““Renee Miche’al takes “Hester” down the muddy slope of despair an inch at a time and makes sure we feel every moment of vertigo and panic with her.””
““The set is designed by Bennett-Price and Jessie Marshall and is one of the best uses of area in the Undermain’s basement space seen in two years. The actors travel through it as if they’re all world-weary.” ”
May 2001
PURLIE VICTORIOUS
Written by Ossie Davis
Directed by Tonya Davis and Anyika McMillan-Herod
““The play settles down to an often hilarious excellence.” ”
June 2001
4th Café/Negro Arts Series Collaboration: THE HUNGRY WOMAN: A MEXICAN MEDEA
Written by Cherrie Moraga
Directed by Adelina Anthony
““Moraga’s fascination with boundaries and borders, the illusion of dichotomous identities, is what gives this play a vitality that transcends screeds.” ”
““The classical aura, steeped in contemporary radical politics, makes it hard to believe that this fourth annual co-production of the Cara Mia and Soul Rep companies is a world premiere.” ”
August 2001
6th ANNUAL NEW PLAY FESTIVAL
Featuring plays written by Mary Lathrop, Jonathan Norton, Keith Price, Michelle Oliver, Harold Steward, and Norma J. Thomas
November 2001
TRANE: BEYOND THE BLUES
Written by Christine Rusch
Directed by Guinea Bennett-Price
February 2002
BIRDY LAUGHING
Written by dianne tucker
Directed by Dee Smith
““Under Dee Smith’s direction, the wonderfully vivid dialogue bubbled over with naturalistic humor.” ”
May 2002
BLUES FOR AN ALABAMA SKY
Written by Pearl Cleage
Directed by Phyllis Cicero
A collaboration with Stage West
““A powerful script and tight ensemble…director Phyllis Cicero gets credit for keeping the show intimate and getting the best from her actors.””
August 2002
7TH ANNUAL NEW PLAY FESTIVAL
Featuring plays written by Yolanda Higgins, Stuart Litchfield, Stacy Martin, Jonathan Norton, Keith Price, and Laterras Whitfield
November 2002
HOSTILE THE CROCODILE/AGITATOR THE ALLIGATOR
Written by Guinea Bennett-Price and Camika Spencer
Directed by Guinea Bennett-Price
December 2002
NOXIDE SQUARE (A Hip-Hop Musical)
Written by Guinea Bennett-Price and Keith Price
Directed by Dee Smith
““Noxide Square proves highly satisfying as both hip-hop and musical theater. If rap is what it takes to bring complex, interesting lyrics back to the stage, hip-hop ought to be more than welcome on the Great White Way.””
““Could hip-hop be the future of theater? If so, Soul Rep already has a big head start.” ”
February 2003
A SOLDIER’S PLAY
Written by Charles Fuller
Directed by Willie Holmes
Comeback Production
November 2013
THE FREEDMANS
Written by Soul Rep’s Writing Consortium
Directed by Guinea Bennett-Price and Ed Smith
Review
Dallas Morning News
July 2014
THE 8TH NEW PLAY FESTIVAL
Featuring plays written by Anyika McMillan-Herod, Yusef Miller, Jonathan Norton, Guinea Bennett-Price, and Keith Price
““The talented ensemble group, which is launching its 8th full season after a 10 year hiatus, makes a welcome return with 3 provocative shows.””
December 2014
A HOSTILE HOLIDAY
Written by Guinea Bennet-Price and Camika Spencer
Directed by Dee Smith and La-Hunter Smith
April 2015
THE SHINE PLAYS: An Evening of Three One Acts
Written by Ted Shine
Directed by Guinea Bennett-Price and Richard Quadri
Plays featured Contributions, Herbert III, and The Woman Who Was Tampered With in Youth
Review
Dallas Morning News
August 2015
THE 9TH NEW PLAY FESTIVAL
Featuring plays written by Laneedra Cornelius, Chris Herod, Mary Hill-Spigner, Anyika McMillan-Herod, Max Sedacca, and Camika Spencer
December 2015
NAUGHTY BUT NICE
Written by Anyika McMillan-Herod
Directed by Phyllis Cicero
Review
The Dallas Examiner
February 2016
HER STORIES
Adapted by Tonya Holloway
Directed by Anyika McMillan-Herod
May 2016
TOPDOG/UNDERDOG
Written by Suzan-Lori Parks
Directed by Ed Smith
August 2016
THE COLORED MUSEUM
Written by George C. Wolfe
Directed by Renee Miche’al and Dee Smith
““Humor, of course, is another form of rebellion, and this ensemble wields laughs wisely in skits that hit home with a specificity that has universal overtones.” ”
Review
Dallas Morning News
December 2016
NAUGHTY BUT NICE, Part 2
Written by Anyika McMillan-Herod
Directed by LaHunter-Smith
Review
Dallas Morning News
February 2017
HER STORIES
School performances only
April 2017
THE TRINITY RIVER PLAYS
Written by Regina Taylor
Directed by Anyika McMillan-Herod
Review
Dallas Morning News
August 2017
10TH NEW PLAY FESTIVAL: South Side Stories
Featuring plays written by Iv Amenti, Laneedra Cornelius, Chris Herod, Anyika McMillan-Herod, Emir Price, Keith Price, dianne tucker
December 2017 RE TALES: THE FLYEST FAIRYTALES EVER TOLD
Written by Guinea Bennett-Price and Keith Price
Directed by Daylene Carter and Guinea Bennett-Price
February 2018
YELLOWMAN
Written by Dael Orlandersmith
Directed by Anyika McMillan-Herod
April 2018
STEAL AWAY
Written by Ramona King
Directed by Dee Smith
May 2018
THE FREEDMANS
Performed for AT&T Performing Arts Center’s Elevator Project
June 2018
THE MONARCH
Written by Anyika McMillan-Herod
Directed by Tonya Holloway and Anyika McMillan-Herod
A co-production with Echo Theater Company
November 2018
SINGLE BLACK FEMALE
Written by Lisa B. Thompson
Directed by Renee Miche’al
December 2019
THE SNOWY DAY AND OTHER STORIES
Adapted by Jerome Hairston
Directed by Guinea Bennett-Price
A Co-production with Dallas Children’s Theater
February 2019
BOURBON AT THE BORDER
Written by Pearl Cleage
Directed by Anyika McMillan-Herod
May 2019
HURT VILLAGE
Written by Katori Hall
Directed by Jemal McNeil
September 2019
THE SHINE PLAY FESTIVAL: Black Men Illuminated
Featuring plays written by Shemetra Carter, Seth Freeman, Inda Craig Galvan, Eric Jones, Rex McGregor, LaCharles Purvey, Ted Shine, Camika Spencer, Kyndal Robertson, Erin Malone Turner, and Steven Young
December 2019
DOT
Written by Colman Domingo
Directed by Anyika McMillan-Herod
““...Christmas is still a time to smile, celebrate and love one another. DOT expresses this touching sentiment without letting its audience forget their sadness.””
February 2020
AMAZING GRACE
Adapted by Shay Youngblood
Directed by Tonya Holloway
Review
Dallas Art Beat
October 2020
MY RED HAND, MY BLACK HAND (An Audio Play)
Written by Dael Olandersmith
Directed by Guinea Bennett-Price
““This audio play, deftly realized by Director Guinea Bennett-Price, asks us to use our senses in a new way.””
Review
Dallas Art Beat
January - February 2021
DO NO HARM (A Filmed Play)
Written by Anyika McMillan-Herod
Co-Directed by Anyika McMillan-Herod & Vickie Washington
Review
Dallas Art Beat
May - June 2021
SOUL-O SHORTS SERIES
Featuring new short solo plays written, directed, and starring members of Soul Rep Theatre Company
Review
Dallas Art Beat
November 2021
SHAKIN THE MESS OUTTA MISERY
Review
Dallas Art Beat
February 2022
FLESH AND BONE ( A World Premiere)
Announcement
Metro News
March 2022
DO NO HARM (A World Stage Premiere)
Reviews
Onstage NTX
Broadway World
“Anyika McMillan-Herod’s Do No Harm rightly re-centers the telling of these events on the women who suffered at Sims’ hands, exploring the beauty and the humanity of these women in the face of inhumanity. ”
May 2022
GOOD GRIEF (A Regional Premiere)
Review
Onstage NTX
December 2022
TRAVISVILLE (Regional Premiere)
Review
Onstage NTX
“All that said, what makes Travisville so good, so important, is the strength of the characters. Despite the play being very much about black and white, the characters are complex and colorful. They’re good people struggling with a bad situation, not of their making, and trying to find the best course of action. ”
February 2023
SEXY LAUNDRY
Review
Onstage NTX
JUNE 2022
THE SHINE NEW PLAY FESTIVAL
Review
Onstage NTX
November 2023
CADILLAC CREW (Regional Premiere)
Review
Onstage NTX
October 2023
WHAT FITS INSIDE A HUMAN HEART (World Premiere)
Review
Dallas Voice
January 2024
ELM THICKET (Elevator Project - World Premiere)
Review
Onstage NTX
May 2022
YANGA (US Premiere)
Review
Onstage NTX
“Yanga is most successful when it makes history personal, when flawed characters confront one another with their ideas and emotions. It’s a riveting look at the brutality of a world not so far in the past, one that still affects our own.”
June 2024
THUNDER KNOCKING ON THE DOOR (Regional Premiere)
Review
Onstage NTX
