Biography

Born Alice Herndon in Charleston, S.C., Oct. 12, 1916, although her birth year is sometimes listed as 1912 and 1920, she moved to Harlem in 1925, after her parents separated, to live with her grandmother. She dropped out of high school after the deaths of her mother and grandmother, who had inspired her to become a writer.

To survive, Childress took on an assortment of jobs, with the overall intention of making enough money to become an actress. She was still a teenager and studying acting when in 1934 she married Alvin Childress, himself an aspiring actor who would go on to portray Amos in the “Amos N’ Andy” television show. Soon she was a member of the American Negro Theater under the auspices of Frederick O’Neal and Abram Hill, with a role in the original company of “Anna Lucasta.”

In 1944, when the play was staged on Broadway, she was nominated for a Tony for Best Supporting Actress. But soon she, like so many African-American females on stage and screen, was exasperated by the absence of redeeming plots or characters. The scarcity of fulfilling roles might have been the incentive to write her own plays. (Full Bio)

Plays

FLORENCE (1949)

Mama is on her way to New York to bring Florence back home to the South. Mama is convinced that it is time for her widowed daughter to give up her thus far unsuccessful acting dreams and come home to care for her son. While seated in the train station waiting room, Mama engages in a conversation with the white Mrs. Carter, an actress who is seated opposite Mama, on the white side of the color barrier. Mrs. Carter tells Mama of her acting life, and Mama, in turn, tells Mrs. Carter about Florence and her struggles. Mrs. Carter espouses liberal social views, but when Mama seeks help for theater contacts for Florence, Mrs. Carter thinks immediately of an opening for a maid at the home of a director...This scene with the white woman gives Mama the courage to decide against retrieving her daughter; instead, Mama sends Florence the trip money along with a note urging her to "keep trying." (Source)

Cast Requirement: 4 (3f, 1m)

Characters: Mama, Marge, Porter, Mrs. Carter

Publication: Selected plays. Edited by Kathy A. Perkins. Northwestern University Press, 2011. (Link)

GOLD THROUGH THE TREES (1952)

This is a dramatic piece with music made up of vignettes that trace out periods of struggle from the African continent to America and back, from the time of the Middle Passage to the contemporary struggles of South Africa. (Source)

Cast Requirement: 10+

Characters: Woman, Queen, Old Woman, Harriet, Lennie, Celia, Negro Mother, Prisoner, Dancer (a woman), Dancer (Ashanti-a man), John, Ola, Burney

Publication: Selected Plays. Edited by Kathy A. Perkins. Northwestern University Press, 2011. (Link)

TROUBLE IN MIND (1955)

Set during rehearsals of a “progressive” play about racism, this play-within-a-play follows the story of Wiletta Mayer, a veteran Black actor, as she discovers what it means to stay true to herself.

Cast Requirement: 9 (3f, 6m)

Characters: Wiletta Mayer, Henry, John Nevins, Millie Davis, Sheldon Forrester, Judy Sears, Al Manners, Eddie Fenton, Bill O’Wray

Publication: Selected plays. Edited by Kathy A. Perkins. Northwestern University Press, 2011. (Link)

Plays by American women, 1930-1960. Edited by Judith E. Barlow. Applause, 2001. (Link)

WEDDING BAND: A LOVE/HATE STORY IN BLACK AND WHITE (1966)

Wedding Band’s multilayered story revolves around an interracial couple, Julia and Herman, who have loved each other devotedly but have also endured harsh, sometimes life-threatening disapproval from whites and scorn from blacks. When Julia moves out of self-imposed rural isolation into a Charleston enclave of black women and children, she and Herman must confront the impossibility of ever retreating into a private oasis amid a sea of Jim Crow segregation barely two generations removed from slavery. As Herman falls ill, Julia gradually reaches out to forge affirming bonds of solidarity with her neighbors. (Source)

Cast Requirement: 11 (8f, 3m)

Characters: Julia Augustine, Teeta, Mattie, Lula Green, Fanny Johnson, Nelson Green, The Bell Man, Princess, Herman, Annabelle, Herman’s Mother

Publication: Selected Plays. Edited by Kathy A. Perkins. Northwestern University Press, 2011. (Link)

9 plays by Black women. Edited by Margaret B. Wilkerson. Penguin, 1995. (Link)

WINE IN THE WILDERNESS (1969)

Wine in the Wilderness paints a searing portrait of a woman named Tommy, a Harlem factory worker summoned to the home of an artist named Bill for an unforgettable encounter with herself and the varied perceptions of her own womanhood. The backdrop of a neighborhood riot reveals the gritty dividing lines between Tommy and her new Black friends of the artsy elite. Wine in the Wilderness crackles with the truth of race, sex, and class divisions that remain relevant to black liberation and the freedoms of all people.

Cast Requirement: 5 (2f, 3m)

Characters: Bill, Oldtimer, Sonny-man, Cynthia, Tommy

Publication: Selected Plays. Edited by Kathy A. Perkins. Northwestern University Press, 2011. (Link)

Wine in the Wilderness, Alexander Street Press* (Link)

STRING (1969)

The scene is the annual picnic of the neighborhood block association, and some of the most fastidious ladies are incensed by the presence of “old Joe,” a raggedy character who subsists on other’s castoffs and is an embarrassment to all. They are joined by L. V. Craig, a boastful cafe operator who delights in taunting Joe and in flashing his bankroll before the others. In the course of the action, Joe furtively retrieves a piece of string dropped by one of the ladies—and at the same time L. V. Craig finds his wallet missing. Suspicion immediately falls on Joe, who is ashamed to tell what he has hidden in his pocket. But, when he finally does, no one will believe him. Ultimately the missing wallet is found, but the truth, once known, is still not easily accepted, nor does it overcome the hurt and anguish that unfounded suspicion can engender. (Source)

Cast Requirement: 6 (4f, 2m)

Characters: Mrs. Beverly, Mrs. Rogers, Joe, Maydelle, L.V. Craig, Katy

Publication: Mojo and String: two plays. Dramatists Play Service, 2000. (Link)

MOJO (1970)

Paying a surprise visit to her former husband, Irene, ill with cancer, reveals that she must shortly go back into the hospital but wanted to see Teddy just once more. From their conversation it is evident that a warm bond still exists between the two, and over the course of their visit they rehash their lives together in humorous and sometimes achingly sad detail. (Source)

Cast Requirement: 2 (1f, 1m)

Characters: Teddy, Irene

Publication: Mojo and String: two plays. Dramatists Play Service, 2000. (Link)

WHEN THE RATTLESNAKE SOUNDS (1975)

A play for young actors/audiences.

"Two women have answered Harriet Tubman's call to help in the fight for freedom by working with her in a hotel laundry room for the summer.  But one of the women, Celia, is thinking about quitting the job.  A large reward has been offered for the capture of Harriet Tubman, and Celia is worried about getting caught. Plus, she's worn out by the hard work.  Celia learns that, although their effort will require lots of hard work with little financial compensation, it will produce a great reward for their people" (source)

Cast Requirement: 3f

Characters: Harriet Tubman, Lennie, Celia

Publication: When the Rattlesnake Sounds, Alexander Street Press* (Link)

LET’S HEAR IT FOR THE QUEEN (1976)

A one-act play for young actors/audiences, which starts where the story of the Knave of Hearts who stole some tarts ends.

Cast Requirement: 10+

Characters: Rose Ann, The Knave, The Queen, The King, The Cook and Co., The Judge, The Guard, Townspeople

Publication Info: Let’s Hear It for the Queen, Alexander Street Press* (Link)

SEA ISLAND SONG (1977)

“Based on music, songs, and folklore of the Gullah-speaking inhabitants of the Palmetto's State's coastal sea islands. [Childress] calls the effort 'a folk story as the islanders would tell it'...of a very poor man who becomes very rich, with the characters presented against the background of their culture." (The State, Columbia, SC, October 9, 1977)

Sea Island Song was presented in 1977 by Stage South, the State Theatre of South Carolina - first in Columbia, followed by a twelve-week tour around the state. The show featured music by Nathan Woodard, and was directed by Leonard Peters with cast members Thelathia Barnes, Stephen Bordner, Guy Davis, Regina DeLossantos, Denise Gray, Learie Jones, and Deborah Winters.

In 1984, an expanded version of the play, entitled Gullah, was presented by Third World Theater at the University of Massachusetts.

Cast Requirement: 7+

Characters: Pete Johnson, Evalina Johnson, Maytag Diamond Ashley, The Hounds, Gate Spirit, The Lion, Wise Guy, Batalele, Penni Kandi, Madam Tooroo, Polydore, Penelope

Publication: Sea Island Song, Alexander Street Press* (Link)

MOMS: A PRAISE PLAY FOR A BLACK COMEDIENNE (1987)

A celebratory look into the life and career of black vaudevillian Jackie “Moms” Mabley.

Cast Requirement: 3

Characters: Luther, Adele, Moms Mabley

Publication: Moms: A Praise Play for a Black Comedienne, Alexander Street Press* (Link)