National Black Theatre Announces Building & Office Closures

By: Mar. 19, 2020
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National Black Theatre Announces Building & Office Closures

National Black Theatre has released a statement regarding updates due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

NBT's building will be closed until further notice.

Read the full statement below:

NBT's top priority is guaranteeing the safety of each member of our team, their families, and our audiences. As a proud citizen of Harlem and a public institution, we also are mindful of our responsibilities as a leader in the promotion of best public health practices. For these reasons, as we continue to monitor the challenge posed by the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), NBT's BUILDING (2031 National Black Theatre Way / Fifth Avenue) is closed to the public starting Wednesday, March 18th until further notice. All scheduled public events, including rentals and businesses that work on-site, will be postponed. Heartbreakingly, this coincides with the premature closings of NBT's co-production of SKiNFoLK by Jillian Walker with Bushwick Starr and the workshop production of Bayano by Darrel Alejandro Holnes, the cancellation of Dreaming Zenzile by Somi Kakoma at the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, and the postponement of Retreat by Tracey Conyer Lee.

Out of an abundance of caution and in the best interest of our staff and our community, we have determined that shifting to remote operations is the best proactive and measured response to ensure the health and well-being of all. Therefore: As of Wednesday, March 18, 2020 end of day, NBT's office will also be closed to all non-essential staff. NBT will shift to remote operations until further notice.

We will be reviewing options on when it will be safe to re-open. In the interim, we want you to know how much we appreciate your understanding, and while our physical space may be closed for the weeks to come, we are committed to curating and creating virtual artistic experiences and delivering them to your inboxes and social media platforms. We will continue to do what we do best: build community by reflecting back the richness of our culture and continue to hold safe and sacred space for each of us to share stories, questions, and concerns. We can't thank you enough for being a part of our wonderful family.

We look forward to welcoming you back to your home away from home at NBT soon. Please feel free to reach out to us and continue to stay connected through our website (nationalblacktheatre.org) and social media (@natblacktheatre). We'll also be in touch with updates on our programming in the coming weeks.

As always, we appreciate your love, support, patience and patronage in NBT. We remain optimistic about the resilience of artistic communities in New York City, throughout the country and across the world, and continue to be held in the grace of our Ancestors' wisdom, who too had to weather the unthinkable.



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