Lifetime Achievement Award

Biography

MABEL P. ROBINSON (PLAYWRIGHT, CHOREOGRAPHER, DIRECTOR) is the former Artistic Director of The North Carolina Black Repertory Company (NCBRC), producer of The National Black Theatre Festival (NTBF) and retired dance faculty member of the North Carolina School of the Arts,

Ms. Robinson, a graduate of The Julliard School of Music, is a multi-talented, multi-media professional internationally known for her directing, choreography, acting, and playwriting. She has danced in such companies as Alvin Ailey, Martha Graham, Talley Beatty and Louis Johnson and has appeared on Broadway in many box office hits and performed on various television shows both nationally and internationally.

Early in her career, she balanced her role in Golden Boy starring the legendary Sammy Davis Jr. with her role as one of the earliest African American females featured on American network television. Later in her career, she made American Theatre history as the first African American woman to have concurrently running Broadway shows. She starred as Dancing Mary in the original production of Your Arms Too Short to Box with God, while also working as the choreographer and assistant director in the Broadway revival of Porgy & Bess. Ms. Robinson has authored The Glory of Gospel which opened the 1997 National Black Theatre Festival and was featured there in 2015. She also wrote Mahalia Queen of Gospel which was produced at the 2005 and 2007 National Black Theatre Festivals.

Ms. Robinson created the NCBRC Teen Theatre Ensemble and is an active member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC), Actor’s Equity (AEA), and Screen Actors Guild (SAG). She is a recipient of the “Seven Over Seventy 2016 Award.” She recently served as Guest Director Consultant to the Theatre of Performing Arts of Shreveport’s production ,The Lates, The Greats and Moore starring Melba Moore.  She  was the Dramaturg and Production Consultant of Little Girl Blue written and directed by Nathan R Freeman.