Black Theatre Troupe 2025-2026 season brings powerful stories

The upcoming 2025-2026 season for the Black Theatre Troupe kicks off in September. “This season is a celebration of humanity in all its joy and complexity,” says David Hemphill, Executive Director of Black Theatre Troupe. “We’re inviting audiences to laugh, cry, reflect, and rise with these stories—each one unique, but deeply connected by the shared experiences of our past and the hope of our future.”

The plays/musicals are Grace and Glorie, Caroline, or Change, Black Nativity, August Wilson’s Jitney, and Three Sistahs. Founded by Helen K. Mason in 1970 as a space for underserved artists to share the Black experience, Black Theatre Troupe began performing small plays, poetry readings, and musical performances in a community center in Phoenix’s historic multi-cultural Eastlake Park.

The Helen K. Mason Performing Arts Center is now the company’s permanent home. The BTT has been around for more than 50 years.

David Hemphill and Chanel Bragg who is a Producing Artistic Associate for the Black Theatre Troupe joined “Arizona Horizon” to discuss more on the upcoming season.

Blagg is especially excited for the play Grace and Glorie because of the dimension of the play, the actresses who are filling the roles and the deep connections she can build within the play with only two actresses.

“A two-hander allows me the time to really sit with the text, and get into the guts of it,” Bragg said. “We get to really understand and play who these women are.”

The Black Theatre Troupe it is not only a matter of expressing their artistic and creative abilities, but also giving a voice to the communities that need it the most.

“Being allowed to be in these spaces where I get to show marginalized voices being heard and people being able to express empathy by watching our stories also be told,” Bragg said. “That is what I do this for.”

Images Courtesy of The Black Theatre Troupe