Today we’d like to introduce you to Nancy Cheryll Davis Bellamy.
Hi Nancy Cheryll, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Towne Street Theatre (TST) has a story to be proud of! I met my TST partner Nancy Renee in 1987 when we were cast as two witches in an all-black production of Macbeth. We bonded over the struggles of being young Black actresses who wanted more opportunities than stereotypical roles for ingenues of color. So, we formed A 2N Production company where we could create and produce our own projects. We began working on the play Long Time Since Yesterday by PJ Gibson. It was the seedling that would one day become Towne Street Theatre.
In 1992, after the Rodney King incident sparked unrest in Los Angeles, the City of Los Angeles asked, “Can the arts help to heal LA?” The city put funding behind the idea, and Nancy and I received a grant to produce The Play’s the Thing, a reading series that featured multicultural playwrights and casts. The inviting idea behind the series was that no matter what your ethnic background, in essence we are all the same in our desires within the human experience.
The series was performed in the William Grant Still Arts Center in mid-city LA and then in a loft in DTLA. People showed up and loved it! Encouraged by the response, we officially opened Towne Street Theatre in 1993, and my then-boyfriend (now husband) Nathaniel Bellamy joined as co-founder /set/sound/lighting designer. For 30 years, we have created, produced, and developed original work by primarily African American playwrights. When the building was sold, we worked at theaters around LA, and in 2004, we landed at The Stella Adler Theatre Los Angeles in the heart of Hollywood. We’ve been in residence there since.
Our company grew, too! Our three-person team developed into a company of more than 25 artists from every walk of life, age, and ethnicity. Our history includes a musical theatre camp for kids that ran for 15 years; a literary series where we perform excerpts from novels; our 10-minute Play Festival, which has become our most popular event with audiences; a spoken word program: Sum Poetry; a black classics series; and mainstage productions and readings of both plays and screenplays.
Now that we have reached our 30-year milestone, we are more committed than ever to continuing the tradition of using the performing arts to heal, inspire, and bring about change. Our goal is to raise $30,000 for TST’s 30th anniversary. If 1,000 people contribute just $30, we will be there! That amount will keep our programming going. So, we ask that people come forward and become one of the 1,000 to give $30 or more. Donations can be made at https://www.townestreetla.org/donate
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Like any journey, it’s been a bit of both. We have seen Towne Street grow to reach more people, support the work of artists of all ethnicities, and bring insight into the Black experience in the United States so that healthier racial relations can flourish. That is what we are here for, and it motivates us to keep Towne Street alive and active in the community.
Of course, there have been many challenges. Keeping theatre-going in Los Angeles means constantly facing financial difficulties. That is especially true now. The Covid shutdown forced all our programming online for several years. Now that live theater is back (happily!), we re-opened with our 12th Annual 10-Minute Play Festival in October. While being back on the stage is exhilarating, and audiences loved the show, we faced enormous financial struggles. Theatre has not escaped the burden of inflation. We reopened to much higher costs for the facilities, sets, costumes, artist and crew fees, and expenses for marketing and publicity. We are looking at only having the festival every two years instead of annually, due to the increased costs. We’d love to do more, but there are fewer grant opportunities now. So, we are really depending on the community to step up and support Towne Street through donations to help fill the void.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Towne Street Theatre is Los Angeles’ premier African American theatre company. We create, develop, and produce original work that is reflective of the African American experience and perspective. We are a Black female-led theatre arts organization, and we provide a home for a diverse group of artists to be free in their efforts to create and explore theatre without constraints.
We are proud to be working towards a future where artists of all backgrounds are free to express their creativity. Our aim is to provide an environment where social justice issues are continually explored, dismantled, and acknowledged through the healing power of theatre.
After 30 years, we remain committed to being an oasis for artists and audiences looking for theatre that represents them and their varied experiences, as well as those seeking something new and different.
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
I love the diversity in LA! So many beautiful traditions and cultures come together here. Because of that, we get to experience different perspectives on art, activities and of course, food from all over the world right here in our own city.
What do I like least about LA? The traffic, of course. Who doesn’t, right?
Contact Info:
- Website: www.townestreetla.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/townestreettheatre/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TowneStreet
Image Credits
Nancy in the pink shirt is Vincent Ybanez.
