PHILLIP E WALKER African American Drama Company’s Artistic Director
Having served as a director at the Arkansas Repertory Theatre’s first biennial “Voices at the River” festival, Mr. Walker studied business & theater at Chicago’s Loop City College, subsequently earning a Loyola University of Chicago Bachelor of Arts degree in theatre / education, a Master of Arts degree in theatre history / criticism from the University of Illinois-Urbana and a Master of Fine Arts degree in Dramatic Art from the University of California-Davis. He has taught college actors at the American Conservatory Theatre, San Jose State University, Yuba (CA) College, Santa Clara University, Lincoln University in Missouri, the University of Illinois-Urbana and chaired the Dramatics and Speech Department at Fisk University. Giving countless www.BlackHistoryMonthSpeaker.com residencies of his Black leaders play www.CanISpeakForYouBrother.com, in tandem he has also led www.MartinLutherKingHoliday.info and www.MultiCulturalWorkshop.com presentations, all at over 2000 organizations nationwide. Printed versions of his one-man play can be obtained at www.ThatNewPublishingCompany.com/brother. His African American Drama Company of California (AADC) Executive Director partner, Dr. Ethel Pitts Walker, was the 2006-2007 San Jose State University Outstanding Professor. A former San Francisco Arts Commissioner, in 2008 Ethel was one of four (4) University of Missouri Distinguished Alumna. This year she chairs San Jose State University’s TV, Radio, Film & Theatre Department. www.EthelPittsWalker.com
The first ever California (State) Arts Council Touring Arts Coordinator, Phillip Eugene established a San Francisco Bay Area theatre service organization called the BlackGreenRoom and was the founding Assistant Treasurer for the Black Theatre Network (BTN). Funded, in part, by Silicon Valley Community Foundation, City of San Jose and Enterprise Rent-A-Car Foundation grants, this year he produced the second annual San Jose www.AfricanAmericanHolidaySeason.com Performing Arts Series celebration, this time at the African American Community Service Agency. Additional services to the field included creation of: 2002's Black Theatre Day / AADC 25th Anniversary Alumni Showcase in San Francisco; the New Orleans, LA 1998 AADC 50th State / 20thAnniversary National Black Talent/Presenter Tour Marketing Summit; and 1997's California African American Student Programming Summit while in residence at Santa Clara University. A former Oakland Ensemble Theatre President, he has sat on numerous other boards including the National Association for Campus Activities Pacific Northwest and Far West Regions, as well as has served on more than ten (10) art grants review panels nationwide.
ACTING: Phil debuted Can I Speak For You Brother? at the University of Illinois-Urbana, February 10, 1979. Since then he has performed this one-man show internationally and at least twice in every United State. It now includes a cutting from Barack Obama’s Philadelphia “race” speech.
Having worked on some three (300) hundred modeling, live theatrical, video and film projects, Phillip is most proud to have appeared in the #1 film The Pursuit of Happyness with two time Academy Award Best Actor nominee Will Smith and working on Sean Penn’s Oscar winning MILK. In 2006-07 Phil acted in the “2 thumbs up” Zodiac with Robert Downey, Jr. & Jake Gyllenhaal, was seen in the Academy Award winner Christopher Columbus directed movie Rent with Rosario Dawson & Taye Diggs plus completed a Krames publication modeling shoot. In previous seasons he played on the “big screen” in: Bicentennial Man with two time Oscar winning Robin Williams, Sweet November with Oscar winner Charliz Theron & Keanu Reeves, Chris O'Donnell's The Bachelor, Nation’s Riot’s title role, as the UFO cult member Gary in Welcome Space Brothers, in Academy Award winner Francis Ford Coppola’s cult film Peggy Sue Got Married with Academy Award winner Nicholas Cage & nominee Kathleen Turner, and in the LucusFilm LTD movie Howard the Duck with Lea Thompson.
On TV for 2006-07 Phillip E. played in ABC-TV’s pilot of The Evidence with Orlando Jones & Martin Landau plus was seen on Japanese TV in The World’s Astonishing News!. He kicked off Arts & Entertainment cable TV’s Black History Month observances when he was featured the morning of February 1, 2004 on Breakfast with the Arts, was featured in the PBS Arts Alive series’ “Arts & Social Messages” episode and has been interviewed on over 100 local TV & radio stations nationwide.
Live plays Phil E. has performed include:
The San Francisco Mime Troupe’s Squash & Fact Person, Slow Death on the Killing Ground at the Missouri Summer Repertory Theatre, The Amen Corner for Chicago’s Kuumba Theatre, two wildly successful productions of Ceremonies in Dark Old Men, classical plays such as Macbeth, Treasure Island, 12th Night, Everyman, Ghosts, Robin Hood plus the www.AfricanAmericanDramaCompany.org first production (Sizwe Bansi is Dead) and its High John Da Conqueror-the Musical by Ed Bullins.
Phillip E Walker directing www.ThankYouDrKing.com
DIRECTING: In 2007 Walker directed Ajene Washington’s Almost September for the Arkansas Repertory Theatre’s inaugural “Voices at the River” Latino & African American playwrighting festival. With the 2008 4th annual AADC production previewing at www.BlackTheatreNetwork.com, for 2007 www.TheThirdTheatreTroupe.com (TTTT’s) kid Kwanzaa song headlined Cleveland, OH’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame & Museum Kuumba Festival. Additional directing assignments have included: AADC’s LOVE MACHINE (www.MotownHistory.com), www.CanISINGForYouBrother.com by www.LewisGTucker.com Ain't I A Woman?, Norman is That You? and King Reedy-an allegory. Phillip has also directed premieres for other production companies such as: The Last Apple for the National Black Theatre Festival 2001 New Play Reading Series, The Sound of the River for the Mid-Missouri Ethnic Festival, Shadows & Other Living Things for Columbus Ohio's King Arts Complex plus an original multi-cultural history play for youth entitled Gonna Raise Myself Up for the Rainbow Theatre Project in Gettysburg, PA. Further, he has had many university directing assignments.
In the San Francisco Bay Area Phillip Walker directed premieres of: Hats Production’s Is This America: a conversation with Fannie Lou Hammer written/performed by Olivia Charles, David Glover's one-man musical play on male Relationships and Travis D. Walker’s first ever Santa Clara University Multi Cultural Center Martin Luther King celebration play. As well, Walker mounts (throughout the Nation in five days per show) amateur/student productions of AADC's play on the history of Black female leaders Sisters, Can We Speak For You?.
YOUTH THEATRE: Director of four (4) youth theatre productions for AADC’s 2008-09 2nd annual African American Holiday Season Performing Arts Series, this California Educational Theatre Association 2002 Professional Artist of the Year awardee has worked in arts education since he created a 1971 St. Aquinas Church summer theater program for Chicago’s Cabrini Green Housing Project youth. His students won gold, silver and bronze medals at the 2009 CETA Middle Stage Drama Fest and next year he opens www.ENTERTAINERACADEMY.com, a professional talent development school. Phil Walker’s educator accomplishments included assisting John Robert Powers-San Jose’s selection as the number (#4) four school competing at the 2007 International Presentation Of Performers in Los Angeles, www.IPOP07.com, where Rachael Perryman was Teen Actress Second Runner-Up.
KWANZAA~2008 premiered on August 5th at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom. AADC/TTTT’s www.KwanzaaMusical.com was seen this year on Monterey-Salinas-Santa Cruz TV Fox & CBS News (www.2008Kwanzaa.com). With candle Kwanzaa information on presenters at www.Kwanzaa2008.com, an Old Town Los Gatos slide show is at www.2007Kwanzaa.com and a San Jose Mercury News video clip can be viewed at www.2006Kwanzaa.com with their happy Kwanzaa celebration article found at www.KwanzaaActivity.com. In 2008 The Black Candle premiered in Silicon Valley www.KwanzaaMovie.com. Up to date Kwanzaa tour schedule: www.KwanzaaTour.com.
2008 Kwanzaa Cast at Walt Disney World ~ Florida
SCHOOLS~Phillip’s Bill Cosby Little Bill reader’s theater live workshops, individualized replication manuals & residencies at www.LittleBillReaderS.com, no cost teleconferences at www.LittleBillBooks.com and www.LittleBillReader.com Little Bill’s Heritage reader’s theater, have grown into powerful child reading fluency tools. Having directed fifteen (15) youth theater productions in 2003-04 alone, he has taught child theater for The San Francisco School, San Jose’s (CA) ARTPATH and LEARNS, at San Francisco’s Creative Arts Charter School and Potrero Hill Neighborhood House, the Sausalito (CA) School District, Chicago’s Christian Community Services, Oakland’s (CA) Children’s Performance Center, Richmond (CA) High School, at the San Francisco Unified School District’s Junipero Serra Elementary School & more. Additionally, he produced and directed the San Francisco Mime Troupe’s first ever children’s theater production (T.V. Dinner) during the year that as a Collective Member he helped SFMT win the coveted Regional Theatre TONY Award. Further, he has led teacher “in-service” training sessions & school assemblies in every State in our Nation.
SUMMER~Having in 2003 created for Being Black is Being Smart (BBiBS), the “Parts of Speech/Literacy through Theatre” summer camp that spawned www.ActiveAcademics.com, in 2001 & 2002 Walker created academics through arts education California summer camps in theater for St. Paul’s United Methodist Church’s Youth Creative Arts [7/20/02 San Jose Mercury News Janice Rombeck feature article “Camp Helps Kids Dazzle on Stage”]. As well he taught theatre for Hawaii’s Volcano Arts Center 1986 summer camp, served as directing teacher/production director for Dublin (CA) Theatre Company’s 2001 Advanced Summer Camp and taught acting for San Jose Children’s Musical Theatre 2003 Conservatory of Performing Arts Summer Camp. A 2009 arts day camp is being planned with San Jose State University that includes Youth Human Rights study.
PARENTS~In 2004 Phil and Dr. Walker designed and led Third Baptist Freedom School’s BBIBS Parenting Workshop series which was evaluated by Children’s Defense Fund’s Freedom Schools Deputy Director Nicholas M. Bassey as “the best he had ever seen”. The following year, under Phillip’s leadership as Third Baptist Church Freedom School Executive Director, funding increased from $105,000 to over a quarter million dollars.
The Third Theatre Troupe~From 2003-2009 Phillip E Walker worked part-time as a Youth Program Developer for Third Baptist Church’s BBiBS Academic Encouragement Arts Academy. In 2004 TTTT performances closed a the National Black Theatre Festival & BTN in Winston-Salem, NC. The Troupe was the first act ever to perform at San Francisco’s Fulton Street Fair plus has been featured on PAX-TV. Now based in San Jose, CA The Theatre Troupe continues to produce children’s theater.
CONTACT: African American Drama Company of California
Plaza of San Jose at Thirty East Julian Suite #218, San Jose, CA 95112-4076
(408) 216-9877 San Jose office ( (877) 376-0224 toll free info ) (415) 378-0064 voice mail
h h h h h h h h h h h RELATED WEB LINKS h h h h h h h h h h h
www.TouringBlackHistory.com = Up To Date AADC Traveling Schedule
Up Coming Tour Engagements: www.Kwanzaa2009.com & www.Kwanzaa2010.com
www.HistoryOfKwanzaa.com = History of Kwanzaa Play Song List of Past Engagements
Activity Symbol Kwanzaa Picture Collage: www.KwanzaaPicture.com
www.KwanzaaPrinciple.com = Seven Principles of Kwanzaa Principle Cast Bios & Head Shots
Traditional Poem Musical Kwanzaa Holiday Gift Lyrics: www.KwanzaaSong.com
www.HistoryMotown.com = History of Motown Records
LOVE MACHINE CASTS: www.ArtistMotown.com
www.WarrenPeteMoore.com = LOVE MACHINE Author
LOVE MACHINE PLOT: www.TheMotownSound.com
www.EducationRealized.com = New Urban Boarding School
African American Holiday Season Press Release: www.AfricanAmericanHoliday.com
www.BookScholastic.com = Little Bill Books for Sale
Third Theatre Troupe Reading Fluency Program: www.ChillStreetGang.info
www.AfricanAmericanHistoryMonth.info = No Cost Information Articles on this annual Celebration
No Cost Information Articles on the King Movement & Holiday: www.MartinLutherKingHoliday.info
www.SummerCampCalifornia.com = African American Drama Company Arts Education