Spotlight Reading Series

This year’s Spotlight Reading Series will feature works of Theodore Ward (1902-1983), often referred to as the “dean of Black dramatists,” whose works explored the complexities of Black life in America, from the Civil War, to the Second Great Migration, and beyond. Court will stage Ward’s Big White Fog as the first production of the 2025/26 season.

The Spotlight Reading Series will run from August 13–15 at the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts (915 E 60th Street). All events are free and open to the public and reservations are required. 

Just Before Day | Staged Reading and Panel Discussion | August 13, 2025 
6:30pm Reading | 7:30pm Conversation

Join us for a staged reading of Just Before Day. Originally written to be a radio play, this story follows Nettie Sampson, the matriarch of a struggling Black family in 1940s Harlem during World War II. Nettie endeavors to hold her family together through the daily travails of poverty and racial discrimination in the face of American hypocrisy, while her eldest son is abroad serving his country in the military.  

Following the reading, Chicago theatre luminaries Ron OJ Parson, Pemon Rami, and Chuck Smith will reflect on the significance of Theodore Ward’s works and how his legacy has impacted them personally and professionally.

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Film Screening of Native Son (1951) | August 14, 2025 
5:30pm Film Screening

The 1951 film Native Son is a significant adaptation of Richard Wright’s groundbreaking 1940 novel. Directed by French filmmaker Pierre Chenal, the movie is most notable for starring Richard Wright himself as Bigger Thomas, the protagonist.

Theodore Ward and Richard Wright shared a close relationship, particularly during their time in Chicago. Their friendship led Ward to join the South Side Writers Group, a significant gathering place for Black writers in Chicago. They were co-founders of the Negro Playwrights Company in New York, a testament to their shared vision for a theatrical space dedicated to Black voices and stories.

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Community Reads: Native Son | August 14, 2025 
7:30pm Dinner and Facilitated Conversation

Following a screening of the 1951 film Native Son, explore the film’s themes through dinner and discussion. As you reflect on the film, you will be able to connect with neighbors and friends through intimate guided breakout discussions. 

This portion of our program will also launch the next Community Reads Book Club series selection, Richard Wright’s Native Son.

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Our Lan’ | Staged Reading | August 15, 2025 
6:30pm Doors | 7:00pm Reading

Join us for a staged reading of Our Lan‘ – a notable play at the time it was written in 1947, that successfully ran on Broadway – focusing on the Reconstruction South and the broken promises made to newly freed slaves at the conclusion of the Civil War. A post-show discussion with this year’s Spotlight director, Charles Andrew Gardner, will follow. 

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Header images: Stephen Flemister, Jobari (2012), graphite on paper, 22 1/4” x 30″; Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Photographs and Prints Division, The New York Public Library. “Sidewalk sitters. Two women sitting in doorway of empty storefront that is being offered for rent, Harlem, New York City, ca. 1930s” New York Public Library Digital Collections; still photo from Native Son, courtesy of Kino Lorber; photo of Adia Sykes by Ollie Photography; “A newly freed African American group of men and a few children posing by a canal against the ruins of Richmond, Virginia.”

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