L.Roi Boyd, III

My work is very about what Shakespeare wrote about in Hamlet which is “from the purpose of playing, whose end both at the first and now, was and is, to hold as 'twere, the mirror upto nature; to show virtue her own feature, scorn her own image, and the very age and body of the time his form and pressure.” I am a performing artist whose aim is, through live performance, to create a visceral reaction within the audience member. I do this as an actor and as a director. 

For nearly thirty years I have work in many genres of the art. I have a penchant for the Greek Tragedies, Roman Drama, Restoration Comedies, Realism, and Drawing Room Comedy. Before anything I am a human being with sensitivities and observations and because of this there is a deep need, as old as the earth itself, to express those observations and sensitivities. Second, I am an African American Male; I mention this because the effects of our sociological western structure have had an effect upon me as a man of color. To share those observations and sensitivities with the masses and to further explore an understanding and a natural pride, there exists the craving to explore the culture of the African American diaspora as both an artist and an aesthete. This craving has brought me to a specialty area of research and creation~African American Theatre and Film.

As an artist, I direct anywhere from one to four stage productions a year; these are usually productions written by African American playwrights dealing with the Black experience. This is not necessarily by choice as it is by osmosis. I am also an actor, sound designer, and stage manager. My work as a director will be displayed in the news and announcements area of recent works that either I have completed or of works that will be in production. A full record of my directing work is listed in the directing resume portion of the site.

As an academic, I teach theatre classes in performance and theory. I have written articles on topics in African American theatre and film. Examples of these topics can be found in the Essays/Text portion of this site.

With Black film, my academic focus is on race movies, specifically with the depiction of the African American image in these films before white and black audiences during the first half of the twentieth century. My dissertation will be centered on the historical fusion of theatre and film in the African American disapora during the Harlem Renaissance. The video pieces featured on this site are excerpts from notable race movies during the nineteen thirties and forties, providing an insight on the portrayals of black Americans.

This is a site created to display my work and academic interest as well as example of some of my graduate work (A flash video project and a sound editing piece from the MATX lab will be featured). My PhD studies in Media, Art, and Text will allow me to further my career and help me carve a specialty field in Black film studies.

This is a work in progress and there is anticipation in cultivating it and watching it grow and reflect my work. And so here lies the branch disciplines of L.Roi Boyd.