Sharing Matters, Sharing Truths
True Talks are the springboard for the themes and issues presented in the plays we produce. These conversations bring subject matter experts, change agents, and the community together for 90 minutes of sharing and learning.
Click here for details on our most recent True Talk:
Our True Talks series
is proudly sponsored by:
Sharing Matters, Sharing Truths
True Talks are the springboard for the themes and issues presented in the plays we produce. These conversations bring subject matter experts, change agents, and the community together for 90 minutes of sharing and learning.
Click here for details on our most recent True Talk:
Our Community Conversations series is proudly sponsored by:
Past Talks
We Shall Not Be Moved:
Fighting for Our Lives. Fighting for Our Stories.
February 22nd, 2023
Presented in partnership with The Gathering Spot, this True Talk will focus on the historical and present relationships formed between Black communities and the media in the fight to defend and uplift the narratives of those who make the greatest sacrifice for progress. When there are coordinated efforts to denigrate or demean victims, how have Black families and community leaders fought back with a counter narrative, ensuring that the lives of the slain would be honored? This conversation will delve into this timely and necessary topic in an honest and artful way.
Respectability Politics:
The Price of Black Success
January 26th, 2023
Presented in partnership with Zucot Gallery, this conversation focuses on the role that respectability politics plays in the perception of “progress” in Atlanta’s Black community, and the risks to personal well-being for those who attempt to “play the game.” This special event features one-of-a-kind performances, including a sneak peek preview by the cast of True Colors’ 2023 world premiere of Good Bad People!
SHE GOT GAME:
Basketball Inequities On and Off the Court
September 21st, 2022
Presented by True Colors and Theatrical Outfit, this in-depth conversion explores gender equality in sports and what it takes to bring sports to the stage. Led by Addae Moon (Associate Artistic Director of Theatrical Outfit), this panel will feature various artists and scholars on this topic. It will also include performances by Hailey Elizabeth, cast member of Theatrical Outfit’s “Flex,” and LaNiyah S.K. Grovell, the 2022 Atlanta Regional Finals winner of True Colors’ Next Narrative Monologue Competition.
The Movement Lives On:
BLM and Atlanta Theatre
July 7th, 2022
Presented in partnership with ArtsATL and TYDEF Studios and led by moderator Kelundra Smith, this distinguished and diverse panel of theatre professionals will share their perspectives on the Atlanta theatre community’s progress, or lack thereof, toward equity and inclusion, two years after the beginning of the racial reckoning in 2020.
Segregated by Design
In Partnership with WABE and the National Center for Civil and Human Rights
January 27th, 2022
The discussion explores issues around Segregated by Design, an award-winning short film based on Richard Rothstein’s The Color of Law. In the book, Rothstein reveals how laws and policy decisions made by local, state, and federal governments promoted discriminatory patterns in housing that continue today. Led by Dr. Calinda Lee, Head of Interpretation for the National Center for Civil and Human Rights, our distinguished panelists dive into housing discrimination issues and their sweeping effect on Atlanta communities. In conjunction with the theme, the event also features special performances by our amazing True Colors’ artists!
Words of Change:
Connecting Youth With Tomorrow’s Leading Voices
March 31st, 2022
Presented in partnership with Theatrical Rights Worldwide, this thought-provoking conversation centers on the playwrights featured in our inaugural teen Next Narrative Monologue CompetitionTM, the significance of shaping Black narratives through Black writers, and the importance of these stories being told by emerging voices of tomorrow.
Chosen Family
In Partnership with ArtsXchange and ZAMI NOBLA
December 8th, 2021
True Colors is proud to present “Chosen Family,” in partnership with ArtsXchange and ZAMI NOBLA. Many LGBTQ create community, or family, outside of their biological families, sometimes by choice and sometimes not. As we celebrate the legacies of Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Marie Knight, who created their own community together while traveling the Jim Crow South of the 1940s, we welcome a conversation on the ways that Black LGBTQ form meaningful bonds and a home away from home.
Preserving Our History:
Teaching Black Theatre
October 20th, 2021
True Colors is proud to present “Preserving Our History: Teaching Black Theatre” – an essential conversation in the true spirit of Sankofa. Presented in partnership with the Atlanta History Center, this Community Conversation will feature leading theatre educators as they discuss the joys and challenges of teaching Black stories and performance at both historically Black and predominantly white institutions of higher learning.
In the Continuum:
The Foundation, Funding, and Future of Black Theatre
September 23rd, 2021
As we launch into our “Go Back and Get It” season, join us for “In the Continuum: the Foundation, Funding, and Future of Black Theatre.” An essential conversation in the true spirit of Sankofa, as we look back to our roots of Black theatre in America and glean from the many lessons learned a vision for our future, this Community Conversation will feature leading voices and scholars, presented in partnership with Generator and Hammonds House Museum.
Sacred / Secular
Presented with Affirmation Church: A Church Without Walls
May 20th, 2021
“Sacred/Secular” is an essential Community Conversation on the historical intersection of sacred and secular music, especially in the black community, and the barriers of acceptance for those who view secular sounds as interwoven with sacred sounds. How do we help creatives and others bridge the perceived sacred and secular artistic divide? This conversation will feature distinguished thought leaders on music and its relationship to religion, moderated by Pastor La Ronda, the Founder of Affirmation Church: A Church Without Walls.
Black Voices in Classical Music:
A Conversation About Access
In Collaboration with The Atlanta Opera
May 6th, 2021
In this time of cultural awareness and cultural upheaval, there is a call for greater representation and visibility on our stages, including on the grand opera stages of our country. Emerging singers of color continue to face unique challenges to accessing the pipeline that leads to a professional career. This panel of distinguished local artists and educators discuss their personal experiences and ways to lift every voice in our communities.
The Right to the Stage:
Access for our Youth
In Partnership with the Atlanta Music Project
April 29th, 2021
Disparities in education, especially for African-American communities, has been an ongoing challenge and this has been especially true in the arts. African-American youth continue to face greater obstacles to accessing the arts. This timely Community Conversation features leading voices who are on the front lines of the fight to ensure that a child’s zip code or background does not determine their ability to engage with the arts.
Art Meets Activism:
John Lewis, C.T. Vivian and The Baptism
Commemorating the 56th Anniversary of the Civil Rights Movement’s Bloody Sunday
March 7, 2021
This conversation featured a film screening of The Baptism, a visual poem by Carl Hancock Rux and Carrie Mae Weems, and original images by Civil Rights photographer Dr. Doris Derby, along with a panel conversation of distinguished scholars, activists and artists.
Black Theatre and the BLM Movement
In partnership with B.L.A.C.T ATL, Inc.
January 23, 2021
This conversation centers on the role of black theatre companies in shaping, influencing, and amplifying the Black Lives Matter movement, as well as the role that black theatre companies have historically played in giving a voice to civil rights and other black-related issues.
Black Branding
The Fight for Dignified Representation
October 3, 2020
What is the role of marketing and branding in shaping perceptions of African-American individuals and culture? Join us for a virtual dialogue between cultural branding experts, Roy Broderick, Jr. and Nikki Barjon on the portrayal of the Black community through images and the media in today’s complex American cultural environment.
Out of the Shadows
Access to the Arts for Southern Black LGBTQ
September 12, 2020
Presented in partnership with The Counter Narrative Project, this Community Conversation discusses the barriers to the arts that many Black, LGBTQ artists continue to face in today’s American South, as well as the bold and brave stories of overcoming these obstacles. This panel discussion features a number of distinguished Black, LGBTQ voices.
Unsung Sheroes
Forgotten Legends and the Importance of Remembrance
May 16, 2020
Our past is a major reflection of who we are, who we aspire to be, and who we eventually become. However, many of the people throughout history who have shaped the past have unfortunately been forgotten. Whether lost through relevance, repression, or ignorance, our sheroes deserve to be celebrated with the memories that keep them alive. We invite you to discuss some of your legends, past or present, and the impact they’ve had on your lives.
The Effects of Euro-Colonialism on Beauty Standards
January 11, 2020
(Click image to watch replay)
From YouTube and Instagram to reality television, our subconsciouses have been flooded with unattainable body images and ideals of perfection. We are all impacted by it, and in some cases turn to extreme and unhealthy measures to reach these goals. This inter-generational discussion focuses on beauty standards, past and present, while creating a new definition of beauty for our daughters, nieces, and grandchildren that is inclusive of all shades of skin, all body types and all textures of hair.
The Changing Face of Atlanta
Gentrification: Who Wins and Who Loses?
August 24, 2019
With Atlanta’s population and urban renewal on the rise, long-time residents often find themselves pushed out of the neighborhoods in which they grew up. Does gentrification or “urban renewal” always mean displacement, or is it truly an investment that benefits our communities? How can we improve our neighborhoods and cities while protecting those who are most vulnerable? This conversation focuses on past, present and future Atlanta and the extreme shift in our city’s landscape.
