Hattiloo Theatre takes center stage with the recent ribbon cutting of its new venue on Cooper Street in Overton Square. The $3.3 million, 10,500-square-foot theatre has been 8 years in the making, ever since Founder Ekundayo Bandele first raised the curtain at a storefront location on Marshall Avenue in the Edge District.
Hattiloo is a non-profit, black repertory theatre focusing on plays written by African-American writers. There is also a community outreach component with their Hattiloo Children's Theatre and Camp Awareness. Stage productions and community service, according to the company's website, are "... designed to complement each other in pursuit of our mission, serving as a lens into African-American culture for thousands of citizens, and as a gateway to the arts for thousands more."
Overton Square has become a theatre district, with
Playhouse on the Square, Circuit Playhouse and
Theatreworks all within a block of Hattiloo. Malco's Studio on the Square movie theatre is just across Madison Avenue.
The new theatre, designed by archimania, includes rehearsal space and two stages. The stages can be configured so that the main stage plays to a maximum of 180 people, while the black box theatre holds 58. The theatre formally opens July 18 with the production of "Once On This Island" on the main stage.
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