REVIEWS, INTERVIEWS & ARTICLES
— THEATER —
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BLACK MASKS Spotlight on Black Theatre - Autumn 2024
MARGO HALL From Detroit to San Francisco Bay By Stephanie Anne Johnson "Wedged between the New York and the Los Angeles models of success, the San Francisco Bay area has largely been ignored as a power place where numerous artists including Danny Glover, Whoopi Goldbert, and Ntozake Shange began their careers. Black theatre companies such as Cultural Odyssey, Oakland Ensemble Theatre, the African American Shakespeare Company, the Lorraine Hansberry Theatre, Berkeley Black Repertory Theatre, Afro Solo, and others have provided a haven for designers, actors, administrators, and backstage personnel. Among these West Coast notables is Margo Hall, a multifaceted theatre artist, a legend, a revered figure and one of the San Francisco Bay Area theatre's long-time treasures" See The Article |
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AMERICAN THEATRE MAGAZINE - Winter 2024
"Passing the Torch" A Special Issue on Theatre Training: THE PIPELINE - "All Set to Succeed" "People should think it's their duty, and not just the duty of Black people, to train people of color. The diversification of theatre design starts, but doesn't end, with training" By Crystal Paul See The Article> Dr. Stephanie Anne Johnson is celebrating almost 50 years as a lighting designer. She credits Black women and a few white allies with helping her find her footing in the industry at a time when she was often the only person of color on the production crew. |
BLACK MASKS
Spotlight on Black Theater - Spring 2023 "Black women in lighting constitute a small segment of American theatre designers. When I began professionally in the late 1970's, there was such a dearth of women that we all knew each other: Stephanie Johnson, Melody Beal, Antoinette Tynes, Roma Flowers and Sandra Ross." Kathy A. Perkins |
BLACK MASKS Article:
Emerging Black Women Lighting Designers by Kathy A. Perkins Lighting Designer and Theatre Historian https://kathyaperkins.com |
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WHEN WE KNOW BETTER WE CAN DO BETTER Projection Light and Staging News Podcast Jan. 20, 2021 ____________________________________ 
Google Stephanie Anne Johnson and you’ll likely find a Wikipedia page written about her as both visual artist and lighting designer. The Afro Urban Society wanted to know a little more about her than a Wikipedia entry. After all, Wikipedia won’t tell you that she is a biblio-holic with a house filled with books. Or that she wants Black folks to VOTE, VOTE, VOTE and run for elected and policy-making commissions and committees. Or that she is one of very few professional Black lighting designers in Northern California. See highlights from the Afro Urban Society's interview: A RARE GEM, Stephanie Johnson: Lit from the Black! Oct. 20, 2020
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Aurora Theatre Company’s PARADISE BLUE
Theater Eddys San Francisco Bay Area's review Feb. 3, 2020 KILL MOVE PARADISE at Shotgun Players, Berkeley Theatrius review July 17, 2019 FOR COLORED GIRLS Produced by The African American Shakespeare Company The Taube Atrium Theater, San Francisco Theater & Such review Sept. 2018 _____________________________ Stephanie Anne Johnson was nominated for the 2017 Theatre Bay Area's Outstanding Lighting Design for: TO THE BONE - Ubuntu Theatre. Oakland, CA and HELA -Theatre First. Berkeley, CA ____________________________ TO THE BONE — June, 2017 reviews: "A tight and thrilling show... every moment captivating" — Theatrius "Impressive in the truest sense" — Berkeley Daily Planet "Subtle and sure... demands that the invisible world of immigrant workers be seen" — KQED “The striking and innovative lighting by Stephanie Anne Johnson make the bare circle into an effective theater in the round.” — Robert Gardner – Theatrius HELA --Theatre First May, 2017 reviews: “In remembering Henrietta Lacks as more than just a bunch of cells, “HeLa” posits that it’s important that we name her, but also that stories and memories are part of what allow her, or any of us, to become fully human. In so doing, the show proffers a subtle metatheatrical tribute to the power of performance itself. Theater doesn’t just tell us good stories; it testifies that we existed and that we meant something.” — Lily Janiak, San Francisco Chronicle “There’s a cumulative power to this story that feels both intimate and epic, another chapter in our history of taking that tells an essential story that should keep being told.” — Chad Jones, Theater Dogs Stephanie Anne Johnson lights SHE
Brava Theater, San Francisco Berkeley Times review April 11, 2013 THE WOMEN AT THE TOMB WASSUP DOYLE Theater review Sept. 1998 WE SPEAK Art Festival of Atlanta and Atlanta Journal Arts & Entertainment review Sept. 1995 Close-Up on NABET Member Stephanie Johnson National Assn. of Broadcast Employees & Technicians Lighting Designer/Grip or A woman grip in uncharted waters Circa 1980s — ART —
ANCESTOR'S GROVE: A SPACE JOURNEY Lake Merritt Autumn Lights Festival -Oakland, CA Video by Alexa Burrell 2021 & 2022 BINDING TIES Oakland Theater Project San Francisco Chronicle review Broadway World review Wanda Sabir Interview Local News Matters Bay Area review Feb.-March, 2021 AFRICAN AMERICANS IN BERKELEY'S HISTORY AND LEGACY Berkeley Historical Center Berkeleyside ARTS review May, 2021 AFRICAN AMERICANS IN BERKELEY: FOUR FAMILIES Berkeley Historical Society Berkeley Times review Nov. 2019 AFRO SOLO ARTS FESTIVAL XIII Sargent John Gallery SF Chronicle Article Aug. 24, 2006 |
