Benny Andrews: The Man From Plainview

Join Rose Library on Thursday, April 25 for a mixed media theatrical production produced by Garry Yates with Addae Moon in celebration of artist Benny Andrews, followed by a discussion about the life of Benny Andrews. This event is in conjunction with Rose Library’s “At the Crossroads with Benny Andrews, Flannery O’Connor, and Alice Walker” exhibition in the Schatten Gallery.

Benny Andrews (1930-2006), a painter and activist, was born in Plainview, Georgia, where he spent his childhood years until graduating from high school. He attended Fort Valley State College, enlisted in the Air Force, and later earned a BFA in painting from the School of Art Institute in Chicago in 1958 before moving to New York City. He is known for his figurative contour drawings and fabric-infused collage oil paintings, which are represented in major museum collections nationwide. Cofounder of the Black Emergency Culture Coalition in 1969, Andrews published his activist opinions regarding the state-of-the-art world in Between The Lines in 1978. He directed the Visual Arts Program at the National Endowment for the Arts from 1982 to 1984.

Production Team (pictured left to right):

Garry Yates (director) is an actor, educator, and stage director. Directing credits include collegiate and regional theatre - the Alliance Theatre, Metro Stage, Theatrical Outfit, and Horizon Theatre for such plays as The Island, Blues for an Alabama Sky, Blue Door, Piano Lesson, Hamlet, Gees Bend, and many other social issues plays. His extended credits include off-off-Broadway theater to daytime dramas. Guest star roles range from Seinfeld, Sparks, Heat of the Night, and I'll Fly Away to supporting roles in films such as Brainstorm, Fled, Drumline, and Midnight Edition, to name a few. He is currently an associate professor of the Theatre and Mass Media Arts in the Division of Communication Arts at Clark Atlanta University. He is the first African American to receive a Master of Fine Arts in acting from Indiana University Bloomington.

Addae Moon (playwright) is an Atlanta-based playwright, dramaturg, director, and cultural worker. He is the associate artistic director at Theatrical Outfit and a co-founder of the performance collective Hush Harbor Lab. Addae has served as a resident dramaturg with Working Title Playwright's Ethel Woolson Lab. He was the recipient of the 2015 International Ibsen Award for his dramaturgical work on the project Master Comic and the 2014 John Lipsky Award from the International Museum Theatre Alliance (IMTAL) for his immersive play Four Days of Fury: Atlanta 1906. Addae was also a member of Alliance Theatre's 2015-2016 Reiser Artists' Lab as co-writer on the immersive project Third Council of Lyons with Found Stages. His recent immersive co-collaborations include Frankenstein' Ball (2019/2020) and Frankenstein's Funeral (2019), both with Found Stages. Addae received his BA in Theatre Arts from Clark Atlanta University and an MA in playwriting from the Professional Playwright's Program at Ohio University. He is a member of Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of America (LMDA) and The Fence Network.

Sean M. Dale (Benny Andrews) is an actor based in Atlanta with an MFA in acting. He served as the artistic director of Borderless Theatre Company, producing new work through its podcast, Radio Plays. He is currently serving as the distribution strategist for Hope Studios' upcoming film, The Hopeful. He recently completed certification with the Hollywood Screenreaders as a screenplay consultant. Sean can be seen in various regional performances throughout the Southern theater region. He will soon return to the Texas Shakespeare Festival for its 2024 season.

Evan Covey (guitarist) is a senior at Emory University. He has played guitar in the Emory Big Band and Jazz combos, and appeared with his own band, Groove, at both university events and at venues around Atlanta. He has shared the stage with artists such as Rodney Whitaker, Randy Napoleon, and Chris Bergson. He has also performed at venues in New York City, his hometown, including Jazz Standard and the Bitter End. Evan will be graduating in 2024 with a BBA degree and a minor in Music Performance.

Tina Dunkley (curator/producer/vocalist) is a Brooklyn-born Southerner with Afro-Atlantic heritage, whose attention has been absorbed by the lost narratives of freedom seekers as she created artwork and selected curatorial endeavors. Surveying Andrews' papers revealed his audacious journey toward psychic and social liberation. With the collective vision of the esteemed curatorial team and designers for the Crossroads exhibition, she sought to present the alchemy of Andrews' art, activism, writing, teaching, and administration.

This event is open to the public at no charge. Parking is available in Fishburne parking deck. For more information, please contact eulibraries@emory.edu or 404-727-7683.