Regina Taylor at Repertory Theatre of St. Louis

Playwright

Actress/director/playwright Taylor is the Andrew Mellon Grant Writer in Residence for Repertory Theatre of St. Louis. Ms. Taylor’s Oo-Bla-Dee is being presented for Repertory Theatre of St. Louis and Theatre Three for 2020-21. She is writing a new play for Audible. Taylor is the director/curator for Love and Kindness in the Time of Quarantine as part of her Resistance Plays series that features new short pieces by Magaly Colimon-Christopher, Migdalia Cruz, Eric Ehn, Catherine Filloux, Lyle Kessler, Eugene Lee, Yilong Liu, Rohina Malik, Crystal Skillman, Chesney Snow, and Jose Rivera. In addition: Playwright credits include Bread (Edgerton Award. Water Tower Theater), Crowns (four Helen Hayes awards, including Best Director), Oo-Bla-Dee (Steinberg-ATCA award), Drowning Crow (Broadway, MTC), The Trinity River Plays (Edgerton Foundation Award), and stop.reset (Signature Theater Residency Five). Ms. Taylor received the Denzel Washington Endowed Chair Fordham University at Lincoln Center. As an Artistic Associate of Goodman Theatre, Taylor is its most produced playwright. Regina Taylor is featured in Netflix’ All Day and a Night starring Jeffrey Wright and Ashton Saunders, and directed/written by Joe Robert Cole (writer: Black Panther), guest stars on Council of Dads (NBC) and Love Craft Country (Jordan Peele, J J Abrams, Mischa Green), Red Line (Producer Ava DuVernay CBS), and The Good Fight (CBS). Taylor, in her TV role as Lily Harper in I'll Fly Away, received a Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actress, three NAACP Image Awards, and two Emmy Award nominations. Her other television roles include The Unit. Taylor was first African American lead in Masterpiece Theatre’s Cora Unashamed, starred as Anita Hill in HBO’s Strange Justice (Gracie Award), and A Good Day to Die starring Sidney Poitier. She has co-starred in USA Networks’ Dig and guest starred in Elementary and The Blacklist. Taylor’s film credits include Saturday Church, The Negotiator, Courage Under Fire, Clockers, and Lean on Me. Taylor was also the first Black woman to play Juliet in Romeo and Juliet on Broadway.

Theatre

Mission Statement

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis is dedicated to excellence in producing an eclectic range of live theatre.

Values Statement

We value informative, entertaining, and challenging live professional theatre. The Rep seeks to present an array of theatrical styles and periods in our programming. We have a responsibility both to preserve our theatrical heritage, as well as to develop new works to add to this heritage. This theatre works to lead audiences without losing them. By its nature live theatre involves risk and we recognize the need to present programming which may provoke strong reaction, both positive and negative.

We value excellence in all we do. The Rep strives to produce theatre of the highest professional quality. We seek consistently superior quality in every aspect of our operations.

We value life-long education. The Rep provides substantial and varied opportunities for learning about the human experience through the art of theatre. All people connected to The Rep should consider themselves to be invested in an educational process which is reflected in all programs of the theatre.

We value a strong, vibrant arts community. The Rep is committed to playing a leadership role in the arts community and to expanding public awareness of the essential contribution the arts make to society.

We value diversity. The Rep strives to provide opportunities for diverse artistic expression, as well as diverse artists, staff and audience. Diversity is a wide-ranging value, encompassing but not limited to diversity in aesthetics, age, class, disability, ethnicity, gender, geography, race and sexual orientation.

We value the contribution of our artists and our staff. The Rep seeks to attract outstanding professionals to join our work. We support the concept of The Rep as an “artistic home” which engenders a sense of pride, involvement and mutual support among all who work here. This means that we must provide these individuals with the best possible working environment, compensation, benefits, and support, within the constraints of our available resources.

We value all who have a stake in our success. The Rep is committed to building and sustaining a vital connection among all its stakeholders: subscribers, audience, artists, staff, donors, volunteers, our Board, Webster University, the larger theatrical community, the arts community of the region, students, teachers and learners of all ages.

We value the long-term viability of our theatre. The Rep will maintain financial strength and stability as a means to achieve greater artistic freedom. We seek to build long-term human, physical and financial resources. We practice sound fiscal responsibility and strive for the financial growth that enhances our opportunities to expand our contribution to society.