The African Grove Theatre at New York University
The Grad Acting department at the Tisch School of the Arts recently lost two valuable members of our extended artistic community - Director, Mark Brokaw, known for directing dozens of major American plays, including an adaptation of Molière’s Le Malade Imaginaire, (The Hypochondriac) by David Grimm, a recent commission for NYU Grad Acting, and Professor Michael D. Dinwiddie, an admired dramatist, Tisch alum, and beloved professor at NYU Gallatin.
Professor Dinwiddie was a figure in naming our new African Grove Theatre at The Paulson Center. His work, alongside Grad Acting Professor Larry Maslon, "led the effort to memorialize the first Black theatre in the United States, the African Grove Theatre (established in 1821), by naming a new theatre at NYU after the original." Mark Brokaw was one of the first directors to create in this space, directing his last full production at the African Grove Theatre with the Grad Acting students in Spring 2024.
The Grad Acting community will remember Mark and Michael's legacies and we share our condolences with their families, colleagues, and loved ones.