UPAC 2024-25 Season
MAIN STAGE PRODUCTIONs
DECEMBER 2024
​
​​MARCH 2025
Black Girl Magic
by Sharon Cook
​​
AUGUST 2025
The Glory of Gospel: The Thomas Dorsey Story
written & created by Sharon Cook ​
.png)
"The Glory of Gospel: The Thomas Dorsey Story" is a gospel play that chronicles the life of Thomas A. Dorsey, the legendary father of gospel music. Through a series of flashbacks, the production introduces key figures who shaped Dorsey's passion for music, including his mother, Bessie Smith, James Cleveland, and Mahalia Jackson. It also depicts Dorsey's "road to Damascus" experience and the inspiration behind his beloved gospel song "Precious Lord, Take My Hand" - a work that revolutionized the worship experience. This play stands as a testament to the transformative power of God, and how He can use tragedy and rejection to propel individuals towards their true purpose.
“Gospel is good music and news on either side, sent down from the Lord, to give the people. There is no such thing as black music, white music, or red or blue music. [The gospel] is what everyone needs.” --- Thomas Dorsey.
Auditions for The Glory of Gospel are July 7-9; Production August 22-24, location TBA
Collaborative Productions
At the Underground Performing Arts Collective, we believe in the power of community and collaboration. Our collaborative productions are a celebration of creative teamwork, bringing together theater enthusiasts and partnering organizations to share dynamic experiences throughout the year.
JUNETEENTH SANKOFA FESTIVAL
A Collaborative Event with Little Theatre of Norfolk
%20(2).png)
OUR VOICES MATTER
written by UPAC's 2024 Creative Expressions Performing Arts Summer Camp Cohort with contributions by Keshara Bailey, Sherrod Brown, Sharon Cook, Ray Dimaano, and Christa Vogt
Our Voice Matters is a newly devised ensemble work comprised of poems, monologues, vignettes, songs, and dances that express the thoughts, feelings, concerns, and experiences of today's youth!
Directed by J Travis Cooper, June 14 (7:30 pm) & 15 (2:00 pm) at Little Theatre of Norfolk (Sankofa Fest co-production with Little Theatre of Norfolk)
HAVING OUR SAY: THE DELANY SISTERS FIRST 100 YEARS
by Emily Mann (adapted from the book by Sarah L. Delany and A. Elizabeth Delany) starring Jennifer Kelly-Cooper and Carla Turner, Co-Production with The Little Theatre of Norfolk (June 27-29)
HAVING OUR SAY opens as 103-year-old Sadie Delany and 101-year-old Bessie Delany welcome us into their Mount Vernon, New York, home.
As they prepare a celebratory dinner in remembrance of their father’s birthday, they take us on a remarkable journey through the last hundred years of our nation’s history, recounting a fascinating series of events and anecdotes drawn from their rich family history and careers as pioneering African-American professionals.
Their story is not simply African-American history or women’s history. It is our history, told through the eyes of two unforgettable women as they look not only into the past but also ahead into the twenty-first century.
