The National Black Theatre: Institute for Action Arts

The National Black Theatre: Institute for Action Arts NBT's core mission remains the same today as it was at the time of its founding, to produce transfor
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NATIONAL BLACK THEATRE INC- Founded by visionary Dr. Barbara Ann Teer in 1968, the National Black Theatre (NBT) has pioneered “the healing art of black theatre as an instrument for wholeness in urban communities where entrepreneurial artists of African descent live and work." NBT’s own original productions have toured the USA, Caribbean, Central America, Africa, Asia and has performed in venues th

roughout New York City, such as The Apollo Theatre, Lincoln Center and the Beacon Theatre. NBT performances attract audiences of over 90,000 each year, more than any other African-‐American community based Theatre company in NYC. To date, NBT has won over 45 AUDELCO Black Theatre Excellence Awards, produced over 300 productions, and countless workshops, courses and community events.

08/24/2026

You are carrying forward a legacy of people who dreamed beyond limitations and made a way where there was none. Keep becoming, keep believing, and trust that the path ahead is making room for the person you are growing into.

🗣: Angela Bassett

08/21/2026

Before viral dance challenges, there was Hellzapoppin’. The legendary Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers brought an electrifying mix of speed, style, acrobatics, and improvisation to the screen, creating a sequence that would become one of the most iconic Black dance moments in film history.

More than 80 years later, they’re still showing us how it’s done. 🔥

08/14/2026

It's Harlem Week, and we are dancing all weekend!

Check out our booth on 135th Street tomorrow for "Summer in the City" and also on Sunday for "Harlem Day!" There will be free giveaways, NBT merch for sale, fun for the kids, bubbles, and a spin-the-wheel for exclusive prizes!

Come join us as we celebrate Harlem history and culture, and our current 2026/2027 season!

📽: IG- trinidadjamesgg

08/10/2026

There is power in knowing where you come from and remembering what lives within you.

A legacy of imagination. A spirit that could not be contained. A people who have always found ways to create, survive, dream, and rise.

📽: Danielle Ponder

08/07/2026

Some things never go out of style. Black joy is one of them.

📽 - IG: onsetevents_

Beyond is not simply a destination. It is a refusal to accept the limits we have been given. Welcome to part three of th...
08/06/2026

Beyond is not simply a destination. It is a refusal to accept the limits we have been given.

Welcome to part three of the series celebrating the Just Beyond the Horizon Dramaturgical Deck, presented by NBT’s Alternative Learning & Social Impact Department.

The Grioraphet Speaks on Sundays declares Blackness an act of creation. Egg; or anything dipped in egg gone soften places us somewhere between starshine and clay, holding one another as we learn and unlearn love, power, and burden.

Together, they invite us to see the horizon not as an ending, but as the edge of what we can currently perceive and the beginning of everything we have yet to create.

What powers your purpose and dreams?

Check out the full deck: https://bit.ly/4wEkBNC

Then join us in conversation on Tuesday, Aug 11, 2026 at 12:30pm during our special IG Live with NBT Chief Executive Officer, Sade Lythcott and Executive Artistic Director, Jonathan McCrory, to talk more about this season's theme, why now, and answer your questions! Have a question? Submit them below ⬇️ or via DM.

Featured art on slide 5 by Betye Saar, The Phrenologer’s Window, 1966.

Dreaming is not an escape. It is a way of seeing what has not yet arrived. Welcome to part two of the series celebrating...
08/05/2026

Dreaming is not an escape. It is a way of seeing what has not yet arrived.

Welcome to part two of the series celebrating the Just Beyond the Horizon Dramaturgical Deck, presented by NBT’s Alternative Learning & Social Impact Department.

Imitation of Life reminds us that dreams allow us to imagine that we can be more. America, Who Hurt You? asks us to take stock of the past and examine what continues to shape our present and determine our future. [Home] Going confronts the lost promises of Reconstruction while asking what it means to hold onto hope as we continue the unfinished work of freedom.

Together, these works challenge us to consider what we have inherited, the future knocking at our door, and the responsibility we hold to one another as we build what comes next.

What are you committed to doing towards empowering and caring for your neighbors?

Check out the full deck:https://bit.ly/4wEkBNC

Then join the conversation! Next week Tuesday, Aug 11, 2026 at 12:30pm we'll have a special IG Live with our Chief Executive Officer, Sade Lythcott and Executive Artistic Director, Jonathan McCrory, to talk more about this season's theme, why now, and answer your questions! Have a question? Submit them below ⬇️ or DM us.

Featured art on slide 6 by Betye Saar, Mystic Sky with Self-Portrait, 1992.

Introducing a four part series celebrating the Just Beyond the Horizon Social Impact Deck, presented by NBT’s Alternativ...
08/04/2026

Introducing a four part series celebrating the Just Beyond the Horizon Social Impact Deck, presented by NBT’s Alternative Learning & Social Impact Department.

Rooted in Dr. Barbara Ann Teer’s call to use our collective force to reframe, restore, and reinvent our future, the deck explores the ideas, questions, and artistic provocations shaping NBT’s 2026/2027 season.

Across five productions, we are invited to consider liberation as a continual act of collective imagination and resistance. To architect joy despite struggle. To plant seeds of hope and trust that our stories will always be greater than the forces that seek to silence them.

Whose unfinished work are you helping to complete?

Check out the full deck: https://bit.ly/4wEkBNC

Join the conversation! On Tuesday, Aug 11, 2026 at 12:30pm we'll have a special IG Live with our Chief Executive Officer, Sade Lythcott and Executive Artistic Director, Jonathan McCrory, to talk more about this season's theme, why now, and answer your questions! Have a question? Submit them below ⬇️

Featured art on slide 4 by Betye Saar, Palm of Love, (etching with relief printing), 1966.

08/03/2026

Your creativity is not measured by applause. It is measured by the parts of yourself you uncover along the way. As you move through this week, let curiosity lead instead of fear. The art you make, whether anyone else sees it or not, is shaping your spirit into something stronger, freer, and more whole.

🗣: James Earl Jones

07/31/2026

Turn it. Dip it. Own it. Happy Dance Friday. ✨

📽 : OTA

Address

2031-2033 National Black Theatre Way ( Fifth Avenue Btwn 125/126 St )
New York, NY
10035

Opening Hours

Monday 10am - 6pm
Tuesday 10am - 6pm
Wednesday 10am - 10pm
Thursday 10am - 6pm
Friday 10am - 11pm
Saturday 10am - 6pm
Sunday 10am - 6pm

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+12127223800

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