The Center

08/30/2021

Our last night
And the power
Goes…

(We’re) out.

Our last night
And the power
Goes…

(We’re) out.

08/23/2021

Do you have a favorite memory from The Center?

Tell us what it is!

I’ll go first.

All the amazing art we created and shared!

Don’t worry. We’ll be back!

Do you have a favorite memory from The Center?

Tell us what it is!

I’ll go first.

All the amazing art we created and shared!

Don’t worry. We’ll be back!

08/19/2021

Images of a space deconstructed.

08/13/2021

Bathroom white board….

I think I will miss you more than you know.

Who all has taken a turn at writing on this fun addition?

Bathroom white board….

I think I will miss you more than you know.

Who all has taken a turn at writing on this fun addition?

08/05/2021

As we pack, it’s pretty easy to get lost in the memories.

#ThrowBackThursday to our first few days at #AMPupAkron.

As we pack, it’s pretty easy to get lost in the memories.

#ThrowBackThursday to our first few days at #AMPupAkron.

07/29/2021

On September 1, 2018 we became The Center. On September 1, 2021 our time as “The Center” comes to an end.

07/08/2021

@watheatre’s very first Summer CAMP was held at #AMPupAkron in 2015!!! #TBT

@watheatre’s very first Summer CAMP was held at #AMPupAkron in 2015!!! #TBT

07/05/2021

Feeling grateful for all of the wonderful people in our lives. #OptOutsideForEmmy

Feeling grateful for all of the wonderful people in our lives. #OptOutsideForEmmy

06/10/2021

#ThrowBackThursday to the early days of The Center. Hoping to open back up in officially this Fall!

#ThrowBackThursday to the early days of The Center. Hoping to open back up in officially this Fall!

05/21/2021

Emmy’s flower continues to brighten our space.

Emmy’s flower continues to brighten our space.

05/04/2021

We’re working towards a metamorphosis.

We’re working towards a metamorphosis.

03/31/2021

Working on our security - last night we installed some security cameras at the space.

03/28/2021

Grant applications are always coming due...

Grant applications are always coming due...

03/12/2021

Once we open up again, make sure to visit our concession stand! #AMPupAKRON

03/08/2021

“In this world there is no force equal to the strength of a woman determined to rise.”

“In this world there is no force equal to the strength of a woman determined to rise.”

02/28/2021

She’s waiting. #AMPupAKRON

She’s waiting. #AMPupAKRON

02/21/2021

Celebrating Black Artists:

There's musicians, legends, and there is Ms. Diana Ross. Diana Ross is in a league of her own.

Born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, she rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group The Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups of all time. But Ross didn't start out that way. She went to college for fashion design and took cosmetology classes. She also did modeling on the side.

At 15, Ross joined the girl group the Primettes which also had fellow members Mary Wilson and Florence Ballard. She asked her old neighbor Smokey Robinson to listen to their group sing and he was blown away. They got the eye for producer Barry Gordy but he told them to come after they were older. In 1961, the group came back to see Gordy and he signed them to a long term contract. He changed their name to The Supremes. Though the group had outstanding success, Ross departed from the group in 1969 to pursue a solo career.

Since then Diana Ross went on to create more albums and star in various movies. Her career has spanned decades and she is still one of the most award winning women in Motown. She has inspired so many musicians like Michael Jackson, Beyonce, and Madonna. The musical Dreamgirls is loosely based on her life.

Today we celebrate the life and music of Diana Ross. She is an incomparable performer and entertainer. Her music "Stops us in the name of love"!

#celebratingblackhistorymonth
#BlackLivesStillMatter

Celebrating Black Artists:

There's musicians, legends, and there is Ms. Diana Ross. Diana Ross is in a league of her own.

Born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, she rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group The Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups of all time. But Ross didn't start out that way. She went to college for fashion design and took cosmetology classes. She also did modeling on the side.

At 15, Ross joined the girl group the Primettes which also had fellow members Mary Wilson and Florence Ballard. She asked her old neighbor Smokey Robinson to listen to their group sing and he was blown away. They got the eye for producer Barry Gordy but he told them to come after they were older. In 1961, the group came back to see Gordy and he signed them to a long term contract. He changed their name to The Supremes. Though the group had outstanding success, Ross departed from the group in 1969 to pursue a solo career.

Since then Diana Ross went on to create more albums and star in various movies. Her career has spanned decades and she is still one of the most award winning women in Motown. She has inspired so many musicians like Michael Jackson, Beyonce, and Madonna. The musical Dreamgirls is loosely based on her life.

Today we celebrate the life and music of Diana Ross. She is an incomparable performer and entertainer. Her music "Stops us in the name of love"!

#celebratingblackhistorymonth
#BlackLivesStillMatter

02/20/2021

Celebrating Black Artists:

Leslie Odom Jr. is an American singer and actor that rose to fame during his breakout Broadway performance in 2016 in the musical Hamilton.

Odom was born in Queens, NY and was no stranger to the stage. He attended the Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts when his family moved to Philadelphia. He also received his degree from Carnegie Mellon University in Musical Theatre. At age 17, he made his Broadway debut in the Musical Rent.

After college, Leslie went out to LA and starred in more stage productions including a concert version of Dreamgirls and the musical Leap of Faith which later went to Broadway. After starring Off-Broadway in the musical Venice and in Witness Uganda (later retitled Invisible Thread) at A.R.T. and in workshops, Odom worked with Lin-Manuel Miranda in the Encores! Off-Center production of Tick, Tick... Boom!, playing Michael. Odom also played Nat King Cole in the 2015 one-night Actors Fund of America benefit concert of Bombshell.

Odom was nominated for a 2015 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical for the role of Aaron Burr in the off-Broadway production of Hamilton at The Public Theater. He continued in the same role at the Richard Rodgers Theatre after the show transferred to Broadway later that year. He also won a 2016 Grammy Award for the cast album, and won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical. He was also seen in the movie version of Hamilton that came out on Disney plus last year.

Today we celebrate Leslie Odom Jr. Since Hamilton his career is really on the rise. He has released two albums, starred in Tv Shows, and has made multiple movies, including the critically acclaimed film on Amazon Prime, One Night in Miami. Odom plays legend Sam Cooke and was nominated for a Golden Globe. Leslie Odom Jr. is a master class in performance. He is one to watch!

#celebratingblackhistorymonth
#BlackLivesStillMatter

Celebrating Black Artists:

Leslie Odom Jr. is an American singer and actor that rose to fame during his breakout Broadway performance in 2016 in the musical Hamilton.

Odom was born in Queens, NY and was no stranger to the stage. He attended the Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts when his family moved to Philadelphia. He also received his degree from Carnegie Mellon University in Musical Theatre. At age 17, he made his Broadway debut in the Musical Rent.

After college, Leslie went out to LA and starred in more stage productions including a concert version of Dreamgirls and the musical Leap of Faith which later went to Broadway. After starring Off-Broadway in the musical Venice and in Witness Uganda (later retitled Invisible Thread) at A.R.T. and in workshops, Odom worked with Lin-Manuel Miranda in the Encores! Off-Center production of Tick, Tick... Boom!, playing Michael. Odom also played Nat King Cole in the 2015 one-night Actors Fund of America benefit concert of Bombshell.

Odom was nominated for a 2015 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical for the role of Aaron Burr in the off-Broadway production of Hamilton at The Public Theater. He continued in the same role at the Richard Rodgers Theatre after the show transferred to Broadway later that year. He also won a 2016 Grammy Award for the cast album, and won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical. He was also seen in the movie version of Hamilton that came out on Disney plus last year.

Today we celebrate Leslie Odom Jr. Since Hamilton his career is really on the rise. He has released two albums, starred in Tv Shows, and has made multiple movies, including the critically acclaimed film on Amazon Prime, One Night in Miami. Odom plays legend Sam Cooke and was nominated for a Golden Globe. Leslie Odom Jr. is a master class in performance. He is one to watch!

#celebratingblackhistorymonth
#BlackLivesStillMatter

02/19/2021

Celebrating Black Artists:

A class clown in school and a community theater actor in his teens, Richard Pryor became a successful stand-up comedian, television writer and movie actor.

Coming from a troubled upbringing, Pryor found solace in going to the movies. It became an escape for him. In school, he perfected being the "class clown" but his talent for the stage was discovered when he was cast in a community theatre production of Rumpelstiltskin.

After getting into some trouble and spending time in the Army, Pryor fell in love with stand-up comedy. Pryor began working in clubs in the early 1960s, developing his brand of controversial, race-based humor.

He appeared in motion pictures such as Lady Sings the Blues and Silver Streak, becoming a major box-office attraction. He also had success with his own concert films, including Richard Pryor: Live on the Sunset Strip . In 1986 he starred in the autobiographical Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling. His stand-up performances also were documented in comedy albums, for which he won five Grammy Awards. As a comedy writer, Pryor received an Emmy for the Lily Tomlin television special Lily and a Writers Guild Award as cowriter of the screenplay for Blazing Saddles in 1974.

Today we celebrate the legend of Richard Pryor. Richard inspired an Army of comics, such as Eddie Murphy and Chris Rock. There was no one like Pryor and most likely there won't be anyone again. Though he had some personal demons including drug use and depression his talent gave the world so much. Richard Pryor was one of the leading comics of the 1970s and ’80s. His comedy routines drew on a variety of downtrodden urban characters, rendered with brutal emotional honesty. His in-your-face style was not only hysterical but also gave you something to think about. Thank you sir, trailblazer indeed.

#celebratingblackhistorymonth
#BlackLivesStillMatter

Celebrating Black Artists:

A class clown in school and a community theater actor in his teens, Richard Pryor became a successful stand-up comedian, television writer and movie actor.

Coming from a troubled upbringing, Pryor found solace in going to the movies. It became an escape for him. In school, he perfected being the "class clown" but his talent for the stage was discovered when he was cast in a community theatre production of Rumpelstiltskin.

After getting into some trouble and spending time in the Army, Pryor fell in love with stand-up comedy. Pryor began working in clubs in the early 1960s, developing his brand of controversial, race-based humor.

He appeared in motion pictures such as Lady Sings the Blues and Silver Streak, becoming a major box-office attraction. He also had success with his own concert films, including Richard Pryor: Live on the Sunset Strip . In 1986 he starred in the autobiographical Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling. His stand-up performances also were documented in comedy albums, for which he won five Grammy Awards. As a comedy writer, Pryor received an Emmy for the Lily Tomlin television special Lily and a Writers Guild Award as cowriter of the screenplay for Blazing Saddles in 1974.

Today we celebrate the legend of Richard Pryor. Richard inspired an Army of comics, such as Eddie Murphy and Chris Rock. There was no one like Pryor and most likely there won't be anyone again. Though he had some personal demons including drug use and depression his talent gave the world so much. Richard Pryor was one of the leading comics of the 1970s and ’80s. His comedy routines drew on a variety of downtrodden urban characters, rendered with brutal emotional honesty. His in-your-face style was not only hysterical but also gave you something to think about. Thank you sir, trailblazer indeed.

#celebratingblackhistorymonth
#BlackLivesStillMatter

02/18/2021

Celebrating Black Artists:

Ma Rainey was the "Mother of Blues" and is recognized as the first great blues vocalist.

Born Gertrude Pridgett in 1882, Ma made her first public appearance about the age of 14 in a local talent show called “Bunch of Blackberries” at the Springer Opera House in Columbus, Georgia. It was in 1902 that she first heard the the sort of music that was to become the Blues in a small Missouri town. In February 1904 she married William Rainey, a vaudeville performer known as Pa Rainey, and for several years they toured with African American minstrel groups as a song-and-dance team.

Ma Rainey contributed greatly to the evolution of the form and to the growth of the popularity of the Blues. In her travels she appeared with jazz and jug bands throughout the South. While with the Tolliver’s Circus and Musical Extravaganza troupe, she exerted a direct influence on young Bessie Smith. Ma sang the Blues well into the 1930's and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990.

Today we celebrate the life and legend of Ma Rainey. She inspired so many artists, throughout history and today. In 1982, Playwright August Wilson wrote the play Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. The play is set in Chicago in the 1920s, and deals with issues of race, art, religion, and the historic exploitation of black recording artists by white producers. The name comes from one of Ma's songs called Black Bottom Dance. In Nov.2020, Netflix released the motion picture of the play staring Chadwick Bosman and Viola Davis.

Ma Rainey's deep contralto voice, sometimes verging on harshness, was a powerful instrument with which to convey the depth of her songs of everyday life and emotion. Thank you Ma for your voice, showmanship, and legendary music.

#Celebratingblackhistorymonth
#BlackLivesStillMatter

Celebrating Black Artists:

Ma Rainey was the "Mother of Blues" and is recognized as the first great blues vocalist.

Born Gertrude Pridgett in 1882, Ma made her first public appearance about the age of 14 in a local talent show called “Bunch of Blackberries” at the Springer Opera House in Columbus, Georgia. It was in 1902 that she first heard the the sort of music that was to become the Blues in a small Missouri town. In February 1904 she married William Rainey, a vaudeville performer known as Pa Rainey, and for several years they toured with African American minstrel groups as a song-and-dance team.

Ma Rainey contributed greatly to the evolution of the form and to the growth of the popularity of the Blues. In her travels she appeared with jazz and jug bands throughout the South. While with the Tolliver’s Circus and Musical Extravaganza troupe, she exerted a direct influence on young Bessie Smith. Ma sang the Blues well into the 1930's and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990.

Today we celebrate the life and legend of Ma Rainey. She inspired so many artists, throughout history and today. In 1982, Playwright August Wilson wrote the play Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. The play is set in Chicago in the 1920s, and deals with issues of race, art, religion, and the historic exploitation of black recording artists by white producers. The name comes from one of Ma's songs called Black Bottom Dance. In Nov.2020, Netflix released the motion picture of the play staring Chadwick Bosman and Viola Davis.

Ma Rainey's deep contralto voice, sometimes verging on harshness, was a powerful instrument with which to convey the depth of her songs of everyday life and emotion. Thank you Ma for your voice, showmanship, and legendary music.

#Celebratingblackhistorymonth
#BlackLivesStillMatter

02/17/2021

Celebrating Black Artists:

Marian Anderson was one of the greatest Contraltos of her time. This American singer broke countless barriers in Opera.

Anderson displayed vocal talent as a child, but her family could not afford to pay for formal training. From the age of six, she was tutored in the choir of the Union Baptist Church, where she sang parts written for bass, alto, tenor, and soprano voices. Members of the congregation raised funds for her to attend a music school for a year. In 1925 she entered a contest with 300 competitors and won first prize, a recital at Lewisohn Stadium in New York City with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra.

Although many concert opportunities were closed to her because of her race, Anderson appeared with the Philadelphia Symphony and toured African American Southern college campuses. She made her European debut in Berlin in 1930 and made highly successful European tours in 1930–32, 1933–34, and 1934–35.

In 1939, however, she attempted to rent concert facilities in Washington, D.C.’s Constitution Hall, owned by the Daughters of the American Revolution , and was refused because of her race. This sparked widespread protest from many people, including Eleanor Roosevelt, who, along with many other prominent women, resigned from the DAR. Arrangements were made for Anderson to appear instead at the Lincoln Memorial on Easter Sunday, and she drew an audience of 75,000. On January 7, 1955, she became the first African American singer to perform as a member of the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. Before she began to sing her role of Ulrica in Verdi’s Un Ballo in Maschera, she was given a standing ovation by the audience.

Today we celebrate the voice and talents of Marian Anderson. In a world still segregated, she shined brighter than many would dare to. Her pure vocal quality, richness of tone, and tremendous range made her, in the opinion of many, the world’s greatest contralto.

#CelebratingBlackHistoryMonth
#BlackLivesStillMatter

Celebrating Black Artists:

Marian Anderson was one of the greatest Contraltos of her time. This American singer broke countless barriers in Opera.

Anderson displayed vocal talent as a child, but her family could not afford to pay for formal training. From the age of six, she was tutored in the choir of the Union Baptist Church, where she sang parts written for bass, alto, tenor, and soprano voices. Members of the congregation raised funds for her to attend a music school for a year. In 1925 she entered a contest with 300 competitors and won first prize, a recital at Lewisohn Stadium in New York City with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra.

Although many concert opportunities were closed to her because of her race, Anderson appeared with the Philadelphia Symphony and toured African American Southern college campuses. She made her European debut in Berlin in 1930 and made highly successful European tours in 1930–32, 1933–34, and 1934–35.

In 1939, however, she attempted to rent concert facilities in Washington, D.C.’s Constitution Hall, owned by the Daughters of the American Revolution , and was refused because of her race. This sparked widespread protest from many people, including Eleanor Roosevelt, who, along with many other prominent women, resigned from the DAR. Arrangements were made for Anderson to appear instead at the Lincoln Memorial on Easter Sunday, and she drew an audience of 75,000. On January 7, 1955, she became the first African American singer to perform as a member of the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. Before she began to sing her role of Ulrica in Verdi’s Un Ballo in Maschera, she was given a standing ovation by the audience.

Today we celebrate the voice and talents of Marian Anderson. In a world still segregated, she shined brighter than many would dare to. Her pure vocal quality, richness of tone, and tremendous range made her, in the opinion of many, the world’s greatest contralto.

#CelebratingBlackHistoryMonth
#BlackLivesStillMatter