Naptown African American Theatre Collective Inc.

06/30/2026

It takes a lot to get our welcome videos up and running.

Take a look behind the scenes to see what happens with our admin leaders!

Definition of a "Hoot" & a "Holler"! 😆🙌🏾❤️ LaKesha Lorene Latrice P Young

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

06/28/2026

NAATC is beyond proud of all of our Storytellers who creatively and bravely reimagined freedom with their own original work in the Storytelling Slam competition!

We were honored to be in partnership with Flanner House Literacy to uplift the beauty, the power, and humanity of their Black stories and thank each storyteller for helping us fulfill our mission.

Freedom Reimagined: We don't follow the trends, we are the trend

📸: Silver Eroh Photography + Hospitality

06/26/2026

The Naptown African American Theatre Collective celebrates Aalihya Banks for being the 2nd Runner Up for our Storytelling Slam competition!

Our judges, Corey Ewing, Mariah Ivey, Lex the Gentleman and Chantel Massey had the task of judging all contestants on the same rubric.

Each artist in the competition wrote their own personal story based on our season theme, “Freedom Reimagined.”

Congratulations, Aalihya! The scores were tight and we were honored to experience your powerful, beautiful, and transformative story for the Storytelling Slam!

NAATC would like to thank our season sponsors, Allen Whitehill Clowes, Indy Arts Council, Citizen’s Energy, Cheryl Waldman and more for making this production possible!

📸: The Silver Eroh Photography + Hospitality

06/25/2026

The Naptown African American Theatre Collective celebrates Auboni Essence for being the Runner Up for our Storytelling Slam competition!

Our judges, Corey Ewing, Mariah Ivey, Lex the Gentleman and Chantel Massey had the task of judging all contestants on the same rubric.

Each artist in the competition wrote their own personal story based on our season theme “Freedom Reimagined.”

Auboni, congratulations! It was a very close second and we were honored to witness your creativity, vulnerability, and captivating story for the Storytelling Slam!

NAATC would like to thank our season sponsors, Allen Whitehill Clowes, Indy Arts Council, Citizen’s Energy, Cheryl Waldman and more for making this production possible!

📸: The Silver Eroh Photography + Hospitality

06/19/2026

Freedom Day

Years ago, they didn’t know we were all free

But when that word came

Breaths exhaled

Shackles dropped

And we began the journey of rediscovering who we are

As a people

In this land.

That has never been free for us.

We create, innovate, discover, explore

And still have room for you and your plight.
We fight for and with the world while still wiping blood from our our wounds.

So today, we celebrate the freedom we won from our ancestors who fought for our freedom to work, vote, gather, commune, love, encourage and create.

And we vow to continue that freedom through continuing the fight for equity and justice through artistic expression and speaking truth to power.

Happy Juneteenth from NAATC!

06/17/2026

Our Storytelling Slam was amazing!

We are still reeling from the powerful performances!

But on top of that we have to shout out our fabulous MC, Director of Community Engagement Strategy and Founding Member, Ms. Latrice P Young!

She was a fantastic MC making us laugh, pumping our storytellers up and giving us Distinctly Unique Poetics at every turn!

Thank you Ms. Latrice for being our Storytelling Slam MC!

Photography by The Silver Eroh Photography + Hospitality

06/15/2026

NAATC’s 2025-2026 Season
Freedom Reimagined
We Don’t Follow the Trends, We Are the Trend

To create without bonds, using joy as resistance, storytelling as a catalyst for thought, that leads to positive change. ✊🏾🖤

Here’s a pic from our final show of the season, our Storytelling Slam in Partnership with Flanner House Literacy!

Storyteller Mason Moton performing a comical yet powerful original story!

Photography by The Silver Eroh Photography + Hospitality

06/12/2026

One Mic.
One Night.
10 performances.
Freedom Reimagined.

The Naptown African American Theatre Collective’s Storytelling Slam in Partnership with Flanner House Literacy was a night filled with creativity, passion, and intimate moments.

Thank you to every actor, poet and performer who auditioned to be a part of this performance competition!

We are honored to be able to provide new opportunities for you to grow as artists, learn new skills and get compensated for your work as artists in this city.

THIS is Freedom Reimagined, We Don’t Follow the Trends, We Are the Trend. 💫

Indy’s First Black Equity Theatre
Naptown African American Theatre Collective
naatcinc.org

Recap video by Jai Ivy Productions

06/09/2026

SHOUT OUT TO THE NAPTOWN AFRICAN AMERICAN THEATRE COLLECTIVE’s SPONSORS & PARTNERS of the STORYTELLING SLAM!

NAATC would like to thank Ujamaa Community Bookstore for their Partnership!

We appreciate your commitment to supporting the Naptown African American Theatre Collective and our celebration of the beauty, humanity, and power of Black stories!