Alice Childress

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Alice Childress (born October 12, 1916 in Charleston, South Carolina, died August 14, 1994) was an American playwright and author.

Childress was born in South Carolina, but at age nine, after her parents separated, she moved to Harlem where she lived with her grandmother. Though her grandmother had no formal education, she encouraged Alice to pursue her talents in reading and writing. Alice attended public school in New York for her middle school and high school education. She became involved in theater immediately after her graduation. In the 1940's, she studied Drama in the American Negro Theatre (ANT). There she won acclaim as an actress in numerous productions, and moved to broadway with the transfer of ANT's hit comedy Anna Lucasta. Alice also became involved in social causes. She formed an off-broadway union for actors. Her first play, Florence, was produced off-Broadway in 1950. She was the first black woman to have a play produced professionally, and is also the first woman to win an OBIE award

Alice Childress is also known for her literary works. Among these are Those Other People (1989) and A Hero Ain't Nothin' but a Sandwich (1973). Also, she wrote a screenplay for the 1978 film based on A Hero Ain't Nothin' but a Sandwich. Childress described her writing as trying to portray the have-nots in a have society.

1 Awards
2 Major works
- 2.1 Plays
- 2.2 Novels
3 Trivia
4 References

[edit] Awards

Paul Robeson Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Performing Arts
Obie Award (for Trouble in Mind)
ALA Best Young Adult Book of 1975 (for A Hero Ain't Nothin' but a Sandwich)
Lewis Carroll Shelf Award (for A Hero Ain't Nothin' but a Sandwich)
Jane Addams Award for a young adult novel (for A Hero Ain't Nothin' but a Sandwich)
Honorable Mention, Coretta Scott King Award, 1982

[edit] Major works

[edit] Plays

Florence (1949)
Just a Little Simple (1950)
Gold Through the Trees (1952)
Trouble in Mind (1955)
Wedding Band: A Love/Hate Story in Black and White (1966)
String (1969)
Wine in the Wilderness (1969)
Mojo: A Black Love Story (1970)
Sea Island Song (1977)
Moms: A Praise Play for a Black Comedienne (1987)

[edit] Novels

Like one of the family (1956)
A Hero Ain't Nothin' but a Sandwich (1973) which became a film of the same title in 1978.
A Short Walk (1979)
Rainbow Jordan (1981)
Those Other People (1989)

[edit] Trivia

The song "Alice Childress" by Ben Folds Five is not related to her, it is a coincidence that there was a woman with the same name that poured water on Ben Folds' wife at the time, Anna Goodman.^{[citation needed]}