Kenny Leon's True Colors Theatre Company is a 501(c)3 non-profit theatre company in Atlanta, GA co-founded by Tony-winning Broadway director Kenny Leon and Jane Bishop in 2002. True Colors Theatre Company had their inaugural season in 2003-2004 under the leadership of co-founder and Artistic Director Kenny Leon. True Colors Theatre Company produces world premiere plays by diverse playwrights as well as a commitment to preserving African-American classics. There is no permanent theater space for the company, they have dubbed themselves a "moveable feast", presenting plays at the Southwest Arts Center, Theatrical Outfits Balzer Theatre, Porter Sanford III Performing Arts Center and the Rialto Center.
The educational component of True Colors Theatre Company is the August Wilson Monologue Competition, which was begun in 2007 by Kenny Leon and Todd Kreidler, dramaturg to the playwright August Wilson, after his death in 2005. In 2009 the program became a national program exposing high school students across the United States to the works of August Wilson as well as their teachers. This educational program began in Atlanta, GA and has now spread to a total of eight regions: Atlanta, GA; Boston, MA; Chicago, IL; Los Angeles, CA; New York, NY; Pittsburgh, PA; Portland, OR and Seattle, WA.[1] High school students compete in their region reciting monologues from works in August Wilson's Century Cycle. Finalists from each city advance to compete in New York City on the August Wilson Theatre stage.
In 2013, True Colors was awarded the American Theatre Wing's National Theatre Company Grant.[2]
In 2018, Jamil Jude was named artistic director of True Colors beginning in the 2019-20 season. His motto is "True Colors thrives at the intersection of artistic excellence and civic engagement".[3]
| Season | Production | Playwright | Run | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003-2004 | October 2003 | |||
| 2003-2004 | Robert Harling | March 2004 | ||
| 2003-2004 | Tambourines to Glory | July 2004,ATL;Sept 2004, DC | ||
| 2004-2005 | December 2004 | |||
| 2004-2005 | Brass Birds Don't Sing | January 2005 | ||
| 2004-2005 | Flyin' West | July 2004, ATL; Sept 2005, DC; Oct 2005, Tour | ||
| 2005-2006 | December 2005 | |||
| 2005-2006 | Rejoice! | Cheryl L. West | July 2006 | |
| 2006-2007 | December 2006 | |||
| 2006-2007 | Emergence-SEE! | Daniel Beaty | Jan & Jul 2007, ATL; Feb 2007, DC | |
| 2006-2007 | Stick Fly | May 2007 | ||
| 2006-2007 | July 2007 | |||
| 2007-2008 | December 2007 | |||
| 2007-2008 | Resurrection | Daniel Beaty | January 2008 | |
| 2007-2008 | July 2008 | |||
| 2008-2009 | Swimming Upstream | November 2008 | ||
| 2008-2009 | December 2008 | |||
| 2008-2009 | March 2009 | |||
| 2008-2009 | Blues for an Alabama Sky | May 2009 | ||
| 2008-2009 | July 2009 | |||
| 2009-2010 | The Sty of the Blind Pig | Philip Hayes Dean | October 2009 | |
| 2009-2010 | December 2009 | |||
| 2009-2010 | February 2010 | |||
| 2009-2010 | May/June 2010 | |||
| 2010-2011 | Gut Bucket Blues | David H. Bell | September 2010 | |
| 2010-2011 | December 2010 | |||
| 2010-2011 | Broke-ology | Nathan Louis Jackson | January 2011 | |
| 2010-2011 | March 2011 | |||
| 2010-2011 | May 2011 | |||
| 2011-2012 | The Nativity | Patdro Harris | December 2011 | |
| 2011-2012 | Guess Who's Coming to Dinner | Todd Kreidler | July 2012 | |
| 2012-2013 | November/December 2012 | |||
| 2012-2013 | February/March 2013 | |||
| 2012-2013 | Shakin the Rafters | David H. Bell | July/August 2013 | |
| 2013-2014 | September/October 2013 | |||
| 2013-2014 | February/March 2014 | |||
| 2013-2014 | July/August 2014 | |||
| 2017-2018 | September/October 2017 | |||
| 2018-2019 | Nina Simone: Four Women | Christina Ham | September 2018 | |
| 2018-2019 | East Texas Hot Links | Eugene Lee | July 2019 | |
| 2018-2019 | Skeleton Crew | February 2019 | ||
| 2019-2020 | Paradise Blue | Dominique Morisseau | September/October 2019 | |
| 2019-2020 | School Girls; Or, the African Mean Girls Play | February/March 2020 |