Columbia Entertainment Company

Today, as we honor Martin Luther King Jr., we look to his works that inspire but also call on us to do better, to be better. That is our intent for 2021, and we will do it by putting in the work. This work includes diversifying our leadership, playing an active role in the community, and performing shows that speak to the experiences of those in our community who for too long have gone underrepresented in our theater.

We sent out our January theater updates this morning! If you'd like to stay informed on the latest from CEC, sign up for our email list here: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/o2c4k5. You'll receive monthly updates, as well as information about exciting upcoming events!

DIRECTOR and CAST ANNOUNCEMENT: We are excited to announce the Director and Actor for our first show of 2021, Satchmo at the Waldorf! Richard E. Harris will portray Louis Armstrong, Joe Glaser and Miles Davis in the one-man show and direct with help from his Assistant Director, Caleb Alexander. Richard, in his own words, was "born in Fort Worth, Texas, and raised by two magnificent women, my momma, Jo Ann, a loving, strong-willed, hard-working career woman, and my Granny, M'...Dear, Opal Lee, a school teacher, turned Community Organizer and Civil Rights Activist. Early on, as a boy, I was severely bitten by the music bug. I excelled as a trumpet player, won awards and accolades, and eventually won a spot as a Fine Arts student at the prestigious Howard University in Washington, D.C. After school, I became a touring musician, getting my start performing with legendary bluesman Johnny Taylor. I eventually signed an artist deal with Chrysalis Records, where I wrote, produced, and performed. I turned my attention to acting in 2015 and am now a SAG/AFTRA actor who has worked on shows like Scandal, Bones, and movies like Sharknado 3 and La La Land. My wife, Julie, and I transplanted to Columbia in 2018, where I still am performing. I was recently in productions at Talking Horse's (Boy), Maplewood Barn's (Rumors), and CEC's (Dreamgirls)." We are looking forward to presenting this show on stage to a limited audience and through live stream February 25-28!

Submissions for Columbia Entertainment Company's Jackie White Memorial Playwriting Contest are now open! We've expanded the contest this year to two categories of target audience: Children (ages 5-13) and Young Adult (14-21). Playwrights may submit scripts in both categories, and the submission deadline is April 15, 2021. The rest of the submission guidelines are on the CEC website at https://www.cectheatre.org/playwriting, and if you have any questions you can email [email protected]!