Writing

Alice Childress

Born — Died

1916-10-12 — 1994-08-14

Place of birth

Charleston, South Carolina, USA

Known for

Writing

Credits

5 titles

Alice Childress (October 12, 1916 – August 14, 1994) was an American novelist, playwright, and actress.

Known for

Uptight poster
6.8

Set against the backdrop of a community mourning the recent MLK assassination, Black militants building up an arsenal of weapons in preparation for a race war are betrayed by one of their own.

Uptight

1968

A Hero Ain't Nothin' But a Sandwich poster
5.9

A troubled boy becomes addicted to heroin, and his mother and foster father help him fight it.

A Hero Ain't Nothin' But a Sandwich

1977

Wedding Band poster
NR

A drama which examines the enduring nature of love between a white man and a black woman in 1918 South Carolina.

Wedding Band

1974

National Theatre Live: Trouble in Mind poster
NR

In 1950s America, protests for racial equality erupt in the face of voter suppression. On Broadway, Wiletta Mayer, a talented black actress, begins rehearsals for a new play about racism – written and directed by two white men. When Wiletta finds that her arguments to tell the truth of the story are dismissed, she decides to take action. First staged over 60 years ago, Trouble in Mind is widely considered the masterpiece of actress and playwright Alice Childress – a wry and radical satire of racism in theatre.

National Theatre Live: Trouble in Mind

2021

Trouble in Mind poster
NR

Follow an experienced Black stage actress through rehearsals of a major Broadway production in Alice Childress’s funny, moving, and ultimately shattering look at racism, identity, and ego in the high-stakes world of New York theatre. A scathing indictment of racism in American commercial theatre, Trouble in Mind tells the story of Wiletta Mayer, a Black actress cast in a supposedly “progressive” play about racism by a white male author—it turns out to be anything but progressive.

Trouble in Mind

2022

Film credits

Behind the camera