In recent weeks, Debra Ann Byrd has been named the Southwest Shakespeare Company artistic director officials taking the reins of the local company the first of the year.
Byrd is the acclaimed founder of the Harlem Shakespeare Festival who guided that company from inception to viable support organization serving classical artists of color throughout New York.
“My mother is an African-American from New York. My father from Puerto Rico. My dual culture has influenced how I view the world and how I make theatre,” she said.
