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Billicia Charnelle Hines Associate Dean of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Co-Artistic Director of the Black Theatre and Dance Collective, and Associate Professor at Wayne State University’s Theatre and Dance Department. She attended NC Agricultural & Technical State University (BFA) and University of Missouri at Kansas City (MFA).She is a Certified Teacher of the Michael Chekhov Technique from the Great Lakes Michael Chekhov Consortium, an organization in which she proudly holds the position of Teacher Associate .
Professor Hines’ research has been intrinsically woven into the fabric of her teaching. Her research (practical and theorectical) is focused on Deconstructing the Performing Arts. She continues to use her passion and current research to create more inclusivity and equitable change within performing arts programs. Specifically, her research examines the impact of social categorizations on self-identity, how theatre can be used for personal empowerment, and how performance can create a larger impact by enlightening individuals to better themselves and their communities. Thus, her projects working with students, who are individually exploring self-identify, are utilized for the creation of larger performative pieces to be shared in community settings. These pieces can then inform a secondary level of research that results in publication. She uses performance as a method for exploring and interrogating the African American experience. She has an innovative and impactful program of creative scholarship that explores how social justice is conceived and embodied throughout the African Diaspora. She has a particular interest and expertise in the use of liberatory and anti-racism practices in theatre. She was awarded a grant from the Michigan Humanities Council for her year-long project, Detroit 1967: Page to Stage. It allowed her to use Dominique Morisseau’s play “Detroit ‘67” as a way to teach high school students about the Detroit Rebellion. Took the Freedom Players (the Social Justice Ensemble) to Edinburgh, Scotland to perform in the Edinburgh Theatre Festival. She along with her colleague Dr. Ras Mikey Courtney created the “I Am” Project expanded the project’s global span by taking students to Trinidad and Tobago for the BATT Artist Residency to study the Philbert Kalinda Technique with the world-renowned Jamie Philbert. She recently was awarded the Career Development Chair Grant. With that she will be doing research in Pretoria South Africa called “A Space for Empowerment Project.” Professor Hines plans to research how social justice is conceived and embodied throughout the African Diaspora. The Space of Empowerment Project aims to use liberatory and anti-racism practices with theatre to unearth those necessary ingredients of oneself. This project will connect all of the past projects Professor Hines has collaboratively created with Dr. RAS Mikey Courtney in the “ I AM…Project”. While in Michigan, her directing credits include Mr. Joy (Theatre Nova), Resisting ( (Theatre Nova), Colorblind ( Obsidian Theatre Festival) ,A Song for Coretta, Marcus or the Secret of Sweet, Harriet Jacobs, and By the Way, Meet Vera Stark, Colored Museum, Venus, and many others. Also, she has directed numerous productions and performs various one-woman shows that deal with social issues that encompasses domestic violence, healthcare, and empowerment. In addition, she is Executive Director of Unify Productions. A Theatre and Media Company that engages the community through social justice.”Engage.Create. Empower”. |
Upcoming ProjectsI will be directing the following productions for the 2017-18 School Year
(click the play title for more production info) Play Playwright Venue City Production Dates |
