Black Theater Evolution: LeeAnet Noble & Dr. Drew Lichtenberg at Shakespeare Theatre Co.

The Truth In This Art is an interview series featuring artists, entrepreneurs and tastemakers in & around Baltimore.

Dr. Drew Lichtenberg is an Associate Director at the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, D.C. He has also worked on Broadway, at the National Theatre in London, and at many theatres around the country. He is on the faculty of Catholic University of America and has also taught at Yale University and the New School. He has been featured as a guest columnist in the New York Times and is the author of two books, The Piscatorbühne Century (2021, Routledge) and a forthcoming history of the Shakespeare Theatre Company (2024, Arden/Bloomsbury).

LeeAnet Noble is a world renowned multi hyphenate artist, she currently teaches an original Black theatre history course about the first Black Classical theatre troupe and the origins of Ira Aldridge at The Academy of Classical Acting (Graduate studies at George Washington University) and is on senior staff at Shakespeare Theatre Company where she is the Director of Equity and Belonging. She graduated magna cum laude from Howard University with a degree in theater and is certified in Equity from Purdue University. She has conducted DEIA consulting sessions for numerous organizations, colleges, and theatres. As an actor, director, and choreographer, she has performed and/or worked with STOMP, Drumstruck, Disney’s “The Lion King Experience,” Bono, Alicia Keys, Rihanna, Sheryl Crow and more. Her original one-woman shows have premiered off-Broadway at The Zipper Theatre and at 54Below in New York City. She is one of the founders of The Loncie Project a non-profit production company dedicated to inclusivity in the arts. She recently also directed and created “Goddess and The Women of Gods” produced by Harvard University’s Center for Hellenic Studies which is currently available for viewing online and Teddy Bear Mountain at Cleveland Play House with her mother and creative partner Lauretta Noble as music director and composer, the duo also co-direct the internationally, critically acclaimed dance troupe, Team Vicious who have been featured in Vogue Magazine, Elle and more. Her original productions have been produced at Madison Square Garden, The Stade de Bercy, and The Kennedy Center. Her work diversifying fashion has been inducted into museums around the world, including The Museum of Modern Art, The Brooklyn Museum and the Museum at FIT. As an educator she has worked at Montgomery College and Howard University and has conducted workshops, master classes and lectures at Spelman College, Morgan State University, Hunter College, Coppin State University, Clark Atlanta University, Bowie State University, Morehouse College, The Fashion Institute of Technology and more. At Shakespeare theatre company she curated the statewide Amen Baldwin Festival, and numerous events featuring artists such as Angela Bassett, Keith David, Helen Mirren and more. She is passionate about creating change through the arts. For more information, please visit LeeAnet.com