Henry Kemp-Blair
{{Short description|South African playwright (1930–1986)}}
{{Infobox writer
| name = Henry Kemp-Blair
| birth_name = Henry John Kemp-Blair
| birth_date = {{birth date|mf=yes|1930|04|15}}
| birth_place = South Africa
| death_date = {{death date and age|mf=yes|1986|4|30|1930|04|15}}
| death_place = Orange, California, USA
| occupation = Educator, clergyman, playwright
| nationality = South African
American
| alma_mater = Claremont College
Chapman College
Cal State Long Beach
USC
| period = 1960-1986
| spouse = Ramona
}}
Henry Kemp-Blair (April 15, 1930 – April 30, 1986) was a South African-born playwright, director, clergyman and educator that was instrumental in developing the theater program at Chapman University.{{cite news | author=Wong, Herman | title=Developed Chapman's Theater Program : Students Will Honor Henry Kemp-blair | url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-02-13-ca-2121-story.html | work=The Los Angeles Times | date=1987-02-13 | access-date=2013-08-16}}
Biography
=Background=
Henry John Kemp-Blair was born April 15, 1930, in South Africa and immigrated to the United States in 1946. He studied theology at Claremont College. Kemp-Blair trained in theater arts at Chapman College, Cal State Long Beach and USC.{{cite web |url=http://www.ancestry.com |title=Naturalization Index Cards of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, Central Division (Los Angeles), 1915-1976 (M1525) |author= |website=Ancestry.com |accessdate=16 August 2013}} He became naturalized as a U.S. Citizen in 1975.
=Career=
In 1960, Kemp-Blair joined the faculty of Chapman where he was instrumental in developing their theatre arts program. Spending over twenty-five years on the faculty, Kemp-Blair wrote, produced and directed a number of plays there.{{cite news | title=Prof. Henry Kemp-Blair Dies; Taught at Chapman 25 Years | url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-05-01-me-2698-story.html | work=The Los Angeles Times | date=1986-05-01 | access-date=2013-08-16}} One of his most famous plays is "The Tea Concession," a drama set in South Africa in which the racial positions of black and white are reversed.{{cite news |title='Chapparral' Actor Dies in LA Area |url=http://www.ancestry.com |newspaper=The Fresno Bee |location=Fresno, California |date=1970-06-11 |page=6-D |accessdate=2013-08-16 |quote=[Frank Silvera] planned to stage, with a biracial cast, "The Tea Concession," by Henry J. Kemp-Blair, which reversed the racial positions of black and white in drama about South Africa. }} He staged a production of the play in March 1966 at Chapman.{{cite book |title=The Ceer |url=http://www.ancestry.com |year=1966 |publisher=Chapman College |location=Orange, California |pages=73–75 }}
=Death=
Legacy
- The Henry Kemp-Blair Shakespeare Festival at Chapman University is named in his honor. The goal of the festival "is to provide high school students with an opportunity to experience and learn more about performing Shakespeare."{{cite web |url=http://www.chapman.edu/CoPA/theatre/shakespeare/index.aspx |title=Henry Kemp-Blair Shakespeare Festival |author= |publisher=Chapman University |accessdate=16 August 2013}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.chapman.edu/CoPA/theatre/shakespeare/index.aspx Henry Kemp-Blair Shakespeare Festival]
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Category:American musical theatre lyricists
Category:South African emigrants to the United States
Category:White South African people
Category:20th-century South African dramatists and playwrights