The earliest history of black theatre in San Antonio is deeply intertwined with the Carver Community Cultural Center, beginning with productions of Myra Hemmings starting in the 1920s. It has been the favorite venue of the Hornsby Entertainment Theatre Company, hosted several productions of Sterling Houston’s plays produced by Jump-Start Performance Co., and provided space for productions sponsored by the Renaissance Guild. As the center of cultural life on the historically black East Side of San Antonio since 1904, the Carver has been an ongoing home for local black theatre companies as well as national and international touring shows. Outstanding touring theatre performances booked during the tenure of executive director Jo Long (1974-1999) showcased a community celebrating its heritage with work like Lanie Robertson’s Lady Day at the Emerson Bar and Grill; Celeste Bedford Walker’s Camp Logan; Keith Carter’s and Rufus Hill’s musical Po’; the National Black Touring Circuit’s production of Williams and Walker; and Laurence Holder’s Zora Neale Hurston. Yonnie Blanchette, executive director since 2008, began a new era of black theatre at the Carver by establishing The Renaissance Guild as a resident company at the Little Carver Civic Center in 2009 and adding their productions to the Carver main stage as well. August Wilson’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Langston Hughes’ Black Nativity, and Charlie Smalls’ and William F. Brown’s popular black musical The Wiz are among the celebrated high-profile black theatre events made possible by this partnership.
Myra Davis Hemmings began theatre work in San Antonio as an English teacher and theatre director around 1913 after graduating from Howard University. With her husband, Davis organized the Phillis Wheatley Dramatic Guild Players and produced theatre with Wheatley High School, Second Baptist Church, and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. The company produced popular melodramas and mysteries such as Hamilton Deane’s Dracula, John Willard’s The Cat and the Canary, Harry Delf’s The Family Upstairs, Wilbur Braun’s The Leavenworth Case and Patrick Hamilton’s Angel Street.