Alice Childress 1920–

Black American playwright, novelist, nonfiction writer, and editor. Childress's works examine the complexity of relationships between blacks and whites and the various ways blacks survive in contemporary society. She is sharply observant and unsentimental, and uses a strong theatrical sense in both her drama and her fiction. While Childress is considered a talented playwright, her works have been infrequently produced. An early play, Trouble in Mind, deals with a group of black actors rehearsing a white play about blacks. Although it was critically acclaimed as an off-Broadway production and won the 1956 Obie Award, it was never performed on Broadway due to disputes over theme and interpretation which caused Childress to withdraw it. However, it was her first work to be seen outside Harlem, and was a precursor of the black naturalistic plays of the late 1960s. Childress feels she got her dramatic bent from her grandmother, a theatrical storyteller, and from the influences of the Bible, Shakespeare, and black poet Paul Laurence Dunbar. As an actress, she was one of the original members of The American Negro Theatre, and later served as a director there for twelve years. Childress turned to writing plays in the late 1940s when a one-act play, Florence, was favorably reviewed for its realistic dialogue and strong characterization. Her first novel, A Hero Ain't Nothin' But a Sandwich, was praised for similar reasons, and has become recognized as a classic portrayal of a young urban heroin addict and his world. Despite a small output, Childress has developed a reputation as a writer of realistic works of quality. (See also Contemporary Authors, Vols, 45-48, and Something about the Author, Vol. 7.)