Bearden and Billie
Playwright Note
Several years ago, the celebrated art collector, Dr. Walter O. Evans, reached out to me with an intriguing proposition. Among his holdings was a collection of Romare Bearden’s work, including private letters, art and poetry written to Billie Allen, an almost completely hidden figure. What was known was that Romare Bearden was happily married to Nanette Rohan. What was unknown was his passionate love affair with Billie Allen. Evans acquired Billie’s letters and the art inspired by her, with a promise that he not disclose them until five years after her death. After that time, respecting her wishes, after she passed he reached out to me to create a play based on their relationship. He admired “Oak and Ivy,” a play I had written about the love story between poets Paul Laurence Dunbar and Alice Dunbar Nelson.
I received considerable support while developing “Bearden and Billie” from SCAD, the Savannah College of Art and Design, their Design Department, Dramatic Writing and Acting Department, culminating in a staged reading for the college. And later presented at the Crossroads Theater’s New Genesis Festival. The play incorporates never before seen collages, watercolors, theatrical designs, poetry, dozens of excerpted letters and erotica, all created for his muse, Billie Allen. These works are unreleased, unpublished, over fifty included in the play.
