“I’m actually really blessed to be one of the gatekeepers, because I’m going to hold that gate open as wide as I can for as long as I can for as many people to come through.”
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Theater can help drive economic recovery in S.F. and elsewhere. But not if it stays so white
“If art is a mirror held up to society, then it should be welcoming to all people in that society, not just a select few. Race, gender, age and economics should not and cannot be barriers to entry if the industry is to survive.”
—SF Chronicle, Nataki Garrett
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Meet the Black Women Reshaping American Theater
“I don’t think I’ve ever been more harmed than I’ve been as a leader in the American theater,” Garrett says. “I think part of it is that I have the audacity to perceive that the ideas in my head are just as valuable, important, and impactful.”
-SHONDALAND, Mia Brabham
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10 Rising Black Women+ to Watch in Theatre
“The following is a list of 10 young Black women+ artists who are doing amazing work in this space and are bridging generational gaps through learning, teaching, and uplifting those of the African diaspora and offering excellence to the theatre.”
-American Theatre, Nataki Garrett
The Power, Peril, and Promise of the Creative Economy
Nataki Garrett, was announced as the recipient of a prestigious, $50,000 United States Artists Fellowship.
“She is recognized alongside artists working across 10 disciplines. The award honors their creative accomplishments and supports their ongoing artistic and professional development.”
BLKS by Aziza Barnes, Steppenwolf Theatre
"The audience response is so alive... That’s how engaging the characters are, and how loose and free the cast is in the vibrant staging by Nataki Garrett, who directed the Chicago premiere."
-Washington Post
The Washington Post
Bulrusher by Eisa Davis, Skylight Theatre
"Director Nataki Garrett's precisely rendered staging of Eisa Davis' flawed but remarkable play unfolds with a mesmeric leisureliness, taking on the power and potency of myth."
-LA Times
LA Times
Pussy Valley by Katori Hall, Mixed Blood Theatre
"Most theater shows aim to conjure a simulacrum of reality onstage. “Pussy Valley,” ...under Nataki Garrett’s bold direction ... wallops you with what feels like the real thing."
-Star Tribune