Melda Beaty
About
Melda Beaty is a passionate playwright. Her first play, Front Porch Society, enjoyed a world premiere at The Ensemble Theatre in Houston, TX (2017), and a mainstage production at the National Black Theatre Festival in Winston-Salem, NC (2019). Her second play, Coconut Cake, was a semi-finalist for American Blues Theatre Blue Ink Playwrighting Award and had readings at the National Black Theatre Festival (2017), ReadFest in Houston, TX (2017), and St. Louis Black Rep (2020). Her one-act stage play, Thirty, was a finalist in the Blackboard Play Festival (2021) and WayWard Sisters Third Annual Workshopping Women's Voices (2021). Melda's recent play with music, The Lawsons: A Civil Rights Love Story, was commissioned by The Ensemble Theatre for their 2021-2022 season. She was a 2021 Confluence Fellow with the St. Louis Shakespeare Festival. Her upcoming short film, Cupcake, chronicles the divide mental illness creates between a mother and daughter. In addition, she is an author of two books, performance review editor for TBTR (the Black Theatre Review), and freelance contributor to Black Masks magazine. Melda resides in Chicago, Illinois with her three talented daughters where she works as an assistant professor of English at Olive-Harvey Community College. She earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and her Masters at Illinois State University. Melda is also a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, Black Theatre Network, and the African American Playwrights Group.
