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The Rev. James Winfrey founded The Sweet Auburn Theatre Company in 2003 while on staff at Big Bethel AME Church on Auburn Avenue. He and others rounded up kids in the Sweet Auburn neighborhood and surrounding communities for a youth workshop called “Kwanzaa Alive!’ for performances at the APEX Museum. The overwhelming response from that first production, led to the beginning of the Sweet Auburn Theatre Company. Having worked in community theatre for over 10 years, Rev. Winfrey felt that the Sweet Auburn community was the perfect theatrical canvas for telling the historic and contemporary stories of Africans in America.
The company has since gone on to produce a number of Living History and Mains Stage Production in the city. Audiences continue to confirm with applause – the ability of community theatre to educate, empower, and enlighten citizens from all walks of life. Inspired by the legacies of the many civil rights leaders, businessmen, entertainers, and ordinary citizens who once graced Auburn Avenue, the company has become a forum that examines the concerns and the joys of humanity through the lens of the African American experience. Specialty performances,, workshops, and producing one and two act plays have left an indelible impression on many of our citizens within the Sweet Auburn community and beyond.
