Douglas Turner Ward (1930-2021) was an actor, playwright, director, and theatrical producer whose work has been integral to shaping black theater in the United States. Along with Robert Hooks and Gerald S. Krone, Ward co-founded the Negro Ensemble Company in 1967, of which the founding principle was creating and performing black theater for black audiences by black artists.
This archive consists of play scripts performed and written by Negro Ensemble Company members, extensive manuscript writing and notes pertaining to Ward’s many projects encompassing theater, film, and television, business records of the NEC, photographs of the NEC, personal and professional correspondence, ephemera, and published press materials. The Douglas Turner Ward archive is housed in 12 bankers’ boxes and one museum box.
