The UofL Board of Trustees established the $5,000 award in 1989 to honor faculty who individually impact the future of UofL students. The University of Louisville Employee Success Center presented the award to Burton at the 2023 Presidential Excellence Awards reception, which took place April 13. Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs Cherie Dawson-Edwards noted several of Burton’s qualities and accomplishments as a member of ���Ǵڳ�’s faculty.

“Dr. Burton is a dedicated and gracious teacher and artist and a highly regarded scholar-practitioner in her field,” said Dawson-Edwards. “She has been recognized with prestigious grants and awards for both herself and her students. Further, she is a consummate teacher and committed builder of the African American Theatre Program, the first and only accredited graduate program of its kind in the nation.”

Dawson-Edwards added that Burton, who joined the university in 1999 as an assistant professor, is also a dedicated interdisciplinarian, finding innovative ways to bring theater into conversation with other disciplines and other areas of expertise, for example, with the Anne Braden Institute for Social Justice Research. Burton is one of the institute’s most active faculty affiliates and supporters, regularly encouraging her students to apply for the social justice research awards offered annually and often bringing students into the institute’s reading room to learn little-known aspects of their shared local history.

“It is the greatest honor of my academic career to be chosen by my peers as the recipient of the 2023 Trustees Award,” said Burton, who will retire at the conclusion of the academic year. “This acknowledgement humbles me and fuels my commitment to uphold the Cardinal Principles and be an ally who fights for the well-being of our students, alums, colleagues and community.”

The two-woman play, written by Endesha Ida Mae Holland, powerfully depicts the life of Wells, a civil rights activist and journalist who led the fight against lynching at the turn of the century.

Theatre Arts Chair Nefertiti Burton is directing the show, which she has also performed in numerous times in the past. It artfully weaves historical fact and creative imagination, she said.

“This play absolutely has relevance for conversations about race and society that are taking place now,” Burton said. “It calls to mind the African concept of Sankofa, which means that you must look back and hold onto your past in order to chart your future.”  

The play features Wells at different points in her life and stars Master of Fine Arts students Sidney Edwards and Mutiyat Adé-Salu.

The show kicks off a season of five plays, all written by women.

“Miss Ida B. Wells” runs at 8 p.m. Sept. 22, 23, 28, 29 and 30 and 3 p.m. Sept. 24 and Oct. 1 at Thrust Theatre, 2314 South Floyd St. The play is available for touring after Oct. 22.

Season tickets are $50. Individual tickets are $15 for general admission, $12 for faculty, alumni and seniors and $8 for UofL students. To order tickets or for more information, click , call 502-852-7682 or email uofltheatrearts@gmail.com.

to see more photos from the show.

The fact that they all happen to be women ended up shaping the 2017-18 season.

“When we were selecting plays for the season, we noticed there were an abundance proposed that were written by women,” said Nefertiti Burton, department chair. “We thought, why not make it a theme and commit to it.”

So, the season became five plays, written by women.

“It’s a way for us to celebrate the new energy in our department,” Burton said.

The selections cover a wide range of experiences, perspectives and theatrical forms. 

“We’re inviting people to come and see themselves on stage, as the many, diverse women filling these roles,” Burton said.

• The season kicks off with the ’s rendition of “Miss Ida B. Wells,” Sept. 22-Oct. 1. The two-woman play, written by Endesha Ida Mae Holland and directed by Burton, powerfully depicts the life of Wells, a civil rights activist and journalist who led the fight against lynching at the turn of the century.
• ���Ǵڳ�’s , a troupe of graduate students who perform for dozens of elementary schools each year, will do a free public performance Sept. 24 of “Magic Tree,” a play written by Burton and directed by Melissa Shepherd.
• “Our Country’s Good,” Nov. 10-Nov. 19, written by Timberlake Wertenbaker and directed by Baron Kelly, is based on the true life story of a group of convicts who’ve been deported to the colony of Australia. They found themselves required to act in a production of George Farquhar’s comedy “The Recruiting Officer,” which was staged in the penal colony of New South Wales in 1789.
• In “Eurydice,” Jan. 26-Feb. 4, playwright Sarah Ruhl reimagines the classic myth of Orpheus through the eyes of its heroine. Jenn Ariadne Calvano directs.
• “Fabulation: or the Re-����ֱ�� of Undine,” Feb. 23-March 4, from the African American Theatre Program, tells the story of a businesswoman whose life spirals out of control after her husband steals her money and leaves her. It was written by Lynn Nottage, the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama twice.
• The season wraps up with “The Long Christmas Ride Home,” April 13-April 22, in which the past, present and future collide on a snowy Christmas Eve for a troubled family of five. Geoff Nelson and Charles Nasby co-direct the play by Paula Vogel, who is also a recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

All plays are at Thrust Theatre, 2314 South Floyd St., except for “Our Country’s Good” and “Fabulation: or the Re-����ֱ�� of Undine,” which will run at The Playhouse, 1911 South Third St. All plays start at 8 p.m. with 3 p.m. Saturday or Sunday matinees.

To order tickets or for more information, call 502-852-6814 or click .