Woodie King Jr.

Woodie King Jr. (born July 27, 1937) is an American director and producer of stage and screen. He is best known as the founding director of the New Federal Theatre in New York City. King was born in Baldwin Springs, Alabama and later moved to Detroit, Michigan where he worked at the Ford Motor Company and the City of Detroit as a draftsman. In 1970, he established the New Federal Theatre. He earned a B.A. in Self-Determined Studies from Lehman College and an M.F.A. from Brooklyn College. King's notable credits include directing 'For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf,' 'What the Wine Sellers Buy,' 'Reggae,' and 'The Taking of Miss Janie,' which received the Drama Critics Circle Award.