Current Leadership
Black Ensemble Theater is the lifework of its founder and CEO, Jackie Taylor. As Artistic Director, Daryl D. Brooks is honored to serve her vision — and to help carry it into the theater's next fifty years.
Artistic Director
In April 2026, Daryl D. Brooks was named Artistic Director of the Black Ensemble Theater — the nationally recognized company founded and led by Jackie Taylor, devoted to eradicating racism through the power of theater.
Brooks arrived at this role the long way: more than twenty years inside the building, learning at Taylor's side in nearly every job the theater has. Taylor remains the theater's founder and CEO, and Brooks considers it the honor of his career to steward the stage she built — under her continued leadership.
The Road Ahead
The theater's new 150-seat, 3,150-square-foot flexible space on the second floor of the Black Ensemble Cultural Center — with eight staging configurations. Brooks is proud to help bring its inaugural season of new work to the stage.
Founder Jackie Taylor's generational vision: a 13,000-square-foot performing arts education center, ground-level retail, and 50 units of affordable housing for artists across Clark Street. Approved by City Council in 2025 — and Brooks is proud to support every step of it.
Developing new works and new writers in the tradition Jackie Taylor established — stories of Black music, history, and joy, built for audiences of every background.
Mentoring young directors, writers, and performers — the same door Brooks walked through, held open for those coming after him.
Working with Jackie for the past 20 years has been an honor. I look forward to working beside her, now as Artistic Director, as we lead the theater into the future — welcoming new audiences and continuing to embrace our longtime, returning patrons. I am especially excited for the new Studio Theater as we plan its fall opening and the first season of new works.
— Daryl D. Brooks, Artistic Director