Prester Pickett, M.F.A.
Pickett-Line Productions This production company is
operated by an Ohio husband and wife team, Prester and Bertha Lee
Pickett, in the Greater Cleveland community. It specializes in producing
"Edutainment" projects that addresss culturally specific
concerns in cooperation with particular goals of various agencies,
organizations, groups, or institutions. The utilization of
a unique blend of Education and Entertainment has engaged Pickett-Line
Productions with initiatives for Governor Ted Strickland's Closing
the Achievement Gap, St. Vincent Charity Hospital, The Cleveland
Clinic Foundation, University Hospitals of Cleveland, The Cleveland
Treatment Center, The Center for Memory and Aging (University Hospital)
and a host of colleges and universities including international
engagements in Italy at the University of Milan through La Compagnia
Della Gru.
This couple was united in holy matrimony in 1992, when they formally
established the African Grove Ensemble as their first venture to
market their theatrical tribute to Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King,
Jr. and Mahalia Jackson, A Word, A Song as well as a series of plays
produced by grants from the Ohio Commission on Minority Health and
a variety of pharmaceutical companies. The African Grove Ensemble
moved under the management of Prestigious Productions, which evolved
into Pickett-Line Productions on behalf of Prester Pickett II and
Richard Lee Pickett.
Bertha's annointed Contralto voice has allowed her to open for performances
by Al Green as well as the Sounds of Blackness during their appearance
in Cleveland at Cuyahoga Community College for an annual Martin
Luther King, Jr. program. She has performed with the Prayer Warriors
at The House of Blues and been featured at the Rock & Roll Hall
of Fame and Museum. She was celebrated in New Orleans for her ability
to project the voice of Mahalia Jackson in a resounding way.
Prester is the first African American to secure an M.F.A. in Acting
from Case Western Reserve University, where he also completed the
curriculum in their American Studies Ph.D. Program. He was
recruited to work at Cleveland State University by the late Dr.
Howard A. Mims in 1996 to coordinate the African American Cultural
Center that was later named to honor the memory and legacy of Dr.
Mims. He has secured several grants from the Ohio Commission on
Minority Health to produce his social dramas that address various
social and health issues and has had his works previously performed
at the Karamu House Theater in Cleveland as well as by the Kuntu
Theater in Pittsburgh, the St. Louis Black Repertory, and in conjunction
with Page One Entertainment in California. As the only African
American confirmed as a Cleveland Bicentennial Playwright, Prester
has also been acknowledged by the Ethnogenre Film Festival in Rochester,
New York for his film Harambee House.
Pickett-Line Productions is blessed to have this
opportunity to produce this "Edutainment" project with
IDVAAC and work with Margaret Avery. They also appreciate
the support of Greg Huskisson and the work of Ebani Edwards, Angela
Lamar, and Kwanza Brewer, who contributed to the development of
this work-in-progress.
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