11 Facts About Laurie Carlos

Laurie Dorothea Carlos was an American actress and avant-garde performance artist, playwright and theater director.

Laurie Carlos was known for her work mentoring emerging artists in the theater.

At the age of 14, Laurie Carlos saw Gloria Foster perform in the documentary play In White America by Martin Duberman.

Laurie Carlos initially performed and worked in New York City, and joined the cast of Ntozake Shange's "for colored girls who have considered suicide when the rainbow is enuf" during its conceptual period in 1975 as the work performed at bars on the Lower East Side.

Laurie Carlos followed it on its journey from the New Federal Theater to the Public Theater to the Booth Theater on Broadway, and onward to a television adaptation seen on the PBS series American Playhouse in 1982, originating the role of Lady in Blue and appeared in the televised version of the play on PBS.

Laurie Carlos appeared in the original company of Ntozake Shange's play Spell No 7 and Edgar White's Les Femme Noir.

Laurie Carlos frequently collaborated with dance companies, including the Urban Bush Women, and with them performed and co-created the works "Heat" and " Praise House" both on stage and on the televised version directed by Julie Dash.

Laurie Carlos was a theater director and playwright whose plays include White Chocolate, The Cooking Show, Organdy Falsetto, Vanquished by Voodoo and Nonsectarian Conversations With the Dead.

Laurie Carlos curated Pillsbury House's Late Nite Series, which showcased new works by artists from both New York and Minnesota.

Laurie Carlos collaborated with artists including contemporary dance company Urban Bush Women, Robbie McCauley, Don Meissner Jessica Hagedorn, David Murray, Sharon Bridgforth, Deborah Artman, Daniel Alexander Jones, Carl Hancock Rux, Erik Ehn, and Butch Morris.

Laurie Carlos was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer in September 2016 and died in the Sholom Home East Hospice in St Paul, Minnesota, on December 29,2016.