Charles Dumas receives the 2022 National Black Theatre Festival Living Legend Award

August 10, 2022

Charles Dumas, professor emeritus in the School of Theatre at Penn State, received the 2022 National Black Theatre Festival Living Legend Award. Presented in Winston-Salem, North Carolina at the festival’s Opening Night Gala Awards Banquet, the award recognized Dumas for his “significant contributions to American theatre and to the entertainment industry.” Dumas, who came to Penn State in 1995, has acted in, directed, or written more than 300 plays, films, and commercials. He received an Emmy Award for his ensemble work in “Separate but Equal” with Sidney Poitier. Dumas received a fellowship for playwriting from the Pennsylvania Council of the Arts and he was honored as best actor by the Hollywood and Beverly Hills NAACP for his work in “B.C. Historia.”