- Rose McClendon (1885-1936) was a celebrated actor and theater organizer. She enthralled audiences by the fidelity of her characterizations and gave the American theater its first authentic depiction of “the Negro woman.” McClendon studied at the Sargent’s American School of Drama and, between 1916 and 1924, appeared in Butler Davenport’s Justice, Frank Wilson's Pa Williams’ Gal, and Ann Stevens's Roseanne. She achieved popular and critical acclaim when she made her notable appearance at the Quadroon Ball in Lawrence Stallings’ Deep River (1926). Ethel Barrymore is reported to have said, after watching her descend the ballroom stairs, “she could teach all [actors] distinction.” McClendon wanted more from the theater than a few fleeting moments on the stage and spent much of her life trying to establish a “Negro Theater which could meet all the needs of Negroes as participants.” Most notable of her efforts were the Repertory Playhouse Associates (1933) and The Negro People’s Theater (1935), which became the Rose McClendon Players (1937) in her memory. Her spirit gave birth to the Negro Wing of the Federal Theater Project, and she was named Co-Director, with John Houseman, of the Harlem Project.
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