Dillard University theatre welcomed Andrea Frye back to it’s halls to direct Lorraine Hansberry’s award winning play “A Raisin in the Sun.”

The Atlanta native has a resume steeped in theatre and has studied drama at Spelman College in Atlanta, Ga., and Brooklyn College in New York.

For the past six years, Frye has worked closely with Dillard University’s theater department. Her vision, she said, is to create theatre professionals out of the students, making them globally competitive and supportive so that they will be able to work creatively within the African American aesthetic. Frye’s meticulous teaching style evokes hard work and determination from her students, encouraging them to always strive for excellence

Her work is as extends to directing and producing such works as “The Crystal Stair,” a radio drama series. She also produced and directed, “Black View” an award winning drama.

Frye’s dedication and love for the theatre stands out in way that draws audiences from everywhere to see her work. She says she never leaves a project without a lasting impression.

Dillard University’s theatre manager Gary Hyatt recalls seeing Frye’s direction of "Do Lord Remember Me" in 1988.

“It was the most powerful show I had ever seen. It was from that experience that I came to know who she was and what she did,” Hyatt said.

When the opportunity came to bring in a guest director, Hyatt immediately thought of Frye.
“She displays a very high standard and plays very close attention to details. She understands the needs of the actors,” Hyatt said.

Frye said her experience at Dillard has been a rewarding one, and she has in turn developed many expectations for the theatre department.

“I think the theatre students are enormously talented. I was impressed from the first time I arrived on Dillard’s campus,” Frye said.

“The city of New Orleans has this creative energy that has manifest itself in music, art and theater. The students couple that energy with a great deal of commitment,” she said.