The Penny Executive Project

THE PENNY EXECUTIVE is the life story of Maggie Lena Walker, America’s first black woman to charter a bank and be a bank president. A businesswoman, community leader, and early civil rights activist in post-Civil War Richmond, Va, Walker founded a newspaper, advocated for women’s rights, and fought for education reform in the black community. She was a true Renaissance Woman! As a 1-woman show, this play requires a black actress with fearless range, impeccable timing, clarity of character work, and specificity of movement and gesture. You will not only be playing Walker from a young girl to old woman, but also the narrator of the piece, as well as over a dozen men, women, friends, and family members. BE BOLD! Foster Solomon, Playwright and Director Audition Details We are holding auditions on November 12. Readings will start at 1 pm, and Callbacks at 6. Rehearsals will be in December via Zoom, through January. In-person rehearsals will start late January, with tech and show dates in th...

Welcome to The Penny Executive Project blog!  We’ll use this forum to provide updates on the project and as one tool for building interest and buzz as we approach the February 2023 performance dates. A huge THANK YOU to our sponsors whose generosity is making this production possible: The Department of Theater and Dance The Department of Management The Rohrer College of Business The Edelman College of Communication and Creative Arts The Rowan Center for Responsible Leadership The Division of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion We have achieved the $10,000 funding threshold, enabling us to begin contracting with the director, Foster Solomon, MFA . Foster is also the author of the play. We anticipate finalizing his contract in the coming weeks. We are also working with University Advancement to develop external sponsors to fund the panel discussions following each performance. We have applied for an external grant, and the team is working to develop other potential sponsors. We anticip...

Maggie Lena Walker was a social entrepreneur and activist during the “golden age” of black business in the United States (1900-1930).  Maggie Lena Draper was born in 1864 to Elizabeth Draper, a formerly enslaved woman, in Richmond, Virginia, and raised by her mother and step-father. The family was left without a source of income in 1876 when Maggie’s stepfather, William Mitchell, was killed, prompting Maggie’s mother to take work as a washerwoman. Young Maggie helped the family by caring for her younger brother and collecting and delivering laundry for her mother while attending Richmond public schools. After graduation, Maggie was a school teacher for three years until she married Armstead Walker, Jr., in 1886.  While attending school, teenage Maggie had joined the Independent Order of Saint Luke, a mutual benefit society for African Americans that provided insurance, promoted economic development, and engaged in political activities. As an adult, Maggie Walker’s active engag...