Billicia Hines, assistant professor and Black Theatre Program director, left her small town of Elizabeth City, North Carolina, with a vision to make a difference in the big city. Hines, who joined the Wayne State faculty over the summer, has a mission to empower the community through engaging productions that highlight and inspire social change. 

“I want to bring more activities that relate to the African American community,” Hines said. “I want students see their history performed on stage and be excited about learning. The only way there’s going to be effective change is for people in the community to feel empowered and involved.” 

Previously, Hines was director of theatre at Elizabeth City State University. She began her formal training in drama at the North Carolina School of the Arts. She earned a B.F.A. in professional theatre from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, and an M.F.A. in acting from University of Missouri at Kansas City. She is a certified teacher of the Michael Chekhov Technique from the Great Lakes Michael Chekhov Consortium, an organization in which she holds the position of associate artist. 

On Nov. 6, Hines will make her WSU directorial debut with the Studio Theatre production of Pearl Cleage’s A Song for Coretta. The uplifting play chronicles the lives of five African American women from diverse backgrounds and their shared experience as they mourn and celebrate the legacy of civil rights activist Coretta Scott King.

A Song for Coretta runs Nov. 6-16 at Wayne State’s Studio Theatre, located downstairs in the Hilberry Theatre. Tickets are $10-$12 and are available by phone at 313-577-2972, online at wsushows.com or by visiting the Hilberry Theatre box office at 4743 Cass Avenue.

Pictured (left to right) is the cast of A Song for Coretta: Tayler Jones, Maria Simpkins, Breon Canady and Erian Williams.