Nikkole Salter

Salter was born in Los Angeles and started acting around the time she was 8 years old.[4] She discovered her talent for writing while writing a monologue for an acting class.[6] Salter studied theater at Howard University and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts.[5] Salter continued her theater education at New York University's Graduate Acting Program, where she graduated with a Master in Fine Arts.[5]

After the success of In the Continuum, Salter partnered with Glenn Gordon Nsangou, a playwright with performance and teaching experience, to co-found the Continuum Project.[3] The Continuum Project is a non profit organization that "provides innovative cultural programming for the enchantment and empowerment of the global African Diaspora. "[3]

The Continuum Project launched its first initiative, The Legacy Program: Residency, in 2009.[3] The Residency initiative was brought about through a partnership with African Ancestry and Piper Theatre Production.[3] The Residency initiative gives theater teachers residencies in Public Schools in Brooklyn, New York.[3] In 2010, the Continuum Project launched a second initiative, The Legacy Program: Reflection. The Reflection initiative commissions original plays from teachers who participate in the Residency initiative. The teachers are encouraged to write plays based on their experiences working with the public school children.[3]

In addition to her work with The Continuum Project, Salter is an active advocate within the theater community. She is a member of the Board of Directors for the Theater Communications Group which "exists to strengthen, nurture, and promote the professional not-for-profit American theatre."[22][23] Salter is also on the Council of The Dramatists Guild of America which "advances the interests of playwrights, composers, lyricists and librettists writing for the living stage."[22]

Salter's advocacy work also includes original theater pieces. Salter wrote Unknown Thousands as part of Every 28 Hours Plays, a "project that consists of over seventy short plays that reflect the current civil rights movement, and tools to help your community address those issues."[24][25] Similarly, Salter wrote Peace Officer Privilege and Mahagony Corpo for UNTAMED: Hair, Body, Attitude, a collection of "short plays that collectively dig deeper into the national conversation around Black womanhood and social perceptions of Black femininity."[26]

For her work as co-author of In the Continuum, Salter was awarded an Obie Award, the NY Outer Critics Circle's John Gassner Award for Best New American Play, the Seldes-Kanin fellowship from the Theatre Hall of Fame, and the Friends of the United Nations' Global Tolerance Award.[39] When it premiered in 2005, In the Continuum was named one of the best plays of the year by the New York Times, Newsday, and New York Magazine.[39] Additionally, for Salter's performance as Nia, she received nominations for Best Actress by the Helen Hayes Awards and the Black Theatre Alliance Awards.[39]

Salter has also been praised for her other work as a playwright. She was nominated for an AUDELCO Award for Best Playwright for Carnaval.[39] In 2014, Salter was awarded a MAP Fund Grant. Salter was also a finalist for the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center National Playwrights Conference and nominated for the both the USA Fellowship and the Playwrights of New York Fellowship.[39]