Andrew Clarke
– Actor, singer, producer, artistic director, cultural collaborator & curator
Jamaican born Andrew Clarke is the founder and executive director of Braata Productions, a nonprofit artistic company that is comprised of the Braata Folk Singers, Braata Education & Outreach and Braata Theater Workshop.
Within a year of founding Braata Productions he had earned his first producing credit with Trevor Rhone’s HIV/ AIDS drama, Positive. Since then he has produced over two dozen productions including staged readings, fully mounted shows and regional tours of new and established works such as The Black That I Am and Hortensia’s Recession, Demerara Gold as well as three consecutive seasons of the Braata Folk Singers biennial concert series, Ole Time Grand Market held annually for the last 5 years and Bankra Caribbean Folk Festival now in its 4th year.
Under his guidance as producer and artistic director, the Braata Folk Singers has acquired an impressive resume over the past nine years that includes performances throughout the New York Tri- state area, as well as regionally and as far north as Toronto Canada, in such prestigious locations as New York City Hall and The Schomburg Center for Culture in Harlem. In 2012, the group represented Jamaica at the World Choir Games in Cincinnati Ohio, where they competed alongside some 100 choirs from around the world, earning two silver medals and one bronze medal during Jamaica’s 50th anniversary independence celebration. During their stint in Cincinnati, the group also performed to an appreciative audience in Erlanger, Kentucky. Since then the group has performed across the North Eastern United States and as far south as Atlanta.
The Education and Outreach division seeks to use the performing arts as a tool to “edutain” youth and the general public about major social, cultural and health issues and it was under these auspices that Positive was produced, ultimately touring several schools in the New York metropolitan area to enthusiastic and widespread acclaim. He has also presented acting and music workshops in collaboration with the Queens Public Library. This “arm” of the company has also mounted stagings of a beloved Jamaican traditional Christmas event in December titled Ole Time Grand Market, the inaugural staging in 2013 was a huge success and has since become a staple in the annual Christmas company's calendar. Our most popular event is undoubtedly the Bankra Caribbean Folk Festival, a day long celebration of Caribbean folk culture, music, art and food.
The Braata Theater Workshop seeks to bring both new and established works of Caribbean Playwrights to the New York stage. Successes for the company, with Andrew at the helm as producer over the years include, Karl O’Brian Williams’ family drama Not About Eve, which played Off Broadway in 2012, and emerged a great critical and commercial success, extending its run due to popular demand and going on to be nominated for three AUDELCO Awards including Best Drama. The production received an extended run with tours to Connecticut and Rochester culminating a successful year an official selection of the world famous National Black Theater Festival, held in Winston Salem, North Carolina in 2013. In 2015, he lead the then most successful offering of the company with a production of Karl Williams’ The Black That I Am which played to sold out audiences in Manhattan and then toured Trinidad. The show also received a New York Innovative Theatre award nomination for Outstanding Performance Art Production in that same year. Andrew produced the Theater Workshop’s most notable production to date - is the company first world Premiere, Welcome to America: A Caribbean Musical. The production which debuted in April 2017 saw sold out audiences every night with an extended run the following weekend and subsequent tour to the D.C. area that Fall. The production is being widely touted as potentially the next Caribbean Broadway musical. On this production he served as co-lyricist & composer for the production’s score.
As founder and executive director of the Braata Productions, Andrew is responsible for overseeing the day to day administrative operations of the organization and is involved in every aspect of its activities, including writing and securing of grants, selection of performance material for all the entities, hiring of staff and budgeting.
A graduate of the Edna Manley College School of Drama in Kingston, Jamaica and Brooklyn College in New York City, Andrew is an award winning thespian and vocalist and was the 2008 recipient of the Prime Minister’s Youth Award for Excellence in Arts and Culture. He also represented Jamaica as a vocalist at the 2008 World Championships for the Performing Arts in Hollywood, California where he was crowned Grand Champion Performer of the World. After appearing in several major theatrical productions in Jamaica and internationally, he emigrated to New York City in 2009 to pursue his theatrical and producing ambitions.
As a performer, Andrew has been gradually emerging as one of the most accomplished and exciting Caribbean artists working in New York City today.
This multitalented graduate of Jamaica’s renowned Edna Manley College School of Drama and Brooklyn College in New York, has gained considerable industry respect in a relatively short time as a true quadruple threat in the world of the performing arts - an award winning vocalist and thespian whose remarkable onstage talents exist in comfortable alliance alongside his behind the scenes directorial skills and producing acumen.
His ability to marry the worlds of art and commerce- his unwavering commitment to the BUSINESS of SHOW - has marked him as a true talent to watch and a frontrunner among the elite corps of Caribbean artists destined to bring the region’s culture to a truly international 21st century audience.
While still a high school student at Cornwall College in Montego Bay, Jamaica, Clarke earned some 30 gold medals, along with numerous other national awards from the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission’s (JCDC) Annual National Festival of the Performing Arts Competition in Speech, Music and Drama.
He made his professional acting debut in the Montego Bay Production of the Basil Dawkins play Forbidden and was immediately identified as one of that city’s brightest young talents. Roles in productions as diverse as Voices and Children Children followed, culminating with a trip to London for the British touring production of David Heron’s popular play Ecstasy and a Best Actor nomination from the International Theater Institute Jamaica Centre for his highly praised performance in James Baldwin’s The Amen Corner.
Migrating to the United States, he has since been seen in several well reviewed productions both regionally and Off Broadway, including Jestina’s Calypso (Caribbean American Repertory Theater), In Arabia We’d All be Kings (Shadowbox Theater), Flambeaux (Obsidian Media Group), Girl Without Wings (IATI Theater/ Dramatic Adventure Theater) which earned him excellent reviews from several publications including the New York Times, The Black That I Am (Braata Productions), A Man Like You, Flambeaux (Obsidian Media Group/Andrew Clarke ) which earned a haul of 6 AUDELCO nominations including Musical of the Year, and most recently the World Premiere - Welcome to America: A Caribbean Musical which he also serves co-lyricist & composer on.
His passion for music lead him to found the Braata Folk Singers within a year of his arrival in New York City, and, with himself as Artistic Director, the group’s mandate has been to preserve Caribbean folk culture though the performance of the region’s folk music, thus ensuring its legacy.
His own solo singing career continues to bloom with events including the ‘Andrew Clarke Benefit Concert’ in Trinidad and Tobago, first mounted in December 2010 to raise funds for, and address the medical needs of children who suffer from congenital heart defects and similar conditions.
He continues to be a much sought after vocalist and MC for civic events and banquets across the New York Tri state area.
Andrew’s recognitions include a Citation of Honor from the Queens Borough President’s Office, a Citation from Assembly Member Alicia Hyman and proclamations from Senator Leroy Comrie, Council Members Daneek Miller and Rory Lancman as well as Senatorial Citation from Baltimore’ Maryland’s 44 Senator Shirley Nathan-Pulliam. He has also received awards including the JAMBASSADOR Award, the IrieJam Culture award, Caribbean Life has honored him as being among the best and brightest of young Caribbean-Americans entrepreneurs in their 20 under 40 and most recently Union of Jamaican Alumni Associations (UJAA) Awarded him for his work in Culture in the Caribbean community.
Among his proudest achievement to date is that his organization Braata Productions is now celebrating it’s 10th anniversary.