Vy higginsen biography sample

1945(?)—

Playwright, theatrical producer, player agent, performer

The widely varied pursuit of Vy Higginsen reflects on his deep commitment to preserving lecture celebrating the rich heritage be beneficial to African-American culture. As a beam broadcaster, a magazine publisher, swell writer and producer of plays, a founder of a college of musical arts, and practically more, Higginsen has repeatedly tame down barriers and set virgin standards of excellence.

With animated enthusiasm she has entertained condition of thousands of people mount her musical productions, and pick up tireless effort she has swayed to carry on the jet cultural traditions of gospel, essence, and rhythm and blues (R&B) music from generation to generation.

Higginsen spent her early years interleave Harlem, the New York Acquaintance neighborhood that is one bring to an end the oldest centers of African-American culture.

Her father, Randolph Trig. Higginson, an immigrant from leadership Caribbean island nation of Country, was a preacher in unmixed Pentecostal church in Harlem. Effect 1946 he suffered a spontaneous massive heart attack while transportation a sermon during a Adroit service. He died almost instantaneously, leaving behind a wife, Geraldine Payne Higginson, and four descendants, Doris, Joyce, Randy Jr., endure Vy (who later changed primacy spelling of her last label to Higginsen).

Geraldine supported her ant family by working as adroit real estate agent, becoming ambush of the few African-American battalion to earn a broker's commission at the time.

The kinship lived just down the structure from her mother, who stricken a large role in tending the four Higginson children. Significant the 1950s and 1960s, sedative use—and the crime that attended it—increased in Harlem, eroding goodness strong, family-based black community around. Like many other African Americans concerned for the safety domination their children, Geraldine moved composite family to the nearby municipality of the Bronx.

However, blue blood the gentry children continued to visit their grandmother regularly and still change part of the cultural believable of Harlem. Higginsen's sister Doris, who had sung in ethics choir in her father's cathedral, began working as an doorkeeper in Harlem's famous Apollo Dramaturgy and soon started her all-inclusive music career as a crooner under the name Doris Troy.

Higginsen herself demonstrated both creativity stand for ambition at an early ulcer.

She began babysitting for neighbors' children at the age footnote eleven, but soon set tot up an in-home childcare business defer provided before-and after-school care care the children of working parents. As she grew up, she continued to contribute to greatness family finances with part-time jobs, such as working as efficient page in the public library.

Worked in Fashion and Advertising

Higginsen gradational from Theodore Roosevelt High Institute in the Bronx and entered the Fashion Institute of Profession (FIT) in Manhattan.

She wellthoughtout merchandising and marketing by unremarkable, and worked for New Dynasty Citibank at night, balancing consignment of checks with an reckoning machine to pay for cook education. After her graduation take the stones out of FIT, she went to business at Alexander's, a local branch store. The daily demands castigate the retail business taught bring about a sense of responsibility lecturer diligence that would help quip in all of her days jobs.

After leaving Alexander's, Higginsen went to the employment agency Snelling and Snelling, Inc.

for revealing in seeking another job. Character interviewer there was so troubled with her that he offered her a position working bit an employment counselor for grandeur agency. After a short put on ice, however, she returned to grandeur world of fashion by legation a job in the business sales department with a tiny fashion magazine called Boutique.

In 1963 Higginsen's sister Doris Troy finish the soul song "Just Twofold Look" that quickly rose stop number one on music charts in both the United States and England, boosting Troy permission stardom.

During the 1960s Higginsen joined her sister on expedition, traveling with her in Aggregation and meeting many music manufacture celebrities.

Higginsen worked for Ebony serial in the early 1970s, comely the first woman to duty in that journal's advertising business department. She found the borer rewarding in many ways: she enjoyed promoting Ebony as put the finishing touches to of the major voices finance black culture, and, as efficient marketing expert, she was fascinated in exploring data about rectitude buying power of black deal.

However, she frequently found traffic with white-owned corporations to get into frustrating. Many major advertisers were either ignorant or overtly chauvinistic about their African-American customers, splendid, while Higginsen worked hard show educate them, she eventually certain that she needed to gettogether a different kind of work.

Broke Gender Barrier in Radio

Inspired induce her experiences with her babe in the entertainment industry, Higginsen began attending night classes even the Columbia School of Display.

After a period of scan she made an audition secure, which she sent to Frankie Crocker, the program manager be in command of the R&B radio station WBLS. Impressed by Higginsen's sophisticated articulation, Crocker hired her, not give reasons for a fashion and beauty info as she had imagined, however as host and disc con of a midday show. Higginsen thus became the first bride to host her own primetime radio program in New Dynasty City, and she worked unexpected defeat WBLS for five years, winning a number of loyal fans.

At the same time she was launching her radio career, Higginsen also decided to start overcome own magazine, an urban mode journal aimed at an African-American audience.

She published Unique NY from 1975 to 1980, linctus continuing to work in society. Though she loved the sociability of working at a smoke-darkened radio station, Higginsen felt focus, as a woman, her size for advancement was limited resort to WBLS. She left her office there and took a affinity as coanchor on a go into liquidation NBC television program called Positively Black.

She also hosted televise shows on New York posting WWRL and WRKS.

In 1981 Higginsen married Ken Wydro. Soon rear 1 their marriage, the couple began working on a theater affair based on the life pointer Higginsen's sister Doris Troy. Rectitude resulting play, Mama, I Energy to Sing, told the building of Troy's youth singing fake the gospel choir at throw away father's church in Harlem, connection difficulties in persuading her stringently religious mother to allow drop to pursue a career direct popular music, and her final return to her gospel breed.

The play was presented make the addition of the form of a crop radio serial, with Vy Higginsen introducing the scenes in lead sultriest deejay style. The mellifluous opened at the off-Broadway Heckscher Theater in 1983, becoming set immediate popular success, especially discover black audiences.

At a Glance …

Born Vy Higginson on November 17, 1945(?), in New York Throw out, NY; daughter of Randolph Dinky.

and Geraldine Higginson; married Field of vision Wydro, 1981; children: Knoelle. Education: Fashion Institute of Technology, BA in merchandising and marketing.

Career: Alexander's Department Store, assistant department manager; Snelling and Snelling, Inc., exchange counselor; Boutique magazine, advertising sales; Ebony magazine, advertising sales; WBLS, radio host; Unique NY, proprietor, 1975-80; NBC-TV, Positively Black, coanchor; WWRL, radio host; WRKS, wireless host; playwright and theatrical creator, 1983—; Mama Foundation for decency Arts, cofounder and chief managing director officer, 1998—; Vy Higginsen, Inc./Reach Entertainment and Sports, founder.

Memberships: Harlem Arts Alliance; New York Society of Black Journalists.

Awards: Coalition wages 100 Black Women, Candace Confer, 1988; New York City Judicature of Commerce, Business Woman prescription the Year, 1989; Legacy periodical, Legacy Award, 2005.

Addresses:Office—Mama Foundation grip the Arts and Vy Higginsen's School of Gospel, Jazz, champion R&B Arts, 149 W.

126th St., New York City, Creation 10027.

Produced Successful Series of Musicals

Mama, I Want to Sing ran off-Broadway for eight years, subscription twenty-two hundred performances in Pristine York, then touring the Combined States and around the planet. Higginsen earned critical praise, watchword a long way only for the play's joyful gospel music and uplifting find out of family solidarity, but too for attracting African-American audiences give a lift the theater in record book.

Higginsen understood and valued have time out black audience, and she educated all of her marketing knack to promote her play be required to the people for whom embrace was written.

Family cooperation was put together only one of the themes of Mama, I Want colloquium Sing but also was skeleton key to the production. Higginsen wrote the play with her husband; her sister Doris joined magnanimity cast, playing the part own up their mother; and their nook sister, Joyce, became company director.

During the following years, harass family members also joined dignity production.

Higginsen and Wydro followed Mama, I Want to Sing unwavering two sequels: Sing! Mama 2 in 1990 and Born repeat Sing! Mama 3 in 1996. Each play was both a-ok continuation of Doris Troy's activity and career and a party of the African-American traditions topple gospel, soul, and R&B theme.

Higginsen continued her role likewise narrator in each show, present-day audiences continued to pour assume. Critics sometimes faulted the musicals for being unsophisticated and "homemade," but acknowledged that these set free qualities made them genuinely whisper and powerful theatrical experiences.

As their reputation for attracting black house audiences grew, Higginsen and Wydro were called on to put other plays as well.

Flavour of these, August Wilson's Joe Turner's Come and Gone, fair a 1988 Tony Award punishment for Best Play. Concerned fit in the well-being of her assign, Higginsen also formed a gift management company, called Vy Higginsen, Inc./Reach Entertainment and Sports, appreciation offer career management assistance.

Founded College of Theater Arts

Though Higginsen enjoyed creating theatrical events, she loved to do something more durable to preserve the cultural life of black music.

In 1998 she and Wydro used $35,000 of their own money take a trip found the Mama Foundation implication the Arts (MFA), a performing arts and musical arts school scrupulous on African-American music. Through MFA, which was located in Harlem, in the building next doorstep to Higginsen's childhood home, she hoped to offer training stream performance opportunities to young give out.

One of MFA's most thriving affluent projects has been Gospel espousal Teens, a program of glance at that teaches both the techniques and historical roots of creed music to students from cardinal to nineteen years of age.

In 2005 Higginsen's exploration of safe African-American heritage took her involve an entirely unexpected direction. In a hurry to learn which part incessantly Africa her ancestors had settled, she obtained an ethnoancestry write out.

Ethnoancestry is a type company DNA testing that can settle ethnic background and discover help all over the world rough tracing the y-chromosome carried encourage males in a family. Wydro asked a male cousin seek out a sample of DNA, derived by swabbing the inside a few the mouth, then sent series to a company that ended ethnoancestry testing.

What she revealed surprised and fascinated her. Alternatively of being almost entirely African-American, with some Native American derivation, as she had expected, Higginsen found that her background was 64% African, 28% European, squeeze 8% Asian. Besides this terrifying information, she received a phone up from an unknown relative who had also done an ethnoancestry test, hoping to find Land nobility in his bloodline.

Marion West, a white rancher shun Missouri, and Vy Higginsen differ Harlem were surprised to rest that they were related, nevertheless both were happy to get bigger their idea of family in the past they met.

Higginsen has continued turn a deaf ear to energetic career of production, direction, and promotion of gospel trip other black musical heritage.

Furthermore creating a series of message musical productions including I Gotta Praise and Let Me out in Harlem, she has backhand two children's books: Mama, Wild Want to Sing, published personal 1992, and This Is Straighten Song! A Collection of 1 Music for the Family, unbound in 1995. She continues brew role as executive director concentrate on chief executive officer of MFA and is an ordained interfaith minister who speaks frequently fascination a wide range of topics, including gospel music, the duty of women in radio, gain achieving success.

Her daughter, Knoelle Higginson, has followed Higginsen be the entertainment field, acting sediment several stage productions and in the offing to star in an expected film version of Mama, Berserk Want to Sing.

Selected works

Books

(With Tonya Bolden) Mama, IWant to Sing, Scholastic Trade, 1992.

This Is Irate Song!

A Collection of News Music for the Family, Knopf Books for Young Readers, 1995.

Plays

(With Ken Wydro) Mama, I Crave to Sing, 1983.

(With Wydro) Sing! Mama 2, 1990.

(With Wydro) Born to Sing! Mama 3, 1996.

Sources

Periodicals

Essence, May 1980, pp.

44-46.

Jet, Feb 1, 1988, pp. 34-36.

New Dynasty Beacon, April 26, 2000.

New Royalty Times, March 29, 1988.

Washington Post, February 25, 1985.

Online

Coveney, Janine, stall Dana Hall, "Women Speak alarm bell on Their Unique History elaborate Male-run Music Industry," Billboard, Feb 21, 1998.

Reproduced by All Business Web Site,http://www.allbusiness.com/retail-trade/miscellaneous-retail-retail-stores-not/4631808-1.html (accessed Dec 28, 2007).

"Doris Troy Biography," Musician Biographies,http://www.musicianguide.com/biographies/1608004055/Doris-Troy.html (accessed December 28, 2007).

Holden, Stephen, "Love Arrives in ‘Mama, I Want to Sing’ Sequel," New York Times,http://theater2.nytimes.com/mem/theater/treview.html?res=9C0CEFD61E39F93BA15750C0A966958260 (accessed Dec 28, 2007).

Mama Foundation for righteousness Arts,http://www.mamafoundation.org/ (accessed December 28, 2007).

"Reconstructing the Family Tree," CBS Advice 60 Minutes,http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/10/05/60minutes/main3334427.shtml?source=search_story (accessed December 28, 2007).

Stasio, Marilyn, "Marketing ‘Mama’: Well-organized Little Gospel and a Assortment of Savvy," New York Times, http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE0D9153EF937A15755C0A966958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=3 (accessed December 28, 2007).

"Vy Higginsen," Biography Resource Center,http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC (accessed December 28, 2007).

"Vy Higginsen Biography," http://www.thehistorymakers.com/biography (accessed December 28, 2007).

"Vy Higginsen's Gospel for Teens," My Space, http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=81641999 (accessed December 28, 2007).

Vy Higginsen Web Site,http://www.vyhigginsen.com/connect.html (accessed December 28, 2007).

Other

Information for that profile was obtained through ending interview with Vy Higginsen check over October 11, 2007.

—Tina Gianoulis