In Memoriam

Illustration By Robert Faires

ProArts Collective has suddenly lost another member of its creative family, just months after the unexpected passing of its founding artistic director. Jason Ansara Brooks, who directed, choreographed, and was performing in the company's production of Black Nativity, died Tuesday, Dec. 13, two days before the show's closing weekend of performances. He was 50. Brooks' death was a double blow to ProArts, not only because it took place in the midst of the run of a show that Brooks was so deeply involved in but because the company is still recovering from the April death of Boyd Vance, who led the organization for a dozen years and provided its guiding spirit. In fact, the very night that Brooks passed away, ProArts was hosting a meeting to begin discussions about the next direction for the company in its mission to establish a black theatre company for Central Texas. Brooks was an Austin native who returned to his hometown in recent years after years of training and a professional career that took him across the country and the globe. He studied at the University of Oklahoma at Norman and trained with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in New York. In the late Eighties he moved to Europe, where he was a soloist with the Deutsche Opera Berlin, appearing in its production of Aida; danced with the Stuttgart Ballet; appeared in productions of Porgy and Bess (Germany), Show Boat (Austria), The Cotton Club (European/United Kingdom tour), and Starlight Express (European/Australian tour); danced for two television programs in the Netherlands; and sang professionally with the touring group First Take, which featured his sister Denice, who was working alongside him in the current production of Black Nativity. Back in the States, in Minneapolis he performed in the world-premiere production of Rita Dove's Darker Face of the Earth at the Guthrie Theatre and danced the role of Joseph in the Penumbra Theatre Company's production of Black Nativity. Locally, he choreographed work for Ballet East and acted for Live Oak Theatre (You Can't Take It With You), Theatre Austin (Spunk), and the Zachary Scott Theatre Center (The Gospel at Colonus). His performance as Lyman in The Piano Lesson and co-choreography of Dreamgirls, both for Zach, earned him nominations for B. Iden Payne Awards and Austin Critics Table Awards. Brooks is survived by mother Bertha Mae Clark and stepfather Willie Clark; brother William Brooks; sisters Denice Brooks, Mary Clark Turner, and Donna Clark Robinson; half-brother James Gibson; half-sisters Mischa Brooks and Debra Brooks; and many friends and colleagues. Services were held Monday, Dec. 19, at Mount Zion Baptist Church.