Verna Craighead Green
Verna Craighead Green began working in the arts at an early age. She and her two sisters were featured guests singing on The Mary Holt Hour, the first Black Gospel television weekly showcase in Cleveland, Ohio.
Biography & Works
In 1986, Verna Craighead and Michael Terry formed Vern Mike Music Inc. Together, they produced the musical play BREAKTHROUGH at TRI-C Metro Theater and the renowned Karamu Performing Arts Theater.
The play was presented as a yearly fundraiser for Karamu, with multiple runs co-produced by Vern Mike Productions. BREAKTHROUGH enjoyed continued success with a four-show run at the Cleveland Playhouse’s mainstage, Bolton Theater. The show also toured briefly at Youngstown’s Power Theater and other Cleveland venues.
Verna has written and produced several plays and projects, including:
- REJOICE – The history of Black Gospel music (Lorain Palace Theater)
- KINGSHIGHWAY – Kent State University
- THANKGOODNESS IT’S YOU – Written by request of the Principal of Monticello School in Cleveland Heights, Ohio
- KINGPIN STRIKE and THE BAKE OFF – Written exclusively for the senior dependency program of UNADOP Cleveland
- LIVE, LOVE, LEARN trilogy (2023)
- Collaboration with Nelson Lumumba Lee on MY BLACKNESS, MY HISTORY, MY ARTISTRY
- EMBRACEABLE YOU – Creator and musical
- TRANSPLANT OF A CALLOUS HEART – Screenwriter and creator
- Plays BREAKTHROUGH and REDD appear in the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem, New York.
- Member of the Dramatist Guild of America (New York)
- Affiliate composer and publisher at ASCAP