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Instructor Writes Winning Play Shown at Annual Fade To Black Festival

This June 2018, a play written by The Art Institute of Houston Digital Filmmaking & Video Production instructor, Lionell Hilliard, was among the 10 winning plays shown at Houston’s 6th Annual Fade to Black Play Festival.

Hilliard is a first time playwright but no stranger to the entertainment business, having spent more than two decades working in filmmaking and production. Over the years, his films have been shown at 55 film festivals across the US and abroad, and he has worked on television production for popular shows that include The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Sister, Sister, The Bernie Mac Show, and Girlfriends. Hilliard's own award-winning film and television projects include The Sunday Morning Stripper, I Pledge Allegiance…, and As for Me and My House.

In addition to continuing his work in the industry, Hilliard has taught at Ai Houston since 2009 and served as program coordinator since 2014. His play shown at the Fade to Black Festival was entitled Is Orange the New Black?. The Fade to Black Festival is Houston's first and only national short play festival celebrating the new works of African-American playwrights. For the three-day festival, ten of the nation’s top African-American playwrights are selected to have their plays cast with some of Houston’s most talented local artists and performed before a live audience.

The festival was held from June 21 to June 23, 2018 in Houston, Texas, at Midtown Arts & Theater Center Houston (MATCH).

About Our Digital Filmmaking & Video Production Program

In the Bachelor of Fine Arts in Digital Filmmaking & Video Production degree program at Ai Houston, you’ll start by studying composition and language, color, and photography and progress to advanced courses in scriptwriting, cinematography, directing, producing, editing, and sound. You can work with the same digital media, lighting, camera equipment, and editing software used in TV studios, movie sets, and editing suites, while learning from faculty with years of industry experience. Find out more today.

*Credentials and experience levels vary by faculty and instructors.