She was an original member of the American Negro Theater.
He answered an advertisement for actors placed by the American Negro Theater and found his profession.
Starting as a dancer, he eventually moved into acting, working in the American Negro Theater.
She enrolled in acting classes sponsored by the American Negro Theater but soon withdrew and wrote a play, "Venetian Blind."
In 1941, he directed "Natural Man" for the American Negro Theater.
He also organized the National Survey of the Negro Theater (1939), for the Rockefeller Foundation.
The couple, who then toured in a production of the American Negro Theater, say they do not remember the moment they met.
The play was first produced by the American Negro Theater in Harlem, and moved to Broadway in 1944.
He worked as a dishwasher until he got a job with the American Negro Theater.
Poitier joined the American Negro Theater, but was rejected by audiences.