Freddie Hendricks, who mentored Kandi Burruss, Kenan Thompson, wins Tony honor
Freddie Hendricks, the longtime Atlanta drama teacher who helped launch the careers of Kandi Burruss, Kenan Thompson and Saycon Sengbloh, is finally getting his moment on Broadway.
A drama teacher at the Utopian Academy for the Arts in Ellenwood and a former theater teacher at Tri-Cities High School is receiving the Excellence in Theatre Education Award during the 79th Tony Awards broadcast this Sunday.
The honor, presented during the program highlighting outstanding Broadway productions, recognizes theater educators for their dedication to students. The award includes a $10,000 prize to Hendricks’ school, a master class for his students taught by Carnegie Mellon University drama faculty, tickets to the Tony Awards ceremony at Radio City Music Hall and a gala at Rockefeller Center.
“It’s unbelievable, but my kids are proud of me. They’re having something for me in New York, but I’ll just thank God, have a drink or two, walk around Times Square and spend some time by myself,” Hendricks, 71, told UATL.
Hendricks, the 10th honoree, was a finalist in 2023 and 2024. In 1990, he formed Youth Ensemble of Atlanta, a Black youth theater company to empower kids to form community through the arts.
Burruss, a Grammy Award-winning songwriter; Thompson, a longtime member of the Saturday Night Live cast; and Sengbloh, herself a Tony-nominated actress, came through the program.
Hendricks went on to teach and lead Tri-Cities High School’s theater program, where he used the stage to help Black youth understand their value and “build a family.”
“I was teaching passion, incorporating love and telling them they were great and worthy. Sometimes they worked backstage, in the box office, swept floors or made costumes because they weren’t just going to get onstage,” Hendricks said. “They needed to learn the entire culture of theater.”
Hendricks, who’s from Columbus, got his start onstage at Lincoln Memorial University. In 1972, he saw his first play, “The Glass Menagerie.” He changed his major from sociology to theater arts after realizing he could combine his two hidden talents.
“When I found out I could act and sing, too, I knew I found my mission in life and my people,” Hendricks said.
In 1976, he moved to Atlanta from Columbus after his retail management job transferred him here.
He found an ad in a local trade newspaper for auditions at the Neighborhood Arts Center. He landed a role and connected with future stage and screen veterans.
“That’s where I met Kenny Leon, Carol Mitchell-Leon and Bill Nunn,” he said.
Hendricks, a stage and television actor, became an acting instructor and directed youth productions through Upward Bound, a college preparatory program for Black and brown high school students, at the Atlanta University Center.
In 1993, Hendricks started teaching drama at Tri-Cities High School. Burruss referred him to the school’s magnet program director.
Hendricks said he balanced teaching and leading his organization and the school’s theater program.
“The kids at Tri-Cities rehearsed from 4 to 6 p.m., and from 6 to 9 p.m., we’d go to the ArtsXchange, Lang-Carson Community Center, 7 Stages or wherever we rehearsed at the time,” he said. “They weren’t complaining because they had passion.”
Broadway composer Justin Ellington, who teaches sound design at Yale University, met Hendricks while attending Tri-Cities in 1993. He said Hendricks has youthful energy.
“He was the cool teacher because he listened to the students and communicated on a peer level,” Ellington said. “He gave us immediate empowerment to own our expression and tell our stories fearlessly.”
Hendricks also traveled the world working with youth drama programs in South Africa and the Dominican Republic.
In 2023, while directing “Sister Act” at Tri-Cities High School and shortly after being inducted into the Georgia Theatre Hall of Fame, Hendricks was diagnosed with prostate cancer.
Hendricks continued to work despite his health challenges.
“I did radiation in the morning, went to school, taught, had rehearsals and did it all over again. It was my survival,” he said. “The kids were calling, and I couldn’t let my babies down. I was flat on my back, but I didn’t stop working. My kids got together and raised money. I’m in tears just thinking about it.”
He completed chemotherapy and radiation treatments and was declared cancer-free a year later.
Filmmaker Byron Horne has been working on a documentary chronicling Hendricks for five years. He said the drama teacher is a selfless educator.
“He teaches collaboration and instills pulling the greatness out of people,” Horne said. “He sacrificed his family, time, life and career for kids.”
As he prepares for the trip to New York, Hendricks said he is looking forward to sharing the experience with former students and reflecting on a career spent helping others find the spotlight rather than standing in it himself.
But Hendricks is still thinking about the future.
He wants to conduct workshops at colleges and universities and still wants to one day direct a play on Broadway.
“Art is my medicine, and I’m living in love,” he said. “Being an artist begins and ends with loving yourself. I want to show them that living in your greatness takes you everywhere.”
About the Author
Christopher A. Daniel is a Black Culture reporter for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He is an Atlanta-based, award-winning journalist, cultural critic and ethnomusicologist. He previously taught courses at Morehouse College, Clark Atlanta University and Georgia State University.