Help André Allen Rebuild His Life

André Allen wanted to attend Morehouse College. He wanted to: “Be Somebody. Be A Morehouse Man.” Those were the words written on the bottom of the college brochure and he took it to heart. In 1989, this creative young man made a bold decision and moved from his home in Queens, New York, to forge a new path in Atlanta, Georgia.

In no time, he was introduced to the craft of lighting for the theatre and he was immediately hooked…he was a natural, and the craft of it fit him like a glove. Soon he was designing the lights for campus fashion shows, concerts, and homecoming events.

After a time of developing his craft, business, and customer service acumen, André answered a persistent calling in his soul and founded BlackLight Productions Inc. in his sophomore year. Soon his talent for innovative design, mixing color, and visually stunning settings was brought to the attention of the city at large, and he began designing professionally in and around Atlanta.

During his almost 35-year career, André has designed over 600 shows, including productions for Kenny Leon’s True Colors Theatre Company, the Alliance Theatre, and the Nashville Repertory Theatre. His work can be seen on television networks like HBO, Netflix, and OWN. André designed the lighting for the entrance of the Atlanta Falcons and the Atlanta United during the inaugural season at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium. In addition to his work as a designer, André was committed to giving back to his community and went on to fund two scholarships for graduating high school seniors interested in pursuing technical theater in college. He named the scholarships in honor of his mother and grandmother who were supportive of his dreams when he was growing up.

On October 31, 2023, André suffered a stroke doing what he loved. As he lay helpless in his warehouse, his oldest son rushed to the office after a series of late-night cryptic texts André sent to the family group chat. By the time the paramedics arrived, André was unresponsive. He was in a coma for 4 days. Upon awakening, he knew his life had changed forever. His speech was slurred, the entire right side of his body was weakened, he lost the use of his right arm and hand, and he could not walk. He spent the next 3 weeks in the hospital. Upon release, he was bound to a wheelchair, and he knew that the thing that he loved to do was gone.

Almost a year later, André is still unable to work and his family needs assistance with food and shelter. He needs care from an in-home nurse, and he needs a great deal of help paying his existing medical bills.

BlackLight Productions Inc. may have closed its doors, but André still has more work to do.