The word "Indaba" originates from the Zulu language, signifying a gathering or meeting with a specific purpose. Indaba of New England was initially established as a small theater group in Brockton, Massachusetts in November of 2005. Through our dedication and efforts, we achieved significant growth in June of 2011 when we obtained official US nonprofit status as a 501c3 organization. This achievement enabled us to secure local funding and corporate sponsorships, empowering us to produce a wide range of plays, workshops, performances, and festivals for the community.

In November 2015, we marked a significant milestone by presenting our inaugural Indaba Florida production in Tallahassee, Florida. The production, written by our founder Donna Cotterell, delved into the rich tapestry of family stories spanning five generations, originating from the African continent. This production allowed us to celebrate and showcase the diverse cultural heritage of the Motherland of Africa.

Our work increased by collaborating with The Plant Arts Center, the Omega Lamplighters and Link Up to produce performances that highlighted community plays and storytelling for healing. 

Our mission is to inspire, empower, uplift and create healthy outlets of self-expression using theater as therapy to help people overcome obstacles in their life.

The purposes of Indaba of New England and Indaba Florida include, but are not limited to providing educational programs for young people ages 6 through 21, through the establishment and continued sponsorship of performing arts activities in the areas of theatrics, dance and music. We provide individual and group training, costumes, uniforms, instruments and other support equipment to promote education through travel of performing groups. We encourage and foster the interest of the public to coordinate its efforts with other public and private organizations. We provide cultural enrichment to the community. We present offerings at affordable prices, so as to reach out; to a larger audience. We offer theatrical presentations, live entertainment and other cultural outlets to the community and its environs. We respond to local audience interest to broaden the scope of theater which attracts and develops local audiences. We work cooperatively with other performing groups and artists so as to increase the availability to the community of performance arts, as well as provide performance opportunities to other artists and arts organizations.