Myrna Colley-Lee (1941- ) graduated in 1962 from the Woman's College of the University of North Carolina, now The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She taught art education for a few years before moving to New York, New York, where she studied at Brooklyn College. In 1980, Colley-Lee received her Master of Fine Arts degree from Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Colley-Lee talks about growing up in North Carolina, Florida, and Texas as well as living in Liberia, West Africa, where she contracted malaria. She discusses attending Bennett College and then transferring to Woman's College. Colley-Lee describes the different rules and regulations found at Bennett College and Woman's College; being a commuting student; participating in the 1960 Greensboro Sit-ins; teaching art education in Charlotte, North Carolina; moving to New York and becoming a social worker; being married to a jazz musician; and becoming interested in theater work. She talks about learning scene design at Brooklyn College and getting her Master of Fine Arts at Temple University. Colley-Lee also discusses being a costume designer, art director, and set designer for theater, film, and television. She concludes the interview by talking about her company, Glad Rags; her involvement in the SonEdna Foundation; being a commissioner for the Mississippi Arts Commission; and serving on several boards.
