Being who we are, a group of artists, who want to present works of art that are thought provoking and educating, Plays that meet this criteria often catch our eye. With that said, we’s like to present to you an essay written by our creative director, Becca Parker:
Born in 1945, Frederick August Kittel Jr, his father was German immigrant Frederick August Kittel and his mother was African American immigrant Daisy Wilson. He grew up In the Hill District of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He was mainly self educated and was heavily influenced by the works writers such as of Langston Hughes, Richard Wright, and Ralph Ellison. The pen name “August Wilson” comes from his shared middle name with his father August paired with his mothers last name of Wilson.
During the late 1960’s, he began working with Rob Penny at Black Horizons on the Hill theatre in Philadelphia. It was here he would write The Pittsburgh Cycle, a series of 10 plays set in each decade of the 20 th century. These plays would become his most well known works, with all but one being set in his childhood home, the Hill District in Pittsburgh.
The plays are as follows:
Gem of the ocean, set in 1904.
Joe Turner’s Come and Gone- set in 1911
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom- set in 1927, this is the only play in the cycle to be set somewhere
other than Pittsburgh.
The Piano Lesson, set in 1936
Seven Guitars, set in 1948
Fences, set in 1957
Two Trains Running, set in 1969
Jitney, set in 1977
King Headly II, set in 1985
Radio Golf, set in 1997
Interestingly enough, even though the plays are each set in a decade that goes in order, they were not originally written that way. Jitney (the 7 th one) was completed first, in 1979, but would not see a true professional production until 1996, and despite being the first of all 10 plays, would be the last to see a Broadway production, opening in 2017. The nonprofessional premier was at the Alleghany Reperatory Theatre in Pittsuburgh in1982. Wilson took his mother to see this production, and they arrived in a Jitney. Gem of the Ocean, which is the first play in the cycle, set in 1904, was not completed until 2003.
As of the 2017 opening of Jitney, all 10 plays in the Century Cycle have seen a Broadway Production. Seven of the plays were nominated for Tony Awards, with “Fences” in 1987 being the only win. Wilson also won 6 NY Drama Critics Association Awards, the Pulitzer Prize for Drama (twice), and the National Medal for the Humanities. Wilson passed away in 2005, leaving behind a legacy of incredible stories.
Find out more: http://www.augustwilson.net
This conversation is not over, we are working on plans to present August Wilson’s plays next February for Black History Month. Stay Tuned.