August Wilson

August Wilson’s Fences is as powerful a film as I have ever witnessed. I’ve wept in exactly three films in the course of my life: The Color Purple, Schindler’s List, and now Fences. The prior two films were released in 1983 and 1995, respectively, and both were directed by Steven Spielberg. The fact that it [...]

  Many playwrights have attempted to capture different aspects of the African American experience at various times in the 20th century. August Wilson managed to capture the whole century, decade by decade, and his stories only had to venture outside of Pittsburgh once. Born Frank August Kittel, Jr. on April 27, 1945 in Pittsburgh, August Wilson is most famous for a series [...]

  Visiting the August Wilson Center for African American Culture in Pittsburgh, or even just browsing their website, one might get the impression that the center is a thriving bastion of culture. Behind the public game face of the beautiful facility, however, is an arts institution fighting for its life. A recent message posted by a visitor to the center’s Facebook [...]

  Last year, I had the opportunity to play the role of Troy Maxson in August Wilson’s Fences, in two separate runs at different theatres in Oklahoma City. Before auditioning for the role, I did what any serious thespian would have done: I went to the YouTube of the Interwebs. There I searched for actors playing [...]