The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Master class on August Wilson to be held
While Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright August Wilson died in 2005, the spirit and influence of his work remains very much alive, even before the late 2016 release of the Oscar-nominated film adaptation of his play, “Fences.”
With the exception, perhaps, of his native Pittsburgh, Wilson is nowhere hotter than in the city of Euclid, which two months back held a stage reading of his autobiographical oneman show “How I Learned What I Learned,” directed by Shore Cultural Centre’s new artistic associate, Terrence Spivey.
Now, the center’s theatre program, under Spivey’s direction, is offering a master class titled “The World of August Wilson” on June 10 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the stage of Shore Auditorium. The study will be led by Mark Clayton Southers, former artistic director of the August Wilson Center in Pittsburgh and founder and producing director of Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Co.
According to a Shore news release, Southers has directed across the country, including the Banyan Theatre in Sarasota, Florida, and An Opera Company in Newark, New Jersey. Southers, who knew Wilson personally, is considered an expert scholar on August Wilson and his work.
Wilson’s first play, “Jitney,” is the first of 10 that take place in the Hill District of Pittsburgh, the area in which Wilson was born and raised. The area also serves as a locale for
many of his works. Each of his plays represents a different decade of the 20th century, the release stated.
The master class will cover Wilson’s main influences — blues, the writers Amiri Baraka (LeRoi Jones) and Jorge Luis Borges and the artist Romare Bearden. Southers also will discuss the Hill District of Pittsburgh. Key moments and scenes in Wilson’s plays will be discussed with emphasis focusing on the themes of love, honor, betrayal and duty, and how they relate to the common man. Southers also will discuss his personal relationship with Wilson.
“I’m looking forward to collaborating with Terrence, a veteran of the theatre world whom I’ve admired for a long time,” Southers said.
Actors from Cleveland and Pittsburgh will present scenes from “The Piano Lesson,” “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” and “Fences.” Participants will have the opportunity to work with the actors on scenes from the plays and are encouraged to “come prepared” to work on a particular scene or recite a monologue from one of Wilson’s selected plays.
“Placing August Wilson and his works under a microscope for artists to analyze beyond the stage has been a long time goal,” Spivey said. “Mark and I have known each other for years since my tenure at Karamu House. Shore staff members Laura Kidder, Chris Cipriani and I are (all) huge fans of Wilson. Our first collaboration with one of his mentees is a perfect fit to kick off the series of workshops at Shore.”
Cipriani, who serves as Shore’s director of programming and marketing, said the entire center is excited to continue its study of Wilson and his work.
“Terrence’s theatrical connections and familiarity with Wilson’s plays (has) allowed us the opportunity to present this very special class.”
Cleveland native and actor Anthony Chisholm, who has performed in a number of Wilson’s plays on Broadway, said the collaboration of Southers and Spivey is artistically mutually beneficial.
“They complement each other very well, so my advice to them is to stay in touch with God, keep your seat belts fastened and enjoy the ride.”
Admission to the master class is $25 for adults with only 14 spaces available. Open enrollment is available for observers.
For more information or to register, call 216-2898578 or visit www.shoreculturalcentre.com. Shore Cultural Centre is located at 219 E. 222nd St. in Euclid.