We write too. It is all lining up. Enjoy your Day folks. Blessings to you. Have the courage to lean in and KEEP MOVING. #photography #photogallery #fashioninspo #playwright #casualstyle #iwrite #beardgamestrong #stylishmen #sophistication #photography #newyork #maturemen #ipray #creativewriting #selfportrait # #harmonica #festivals #thestage #bewareofthebrothers #creative #augustwilson #ifilm #blackplays #documentaryphotography #iact #photographer #image https://www.instagram.com/p/CnmOljXLlJJ/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

#ThePianoLessonPlay #frontmezzjunkies reviews: #AugustWilson's #ThePianoLesson on #Broadway directed by #LatanyaRichardsonJackson starring #SamuelLJackson #DanielleBrooks #JohnDavidWashington #TraiByers #AprilMatthis & #RayFisher #BroadwayRevival https://frontmezzjunkies.com/2022/12/16/broadway-the-piano-lesson/ (at Ethel Barrymore Theatre) https://www.instagram.com/p/CmUAHI4u0yw/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

I read another book, a play this time! This is “The Piano Lesson” by August Williams. The play is about a black family that is divided over a piano. The brother, Boy Willie, wants to buy the land that his ancestors worked on as slaves and the way to do that is by selling the piano he and his sister inherited. His sister, Berniece, wants to hold onto the piano for the memory it holds, even though she herself never plays the piano. The kids I’ve been subbing for have been studying the Great Migration, the event where the Black Majority of the South sought better working conditions in the North and West, and so I thought I would revisit this play I was supposed to read twice over and never did. Whoops. But it wrestles with a lot of the issues surrounding the Great Migration. And I really like it. The prose is quite beautiful and true to life. Many characters have great moments to shine their worldviews. The only issues that I had is that not every issue raised is addressed and some plot points are never brought up again, and there’s a bit of a Dues Ex Machina, but I actually found both of those to be rather beautiful. I’d recommend it to people who want to understand the Black experience better or who want to experience better representation. It’s great art, and even the stuff I don’t like I still love. What more can I say. It’s only 108 pages. Get a copy. Learn some history. All that good stuff. #bookstagram #book #bookreview #bookrecommendations #play #plays #theatre #drama #augustwilson #augustwilsonplays #augustwilsontheatre #augustwilsonplaywright #thepianolesson #thepianolessonplay #thepianolessonbyaugustwilson #thepianolessonbroadway https://www.instagram.com/p/CkkczT7u54E/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

We're really excited to bring this production to West Hartford CT. Hope you can come Nov 4-20 #linkinbio #Fences #actorslife #augustwilson #theater #love #performance #stage I brought my 2 tickets 🎟 for November 5th it would be nice to go support him ? (at Hartford, Connecticut) https://www.instagram.com/p/CkGR-26O77j/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

I haven’t shared an artist quote in a while! I usually share them during significant periods. Re-inspired by the works of #augustwilson art is for me just as much as it is for you! "I WORK AS AN ARTIST, AND I THINK THE AUDIENCE OF ONE, WHICH IS THE SELF, AND I HAVE TO SATISFY MYSELF AS AN ARTIST. SO I ALWAYS SAY THAT WRITE FOR THE SAME PEOPLE THAT PICASSO PAINTED FOR. THINK HE PAINTED FOR HIMSELF " ~AUGUST WILSON #artistthatinspire #artfromtheheart #artistlife #motivationalquotes #zahirahism https://www.instagram.com/p/Cj5Oi8guTh8/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

I've been challenging myself by not writing in the autobiographical space....This quote is helping me free up my #imagination Think of it like improv on paper. Escaping real life...vacation on the page into another world...just like acting...escape into world of your characters...ask them when you don't know where the story goes next...#augustwilson did this. It really worked for him! It will for US too!! #notetoself #amwriting #amcreating #backtothegrillagain https://www.instagram.com/p/Ch7RUwjuvYm/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

🎭#ArtIsAWeapon Grand opening of @augustwilsonhouse, the childhood home of the great, award-winning playwright, tonight, August 13, 2022, 8:00PM ET August Wilson House 1727 Bedford Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15219 www.eventbrite.com/e/august-wilson-house-grand-opening-celebration-tickets-381366416217?aff=eand Reposted from @augustwilsonhouse We are immeasurably thrilled about the August Wilson House Grand Opening 🎉 It’s been a dream and a goal for so long, and we could not be more excited to be at the cusp of finishing and opening the doors to this wondrous place. And YOU are cordially invited! Come experience the inspired space while enjoying a DJ Battle with @djbigphill, @selecta720 + @blakksteel - along with curated cocktails, and delectable bites 💃🏽🕺🏾 Look for Community House Party when you grab your tickets: 🔗 in bio #AugustWilsonHouse #GrandOpening #AugustWilson #Celebrate #BlackPlaywright #Broadway #Blackstorytellers (at August Wilson House) https://www.instagram.com/p/ChMIfpPAUmI/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

#theatercarpets #augustwilson #lookdown (at August Wilson Theater) https://www.instagram.com/p/CeWnBkPJhr4/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

Today In History

Playwright August Wilson is one of the most important voices in modern theater. He has won acclaim from literary and theater critics for his plays, which portray the African American experience in the twentieth century, one decade at a time.

Wilson won Pulitzer Prizes for two of them: Fences (1987), and The Piano Lesson on this date April 17, 1990.

He grew up in Pittsburgh's Hill District, where he was surrounded by the sounds, sights and struggles of urban African American life that would later fuel his creative efforts. But Wilson's appreciation for the culture in which he had grown up did not bloom fully until he moved to St. Paul, Minnesota, in his early thirties. From that distance, he gained an appreciation of the richness of the culture and the language of the place where he had spent his youth.

"In the Hill District, I was surrounded by all this highly charged, poetic vernacular which was so much part and parcel of life that I didn't pay any attention to it. But in moving to St. Paul and suddenly being removed from that environment and that language, I began to hear it for the first time and recognize its value," he says.

CARTER™️ Magazine carter-mag.com #wherehistoryandhiphopmeet #historyandhiphop365 #cartermagazine #carter #augustwilson #blackhistorymonth #blackhistory #history #staywoke

The #Prophets put boots to the ground bringing the word to #Playright #AugustWilson block party celebration in the #HillDistrict of #Pittsburgh!

………………………………………

Visit our website here 💻👨🏿‍💻🖥

🔴 https://solo.to/unitedinchrist

#Blacks #Hispanics #NativeAmericans #Unity #TwelveTribes #IUIC #Repent #Community #Pittsburgh #IUICTV #FlierMission

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (2020)

On a different day, I would be thrilled to tell you about Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom but today, I’ve just seen too many movies that deal with the issues it highlights. I’m tired seeing Black people brutalized, raped, lynched, or otherwise treated like second-class citizens. But don’t let my frustration deter you from seeing the film. The performances from Chadwick Boseman (his last on-screen role) and Viola Davis are phenomenal and the story engrossing. Once it gets started, you’re gripped, wondering what will happen next.

On July 2, 1927, Ma Rainey (Viola Davis) is late for a recording session at Paramount's Chicago music studio. Her manager, Irvin (Jeremy Shamos), assures producer Mel Sturdyvant (Jonny Coyne) she’s on her way. As musicians Toledo (Glynn Turman), Cutler (Colman Domingo), and Slow Drag (Michael Potts) try to convince Levee Green (Chadwick Boseman) to play the songs as Ma wants them to, things go from bad to worse.

Including the end credits, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom clocks at a mere 94 minutes but each feels packed. It's because of the leads. Each makes a huge impact upon arrival. You’re not quite sure how to feel about Levee. He’s a prodigious trumpeter but also arrogant and easily led astray. Beneath his smooth exterior is so much anger you alternate between siding with him whenever he speaks up and wondering if his decisions come from a clear head. The more you get to know him, the more complex your relationship with the man. With Chadwick Boseman’s charisma, you’re ready to side with him - until Ma (finally) appears at the recording studio.

Viola Davis matches Boseman beat-for-beat. Looking like she’s just come off a year-long bender and radiating “I don’t care what YOU think” energy with every step, you don’t necessarily like her… but you do respect her. Not doing so would be a fatal mistake. Levee tweaking the tempo of “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” and pushing his agenda is playing with fire.

With things constantly going wrong in the studio, the frustration builds until you're as sweaty as Ma. You can tell the white men overlooking the group just want this to be over with so they can move on. Levee keeps pushing. Everyone else - except for Dussie Mae (Taylor Page) - is just about fed up with the whole thing. Something’s going to blow. It's only a matter of time... but who, or what?

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is not a fun movie, which disappointed me. I wanted Boseman's final role to be one I'd revisit over and over but this is too raw, too painful, too powerful to watch casually - unless it's for the performances. Though it feels played out to me, the point it makes about society’s "hierarchy” is as relevant now as it was in 1927. For Chadwick Boseman alone, it would be worth seeing - if only the one time. This movie shows you how much more he could’ve offered us if his life hadn’t been cut short. (April 28, 2021)

Broadway's The Piano Lesson Finds Meaning, Even When Not Every Note Hits True

#frontmezzjunkies reviews: #AugustWilson's @PianoLessonPlay on #Broadway directed by #LatanyaRichardsonJackson starring #SamuelLJackson #DanielleBrooks #JohnDavidWashington #TraiByers #AprilMatthis & #RayFisher #BroadwayRevival #ThePianoLessonPlay

Samuel L. Jackson and John David Washington in August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson. Photo by Julieta Cervantes. The Broadway Theatre Review: The Piano Lesson By Ross Like a ghost standing in the hall, August Wilson’s epic Pulitzer Prize-winning play, The Piano Lesson, the fourth of Wilson’s 10-play  Pittsburgh Cycle, strides strong onto Broadway’s Ethel Barrymore Theatre stage, filling the air…

View On WordPress

Ma Rainey and Fats Waller, coming in early August. Thank.you Viola Davis and Denzel Washington for bringing Rainey back. #jazz #blues #musiceducation #violadavis #denzelwashington #augustwilson (at Beaverton, Oregon) https://www.instagram.com/p/CCuxwNag2pl/?igshid=1qd2f5ydobpxq

Creating new #Thanksgiving traditions with a night at the theater. #AugustWilson #Jitney #NewTraditions (at Mark Taper Forum) https://www.instagram.com/p/B5dTl2FlzN1/?igshid=1ottbfihvkj1g

REHEARSAL | FENCES | AUGUST WILSON | @brand_new_sheriff_productions_ /// /// #hellasincere #ohhey #rehearsal #icostume #theatre #stageplay #augustwilson #cltisdope #fortheculture (at Spirit Square) https://www.instagram.com/p/B5WY5fghViC/?igshid=1av89nlnvqvh1

Prepare to melt faces in 5... 4... 3... 2... 1 💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥 @jessicacaremoor ‘s #BLACKWOMENROCK! is live in Pittsburg, PA - one night only! This Saturday at The August Wilson Cultural Center. 💥 In the hometown of the legendary Betty Davis, we are the daughters of Betty- carrying the torch she lit years ago, and continuing raw, pure, unadulterated ROCKnfkinROLL. . . ⚡️What a lineup: @nonahendryx @kimnicky @stateofsate @ideeyah @steffchris @nikwestbass and me, under the musical direction of #katdyson ⚡️ . . ALL ARE WELCOME. ⚡️ BRACE YOURSELF. . #pittsburg #pittsburgliveevents #pittsburgconcerts #black #blackrock #blackwomenrock @blackwomenrocku #augustwilson #bettydavis #pittsburgjazzfestival #live #livemusic #musicevents (at August Wilson African American Cultural Center) https://www.instagram.com/p/By9r6W8Ffl9/?igshid=11p7sswn8h8hc