6
I n c i t e /I ns i ght
Lesson Plan Exploration
W i n te r 20 1 9
“Start From Where You Find Yourself”
How August Wilson’s Words are
Continuing to Inspire Boston Students
WR ITTEN BY MEG O’BRIEN
A
quick study of
August Wilson
brings up quite
a few accolades
and impressive
statistics. Two Pulitzer Prizes,
a Tony Award for Best Play, 10
Broadway productions, three
Broadway revivals, the August
Wilson Theatre on Broadway,
to name a few. August Wilson
is the first African American
to have a Broadway theater
named after him. These facts,
along with the history of who
August was as a young person,
what his community meant
to him growing up, the tribute
he makes to the Hill District of
Pittsburgh in his writing, and his
focus on the black experience
in America in his Century Cycle
results in, at least in my opinion,
a call to action for those of us
who have devoted our lives to
educating young people about
theatre. We must teach August
Wilson’s work. We must inform
our students about his plays, the
man behind the art, who he was
as a young boy in Pittsburgh,
the path that brought him to
Broadway, and why his work
is so essential to our field. It
doesn’t matter who our students
are or where they live, August
Wilson’s writing is and should be
required study.
Osamede Izevbizua, 3rd Place Winner in 2019
Boston Regional Finalists of the Huntington
Theatre’s August Wilson Monologue Competition.
Photo Credit: David Marshall