August Wilson for a new generation
August Wilson was one of the greatest playwrights of the twentieth century, and his ten-play Century Cycle is a singular achievement in the American theatre. Individually, they are among the most acclaimed American dramas of the last quarter century; taken all together they are unlike anything that has ever been attempted, much less achieved, in the American theatre.
Center Theatre Group maintained a long relationship with August Wilson, presenting seven of his plays. In addition to Jitney, King Hedley II (Tony Award nomination for Best Play), Gem of the Ocean and Radio Golf at the Mark Taper Forum, CTG presented the Tony Award-nominated Seven Guitars at the Ahmanson Theatre and Two Trains Running and The Piano Lesson (1990 Pulitzer Prize) at the Doolittle Theatre in Hollywood.
August Wilson Monologue Competition
Performing August Wilson
The Los Angeles Regional Finals of the August Wilson Monologue Competition took place at the Mark Taper Forum on March 26th. Our 15 Regional Finalists beautifully showcased their newfound understanding of August Wilson's soulful works. We are pleased to announce that Christopher Smith, Jasmine Hogan and Tyler Edwards were selected to travel to New York for the next round of the competition on May 7th.
CTG serves as the Southern California home for the August Wilson Monologue Competition. Open to high school students in 10th, 11th and 12th grade from Los Angeles, Ventura, Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties, students who apply should be interested in studying and practicing the craft of acting, specifically through monologue performances.
CTG is proud to partner with California Educational Theatre Association (CETA) in presenting the August Wilson Monologue Competition.
Please check back in the fall to apply for the 2013 competition.
August Wilson In-School Residencies
Discovering August Wilson
CTG’s August Wilson In-School Residencies provide an in-depth study of this significant playwright whose works can serve as a rich resource for literature, history and social studies through the human experiences of his characters.
• Classroom teachers partner with CTG Teaching Artists to design a relevant curriculum.
• Students learn about Wilson, his work and inspirations, and discover their own creative voices.
• Residencies take place in class, during school hours, over the course of 15 workshop sessions.
• Participating classrooms attend the Los Angeles Finals at the Mark Taper Forum in March.
2011-2012 Residency Schools
Compton High School
Compton Unified School District
School for the Visual Arts and Humanities
Los Angeles Unified School District, Local District 4
Thomas Jefferson High School
Los Angeles Unified School District, Local District 5
West Adams Preparatory High School
Los Angeles Unified School District, Local District T
The Century Cycle
In ten separate plays, each covering a different decade of the twentieth century, August Wilson explored the lives, dreams, triumphs and tragedies of black Americans on the frayed margins of life and described universal truths about the struggle for dignity, love, security and happiness in the face of often overwhelming obstacles.
1900s Gem of the Ocean
1910s Joe Turner’s Come and Gone
1920s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
1930s The Piano Lesson
1940s Seven Guitars
1950s Fences
1960s Two Trains Running
1970s Jitney
1980s King Hedley II
1990s Radio Golf
Questions?
Contact Traci Cho, Director of School Partnerships, at 213.972.0720 or tcho@CenterTheatreGroup.org.
Program Partners
PROGRAM FUNDERS
Photo Credit
Top: August Wilson. Photo by David Cooper
Lower: The top three finalists Tyler Edwards, Jasmine Hogan and Christopher Smith accept their awards during the August Wilson Monologue Competition Regional Finals at Center Theatre Group's Mark Taper Forum on March 26, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. Photo by Ryan Miller/Capture Imaging.
