August Wilson - WikiHQ

August Wilson (né Frederick August Kittel Jr.; April 27, 1945 – October 2, 2005) was an American playwright. He has been referred to as the "theater's poet of Black America". He is best known for a series of 10 plays, collectively called The Pittsburgh Cycle (or The Century Cycle), which chronicle the experiences and heritage of the African-American community in the 20th century. Plays in the series include Fences (1987) and The Piano Lesson (1990), each of which won Wilson the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, as well as Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (1984) and Joe Turner's Come and Gone (1988). In 2006, Wilson was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame.

Other themes range from the systemic and historical exploitation of African Americans, race relations, identity, migration, and racial discrimination. Viola Davis said that Wilson's writing "captures our humor, our vulnerabilities, our tragedies, our trauma. And he humanizes us. And he allows us to talk." Since Wilson's death, three of his plays have been adapted or re-adapted into films: Fences (2016), Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (2020) and The Piano Lesson (2024). Denzel Washington has shepherded the films and has vowed to continue Wilson's legacy by adapting the rest of his plays into films for a wider audience. Washington said, "the greatest part of what's left of my career is making sure that August is taken care of".

Early life

Wilson was born Frederick August Kittel Jr. in the Hill District of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the fourth of six children. His father, Frederick August Kittel Sr., was a Sudeten German immigrant, who was a baker/pastry cook. His mother, Daisy Wilson, was an African-American woman from North Carolina who cleaned homes for a living. Wilson's anecdotal history reports that his maternal grandmother walked from North Carolina to Pennsylvania in search of a better life. Wilson's mother raised the children alone until he was five in a two-room apartment behind a grocery store at 1727 Bedford Avenue; his father was mostly absent from his childhood. Wilson later wrote under his mother's surname.

The economically depressed neighborhood where he was raised was inhabited predominantly by Black Americans and Jewish and Italian immigrants. Life was tough for the Kittel siblings as they were biracial. August struggled with finding a sense of belonging to a particular culture and did not feel that he truly fit into African-American culture or White culture until later in life. Wilson's mother divorced his father and married David Bedford in the 1950s, and the family moved from the Hill District to the then predominantly White working-class neighborhood of Hazelwood, where they encountered racial hostility; bricks were thrown through a window at their new home. They were soon forced out of their house and on to their next home.

The Hill District went on to become the setting of numerous plays in the Pittsburgh Cycle. His experiences growing up there with a strong matriarch shaped the way his plays would be written.

Raised Catholic, in 1959 Wilson was one of 14 African-American students at Central Catholic High School but dropped out after one year. He then attended Connelley Vocational High School, but found the curriculum unchallenging. He dropped out of Gladstone High School in the 10th grade in 1960 after his teacher accused him of plagiarizing a 20-page paper he wrote on Napoleon I of France. Wilson hid his decision from his mother because he did not want to disappoint her. At the age of 16 he began working menial jobs, where he met a wide variety of people on whom some of his later characters were based, such as Sam in The Janitor (1985). and went back to working various odd jobs as a porter, short-order cook, gardener, and dishwasher.

Frederick August Kittel Jr. changed his name to August Wilson to honor his mother after his father's death in 1965. That same year, he discovered the blues as sung by Bessie Smith, and he bought a stolen typewriter for $10, which he often pawned when money was tight. He and Brenda had one daughter, Sakina Ansari-Wilson. The couple divorced in 1972. and checked it out."

Wilson received many honorary degrees, including an honorary Doctor of Humanities from the University of Pittsburgh, of which he was a trustee from 1992 until 1995.

Wilson maintained a strong voice in the progress and development of the (then) contemporary Black theater, undoubtedly taking influences from the examples of his youth, such as those displayed during the Black Arts Movement. One of the most notable examples of Wilson's strong opinions and critiques of what was Black theater's state in the 1990s, was the "On Cultural Power: The August Wilson/Robert Brustein Discussion" where Wilson argued for a completely Black theater with all positions filled by Blacks. Conversely, he argued that Black actors should not play roles not specifically Black (e.g., no Black Hamlet). Brustein heatedly took an opposing view.

2000s

In 2005, Wilson's final installment in his ten-part series The Century Cycle, titled Radio Golf, opened. It was first performed in 2005 by the Yale Repertory Theatre in New Haven, Connecticut and had its Broadway premiere in 2007 at the Cort Theatre. It would become known as Wilson's final work.

Post–Black Arts Movement

Although Wilson's work is not formally recognized within the literary canon of the Black Arts Movement, he was certainly a product of its mission, co-founding the Black Horizon Theatre in his hometown of Pittsburgh in 1968. Situated in Pittsburgh's Hill District, a historically and predominantly Black neighborhood, the Black Horizon Theatre became a cultural hub of Black creativity and community building. As a playwright of what is considered the Post–Black Arts Movement, Wilson inherited the spirit of BAM, producing plays that celebrated the history and poetic sensibilities of Black people. His iconic Century Cycle successfully tracked and synthesized the experiences of Black America in the 20th century, using each historical decade, from 1904 to 1997, to document the physical, emotional, mental, and political strivings of Black life in the wake of emancipation.

Wilson's best-known plays are Fences (1985) (which won a Pulitzer Prize and a Tony Award), The Piano Lesson (1990) (a Pulitzer Prize and the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award), Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, and Joe Turner's Come and Gone.

Wilson stated that he was most influenced by "the four Bs": blues music, the Argentine writer and poet Jorge Luis Borges, the playwright Amiri Baraka and the painter Romare Bearden. also often referred to as his Century Cycle, consists of ten plays, nine of which are set in Pittsburgh's Hill District (the other being set in Chicago), an African-American neighborhood that takes on a mythic literary significance like Thomas Hardy's Wessex, William Faulkner's Yoknapatawpha County, or Irish playwright Brian Friel's Ballybeg. The plays are each set in a different decade and aim to sketch the Black experience in the 20th century and "raise consciousness through theater" and echo "the poetry in the everyday language of Black America". His writing of the Black experience always featured strong female characters and sometimes included elements of the supernatural. In his book, he wrote "My mother's a very strong, principled woman. My female characters . . . come in a large part from my mother."

As for the elements of the supernatural, Wilson often featured some form of superstition or old tradition in plays that came down to supernatural roots. One of his plays well known for featuring this is The Piano Lesson. In the play, the piano is used and releases spirits of the ancestors. Wilson wanted to create such an event in the play that the audience was left to decide what was real or not. He was fascinated by the power of theater as a medium where a community at large could come together to bear witness to events and currents unfolding. The plays often include an apparently mentally impaired oracular character (different in each play)—for example, Hedley Sr. in Seven Guitars, Gabriel in Fences, Stool Pigeon in King Hedley II, or Hambone in Two Trains Running.

{| class="wikitable sortable"

! Year of premiere

! Title

! Decade

! Opened on Broadway

| 1982

| Jitney

| 1970s

| 2017 – Samuel J. Friedman Theatre

| 1984

| Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

| 1920s

| 1984 – Cort Theatre

| 1985

| Fences

| 1950s

| 1987 – 46th Street Theatre

| 1986

| Joe Turner's Come and Gone

| 1910s

| 1988 – Ethel Barrymore

| 1987

| The Piano Lesson

| 1930s

| 1990 – Walter Kerr

| 1990

| Two Trains Running

| 1960s

| 1992 – Walter Kerr

| 1995

| Seven Guitars

| 1940s

| 1996 – Walter Kerr

| 1999

| King Hedley II

| 1980s

| 2001 – Virginia Theatre

| 2003

| Gem of the Ocean

| 1900s

| 2004 – Walter Kerr

| 2005

| Radio Golf

| 1990s

| 2007 – Cort Theatre

Chicago's Goodman Theatre was the first theater in the world to produce the entire 10-play cycle, in productions which spanned from 1986 to 2007. Two of the Goodman's productions—Seven Guitars and Gem of the Ocean—were world premieres. Israel Hicks produced the entire 10-play cycle from 1990 to 2009 for the Denver Center Theatre Company. Geva Theatre Center produced all 10 plays in decade order from 2007 to 2011 as August Wilson's American Century. The Huntington Theatre Company of Boston has produced all 10 plays, finishing in 2012. During Wilson's life he worked closely with The Huntington to produce the later plays. Pittsburgh Public Theater was the first theater company in Pittsburgh to produce the entire Century Cycle, including the world premiere of King Hedley II to open the O'Reilly Theater in Downtown Pittsburgh.

TAG – The Actors' Group, in Honolulu, Hawaii, produced all 10 plays in the cycle starting in 2004 with Two Trains Running and culminating in 2015 with Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. All shows were Hawaii premieres, all were extremely successful at the box office and garnered many local theatre awards for the actors and the organization. The Black Rep in St. Louis and the Anthony Bean Community Theater in New Orleans have also presented the complete cycle.

In the years after Wilson's death the 10-play cycle has been referred to as The August Wilson Century Cycle and as The American Century Cycle.

Two years before his death in 2005, Wilson wrote and performed an unpublished one-man play entitled How I Learned What I Learned about the power of art and the power of possibility. This was produced at New York's Signature Theatre and directed by Todd Kreidler, Wilson's friend and protégé. How I Learned explores his days as a struggling young writer in Pittsburgh's Hill District and how the neighborhood and its people inspired his cycle of plays about the African-American experience.

Personal life

Wilson was married three times. His first marriage was to Brenda Burton from 1969 to 1972. They had one daughter, Sakina Ansari, born 1970. In 1981, he married Judy Oliver, a social worker; they divorced in 1990. He married again in 1994 and was survived by his third wife, costume designer Constanza Romero, whom he met on the set of The Piano Lesson. They had a daughter, Azula Carmen Wilson. He reportedly requested a "Black funeral" at Saint Paul Cathedral, but permission for a non-Catholic funeral was not granted by the diocese. A memorial service was instead held at the University of Pittsburgh. Originally named "Recycling"; directed and acted by August Wilson.|| The Coldest Day of the Year ||Written in 1976; part of "The Wood of the Cross" trilogy.

|(not produced)

|(not performed)|| Fullerton Street ||Written in 1980; originally intended to be Wilson's play about the 1940s.|| Jitney! ||Written in 1979; performed October 29, 1982.|| Fences ||Written in 1983; Produced in 1985

|1986

|Yale Repertory Theatre|| Joe Turner's Come and Gone||Written and Published in 1984. On February 26, 2008, Pittsburgh City Council placed the house on the List of City of Pittsburgh historic designations. On April 30, 2013, the August Wilson House was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

In Pittsburgh, there is an August Wilson Center for African American Culture. The center includes a permanent exhibition on Wilson's life in Pittsburgh's Hill District, "August Wilson: A Writer's Landscape."

On October 16, 2005, fourteen days after Wilson's death, the Virginia Theatre in New York City's Broadway Theater District was renamed the August Wilson Theatre. It is the first Broadway theatre to bear the name of an African American. The theatre has run many shows, including Jersey Boys, Groundhog Day, and Mean Girls.

In 2007, True Colors Artistic Director Emeritus Kenny Leon and then-Associate Artistic Director Todd Kreidler founded the National August Wilson Monologue Competition to honor Wilson's artistic legacy and foster a new generation of creative minds. High school students, supported by professional actors, mentors, local drama teachers and others learn a monologue from one of Wilson's plays, and perform it in front of a professional jury. This tribute to Wilson's work was an official contest in many American cities until 2021 (when it was held virtually due to Covid) from Atlanta (GA), Boston (MA), Buffalo (NY), Chicago IL), Dallas (TX), East Lansing (MI), Greensboro (NC), Hampton Roads (VA), Los Angeles (CA), Maryland, Milwaukee (WI), New Haven (CT), New York (NY), Pittsburgh (PA), Portland (OR), San Diego (CA), Seattle (WA), and Urbana-Champaign (IL). The national winners of the contest received a scholarship and the chance to perform on Broadway. The program is featured in two documentaries: The Start of Dreams (2010) directed by The Horne Brothers, and Giving Voice (2018) directed by James D. Stern and Fernando Villena.

In Seattle, Washington, along the south side of the Seattle Repertory Theatre, the vacated Republican Street between Warren Avenue N. and 2nd Avenue N. on the Seattle Center grounds has been renamed August Wilson Way.

In 2015, Denzel Washington announced a partnership with the Wilson Estate to produce movie-adaptations of all 10 plays in the Century Cycle, initially planning on one a year with his long-time producing partner Todd Black. In 2016, Washington directed and produced Fences, playing Troy Maxon opposite Viola Davis' Rose Maxon. In 2020, the George C. Wolfe-directed Ma Rainey's Black Bottom was released, starring Viola Davis in the title role with Chadwick Boseman as Levee. And in 2024, the pair co-produced The Piano Lesson, directed by his son Malcom Washington, who co-wrote the adaptation with Virgil Williams (Mudbound). The film featured Samuel L. Jackson as Doaker, another Washington sibling, John David as Boy Willie, and Danielle Deadwyler as Berniece. Washington and Black are currently working on the next film adaptation Joe Turner's Come and Gone.

In September 2016, an existing community park near his childhood home was renovated and renamed August Wilson Park.

In 2020, the University Library System at the University of Pittsburgh acquired Wilson's literary papers and materials to establish the August Wilson Archive.

In 2021, the United States Postal Service honored Wilson with a Forever stamp featuring him as part of the Black Heritage series of stamps. It was designed by Ethel Kessler with art from Tim O'Brien.

On January 7, 2025, Wilson received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Harold Bloom included two of Wilson's most famous plays, Fences and Joe Turner's Come and Gone, on his list of works constituting the Western Canon. Playwright a. k. payne has cited Wilson as inspiration for their work.

Other awards and honors by year:

1985: New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best American Play Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
1986: Whiting Award for Drama
1986: Guggenheim Fellowship for Drama & Performance Art
1987: Artist of the Year by Chicago Tribune
1988: Literary Lion Award from the New York Public Library
1988: Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement
1988: New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Play – Joe Turner's Come and Gone
1990: Governor's Awards for Excellence in the Arts and Distinguished Pennsylvania Artists
1990: New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Play – The Piano Lesson
1991: Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame award
1991: St. Louis Literary Award from the Saint Louis University Library Associates
1992: American Theatre Critics' Association Award – Two Trains Running
1992, 2007: New York Drama Critics Circle Citation for Best American Play – Two Trains Running
1992: Clarence Muse Award
1996: New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Play – Seven Guitars
1999: National Humanities Medal
2000: New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Play – Jitney
2001: Outer Critics Circle Award for John Gassner Playwriting Award – Fences
2002: Olivier Award for Best new Play – Jitney
2004: The 10th Annual Heinz Award in Arts and Humanities
2004: The U.S. Comedy Arts Festival Freedom of Speech Award
2005: Make Shift Award at the U.S. Confederation of Play Writers
2006: American Theater Hall of Fame.
2013: Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Revival – The Piano Lesson

References

External links

August Wilson Archives, University of Pittsburgh
August Wilson Theatre Broadway
Berkeley Rep profile of Wilson and works
The Whiting Foundation Profile
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article
August Wilson Journal

Interviews

August Wilson on Blackness, Bill Moyers, A World of Ideas, October 20, 1988.
NPR Intersections: August Wilson, Writing to the Blues, March 1, 2004, audio interview (6 mins).
Interview with Wilson, The Believer, November 2004.
Putting Up Fences, article with video, BU Today, September 17, 2009.

Obituaries

"Theater Is to Be Renamed for a Dying Playwright", The New York Times, September 2, 2005.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette obituary, October 3, 2005
"August Wilson, Theater's Poet of Black America, Is Dead at 60", The New York Times, October 3, 2005.
Margaret Busby, "August Wilson – Distinguished black American playwright who reclaimed the stories of his people", The Guardian, October 4, 2005.