About the August Wilson Education Project ...... 2 Why Teach August Wilson? ...... 3 How To Use This Guide ...... 3 About August Wilson ...... 4 The 10-Play Cycle ...... 6 Influences & Impact ...... 7 August Wilson’s Hill ...... 8 August Wilson Education Project Website ...... 10 The Plays ...... 11 Additional Resources ...... 33 Common Core Standards ...... 37 WELCOME TO THE AUGUST WILSON EDUCATION PROJECT

In February 2015, the PBS ways around the life, work, series American Masters and and cultural impact of August Pittsburgh’s WQED Multimedia Wilson. The goal of the project will present the documentary, is to encourage students to August Wilson: The Ground On develop their unique voice while Which I Stand, the definitive exploring themes prevalent story of the most prolific in Wilson’s work: community, playwright of the last half of identity, diversity, activism, the 20th century. In support of self-reliance, and resilience. this documentary, The August We wish to extend our sincere Wilson Education Project thanks to The PNC Foundation will equip and empower high for supporting this national school educators to engage education outreach project. their students in meaningful

August Wilson helps us remember who we are…all of us, as an American people. — Suzan-Lori Parks “ Playwright, 2002 Pulitzer Prize-winning drama Topdog/Underdog ”

Acknowledgments: Many thanks to the Penumbra Theatre, Pittsburgh Public Theater, and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for photos.

2 WHY TEACH AUGUST WILSON?

“There’s no idea in the world that is not contained by black life. I could write forever about the black experience in America.” –August Wilson In his own words, August Wilson The product of a master makes the case for why his storyteller, Wilson’s plays Century Cycle is a deep well resonate across boundaries of from which educators and their time, age, race, and location. students can draw endlessly, for Through his characters, inspiration and ideas to discuss, otherwise marginalized voices debate, analyze, critique, and are heard. Teaching August embrace. To teach August Wilson Wilson invites students who is to teach drama, English, find themselves in the margins, creative writing, poetry, whether socially, economically, metaphor, history, civics, and or otherwise, to discover and current events — all at once . raise their own voices and tell the stories of their century.

HOW TO USE THIS GUIDE

This guide includes the following A deck of 10 cards (one per for each of the 10 plays in play) accompanies this guide. August Wilson’s Century Cycle: Each card contains discussion 1 . Historical Connections to questions and extension place the play in historical activities for your students. context All of the resources in the deck 2 .C oncepts for Pre-Teaching to and in this guide can be found give your students important online in the Teacher Toolkit at background information prior wqed or. g/augustwilson. In the to reading the text digital Toolkit, you’ll also find 3 .A brief Synopsis, Character additional resources including List, and a Quotable (excerpt professional development videos, or quote) extension activities, and background materials for each play. 4 .QR Codes to access online content such as video and Clips marked with an asterisk audio clips* (*) will be available after August 5 .In Your Words activities Wilson: The Ground On Which I inviting students to lend Stand airs on February 20, 2015. their voices to the August Wilson Education Project. See submission details on page 35.

3 WHEN YOU HEAR THE NAME “AUGUST WILSON,” WHAT COMES TO MIND?

Considered America’s Shakespeare, Pulitzer Prize- winning playwright Auguststoryteller Wilson (1945–2005) created an unprecedented 10-play Century Cycle—one play set in each decade of the 20th century—chronicling the joys, struggles, history, and culture of African Americans.

August Wilson was born Frederick August Kittel on April 27, 1945, in the Hill District community of Pittsburgh. He was the son of Daisytruth-teller Wilson, an African American cleaning woman, and Frederick Kittel, a German immigrant and baker who was mostly absent from Wilson’s life. Wilson left school in the 10th grade after experiencing racial bullying and false accusations of plagiarism. For the next several years, he educated himself at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh during school hours, unbeknownst to his mother.

A voracious reader from a young age, Wilson began his artistic life as a poet. He also sought out the poetry in everyday life. He spent time in restaurants, barbershops, and on the streets of The Hill, listening to the residents’ voices and stories as they reflected on their lives against a backdrop of economic decline and social upheaval. Wilson would later draw on these voices and prophethistories to create unforgettable characters in his plays. visionary

4 HIS STORY August Wilson’s 10-Play Cycle

From the mid-1980s until his a blend of comedy, tragedy, death in 2005, August Wilson history, and deeply personal wrote 10 plays that present meditations on the universal African American life in all themes of love, community, its fullness. With one play identity, honor, duty, and justice. set in each decade of the 20th century, and all of the plays August Wilson told extraordinary except Ma Rainey’s Black stories about ordinary people, Bottom set in The Hill, Wilson’s and in doing so, he changed the plays are collectively known face of the American theater . as the Pittsburgh Cycle or the Century Cycle. His works feature powerful monologues that are

Gem of the Ocean [set in 1904] Joe Turner’s Come and Gone [set in 1911] Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom [set in 1927] The Piano Lesson [set in 1936] Seven Guitars [set in 1948] Fences [set in 1957] Two Trains Running [set in 1969] Jitney [set in 1977] King Hedley II [set in 1985] Radio Golf [set in 1997]

6 Influences & Impact

As a playwright, August Wilson The characters and conflicts worked in the style of a in Wilson’s plays reflect these collagist. He scribbled his ideas external influences as well on napkins, or whatever was as Wilson’s personal history handy, then pulled the various as a biracial child who grew pieces together into a cohesive up without his father around. drama. His characters’ voices The result is a collection of emerged from lines of dialogue extraordinary dramas full of he imagined and from bits of gritty realism as well as African conversations he overheard, and African American spiritual sometimes many years before. and supernatural elements. In His work was also influenced by… this way, Wilson’s plays brought • the blues of Bessie Smith the ordinary yet complex lives of African Americans to the • Black Power Movement and national stage. the Civil Rights Movement • poet playwright Amiri Baraka and the Black Arts Movement • the paintings of Romare Bearden • the works of Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges .

August Wilson wrote the frustration and the glory of being black…in America. — Ruben Santiago-Hudson “ Tony Award-winning actor, Seven Guitars ”

7 August Wilson’s Hill

Nine of the ten plays in the “Approximately 90 percent of Century Cycle are set in The Hill the buildings in the area are sub- District where August Wilson standard and have long outlived lived until he was 33. In the their usefulness, and so there 1940s and 1950s, The Hill was would be no social loss if they Pittsburgh’s Harlem, a racially were all destroyed.” mixed hub of creativity and commerce, and one of the most The Hill was about 95% African prosperous black communities American in the 1960s when the in the country . The Hill was city demolished much of the the center of the Pittsburgh Lower Hill (where August Wilson jazz scene, welcoming such grew up) and displaced 8,000 luminaries as Duke Ellington, residents and 400 businesses Ella Fitzgerald, Billy Eckstein, to make way for what was then and Lena Horne. known as the Civic Arena, home to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Originally, The Hill was The Hill experienced sharp a predominantly Jewish economic decline, which was community. Between 1870 exacerbated by riots in the and 1890, great numbers of wake of Dr . Martin Luther King Jewish immigrants arrived Jr ’. s assassination in 1968 . from Europe’s ghettos. Italians, Syrians, Greeks, and Poles From a real-life jitney station to followed. African Americans the imagined residence of the began to come to The Hill from character of Aunt Ester at 1839 the rural South between 1880 Wylie Avenue, August Wilson and 1890. Around the time of immortalized The Hill. Today, World War I through the 1960s, The Hill remains one of the a wave of African Americans poorest districts in Pittsburgh, migrated to the area from but recent revitalization efforts the rural South in search of offer hope for a positive industrial jobs. dramatic turn in its future. *An interactive map of The Hill District In the 1950s, the growing is available on our website at number of black residents and wqed.org/augustwilson/hill-district-map/ availability of trolleys spurred white residents of The Hill to move outside of the city center. A decade earlier, a city councilman wrote of The Hill:

8 Premieres February 20th, 2015* August Wilson: The Ground On Which I Stand

A documentary presented by WQED Multimedia and the PBS series, American Masters.

August Wilson: The Ground On August Wilson: The Ground Which I Stand details August On Which I Stand features Wilson’s unexpected rise from Wilson’s family, friends, and humble beginnings and adversity collaborators recalling his to create a 10-play cycle formative years and, later, the about African American life, a evolution of his 10-play cycle . groundbreaking achievement Notable actors such as James in theater history. From the Earl Jones, Laurence Fishburne, 1980s into the first decade of Phylicia Rashad, and Charles S. the 21st century, Wilson was the Dutton discuss Wilson’s impact most produced playwright both on their careers, his artistic on Broadway and in regional process, and his unwavering theaters. His plays earned belief in black life as rich and full Wilson two Pulitzer Prizes. of stories worth telling. Powerful performances of scenes from Wilson’s plays round out this definitive story of the life, work, and impact of the most prolific playwright of the last half of the 20th century.

*For airtimes, please check your local PBS listings at pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/

9 On Our Website wqed.org/augustwilson

Interactive Map

Take a virtual tour of August Wilson’s Hill, a map featuring real and fictional locations that served as the settings or inspiration for the settings in Wilson’s plays.

Biographical Timeline

Learn about August Wilson’s life and work along this interactive timeline, featuring: • V ideo and audio clips of August Wilson, noted scholars, and acclaimed actors discussing Wilson’s life, influences, and artistic process, and the evolution of his 10-play cycle • Still photos

Blog

The August Wilson Education Project blog features: • Int erviews with actors and others about Wilson’s legacy and their favorite August Wilson play • News and special events • Project updates Ask the Expert

Ask an August Wilson expert a question about his life and work!

Other Resources

• News and feature articles about Wilson and his plays • Discussion guides • C urriculum-targeted digital resources at PBS Learning Media PBSLearningMedia.org (available February 2015)

10 THE PLAYS GEM OF THE OCEAN Through the power of GEM OF memory, a man takes a mystical journey toward THE OCEAN freedom and redemption .

SYNOPSIS Citizen Barlow arrives at 1839 Wylie Avenue in Pittsburgh after a long journey from 1904 Alabama. He has come to see Aunt Ester Tyler, who is a known “cleanser of souls.” Citizen wants his Historical Connections soul cleansed, and Aunt Ester offers to take him • Trans-Atlantic slave trade on a symbolic journey to the “City of Bones”—the • Aftermath of the Civil War burial place for enslaved Africans who perished and Reconstruction along the Middle Passage to the Americas—to better Concepts for Pre-Teaching understand his past. Along the way, the characters • Emancipation explore the ways in which the legacies of slavery • Middle Passage continue to affect their lives. • The Underground Railroad QUOTABLE “I came across that ocean, Main Characters Eli Mr. Citizen. I cried. I had lost everything. Citizen Barlow Everything I had ever known in this life I lost Aunt Ester Tyler that. I cried an ocean of tears. Did you ever Black Mary lose anything like that, Mr. Citizen? Where you Rutherford Selig so lost the only thing that can guide you is the Solly Two Kings Caesar Wilks stars. That’s all I had left. Everything had ever known was gone to me. The only thing I had Key Monologue was the stars.” —Aunt Ester Aunt Ester describes the City of Bones, Act 2; Scene 1 LISTEN Aunt Ester on memory

WATCH Phylicia Rashad discusses the character of Aunt Ester*

IN YOUR WORDS Write a one-act play set entirely in the City of Bones. Tony Award® Nominee BEST PLAY *Available after the premiere of August Wilson: The Ground On Which I Stand 2005 13 JOE TURNER’S COME AND GONE Tenants of a boardinghouse contend with the personal JOE TURNER’S and social aftermath of slavery and the COME AND GONE Great Migration .

SYNOPSIS After being forced to work for seven years on Joe Turner’s chain gang, Herald Loomis 1911 arrives in Pittsburgh’s Hill District in search of his estranged wife. Throughout his stay, he admits Historical Connections to himself that he has also lost his own sense of • Trans-Atlantic slave trade identity, his “song.” Herald’s journey becomes a • Aftermath of the Civil War search for the meaning of his own past and the and Reconstruction possibilities of his future. Concepts for Pre-Teaching • Emancipation QUOTABLE “Mr. Loomis done picked some • The Great Migration cotton. Ain’t you, Herald Loomis? You done • Juba/African Ring Shout picked a bunch of cotton. I can tell from • Romare Bearden’s The looking at you. My daddy taught me how to Mill Hand’s Lunch Bucket painting do that. Say when you look at a fellow, if you taught yourself to look for it, you can see his Main Characters song written on him. Tell you what kind of man Seth Holly he is in this world. Now, I can look at you, Bertha Holly Bynum Walker Mr. Loomis, and see you a man who done Jeremy Furlow forgot his song. Forgot how to sing it. A fellow Herald Loomis forget that and he forget who he is.” —Bynum Zonia Loomis Mattie Campbell LISTEN Molly Cunningham Bynum on women Rutherford Selig Reuben Mercer Martha Pentecost Key Monologue WATCH Bynum tells Loomis that he’s forgotten his song, Act 2; Laurence Fishburne on Joe Turner* Scene 2

IN YOUR WORDS What is your song? Write it down. New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award Winner BEST PLAY *Available after the premiere of August Wilson: The Ground On Which I Stand 1988 15 MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM Stifled and disillusioned by MA RAINEY’S exploitation by white record labels, black musicians turn BLACK BOTTOM their rage inward .

SYNOPSIS The play opens as band members Levee, Toledo, Cutler, and Slow Drag arrive to record 1927 a new album with Ma Rainey, an acclaimed blues singer. There are tensions among the members of Historical Connections Ma Rainey’s band and with their white producers. • The Great Migration Through their artistic differences, it becomes clear that each character has a different view of the Concepts for Pre-Teaching • Race records (term used purpose of creative expression. The play explores for African American the continued exploitation of work by African- recorded music in the 1920s Americans in the 20th century. and 1930s) • Institutional racism QUOTABLE “You don’t sing [the blues] to feel better — you sing ’cause that’s a way of Main Characters Ma Rainey understanding life.” —Ma Rainey Cutler Dussie Mae LISTEN Irvin Ma Rainey on the blues Levee Policeman Slow Drag Sturdyvant Sylvester WATCH Toledo Stanford University Vice Provost and Key Monologue Professor Harry Elam discusses Levee on race and religion, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and the Act 2; Scene 1 musicality of August Wilson’s plays

IN YOUR WORDS Which Ma Rainey character are you most like in your response to injustice? If you experience or observe an injustice, what steps do you take to make things right?

Tony Award® Nominee BEST PLAY 1985 17 THE PIANO LESSON THE PIANO Siblings disagree about how to honor the legacy of their LESSON family’s painful past .

SYNOPSIS When Boy Willie arrives in Pittsburgh from Mississippi, he announces a plan to sell the 1936 family’s piano to buy the land that their ancestors worked on as slaves. His sister Berniece is Historical Connections adamantly opposed to selling the piano because it • Slavery was acquired during slavery through the sale of two of the family’s ancestors. Concepts for Pre-Teaching • Plantation life/sale of QUOTABLE “Mama Ola polished this piano with enslaved people • Romare Bearden’s her tears for seventeen years. For seventeen The Piano Lesson painting years she rubbed on it till her hands bled. Then she rubbed the blood in…mixed it up with Main Characters the rest of the blood on it. Every day that God Doaker Berniece breathed life into her body she rubbed and Boy Willie cleaned and polished and prayed over it. ‘Play Lymon something for me, Berniece. Play something Avery for me, Berniece.’ Every day. ’I cleaned it up Wining Boy for you, play something for me, Berniece.’” Maretha Grace —Berniece Key Monologue LISTEN Berniece refuses to let Boy Berniece on the piano Willie take the piano, Act 1; Scene 2

IN YOUR WORDS Write a persuasive letter urging Berniece or Boy Willie to have a change of heart about the piano.

Pulitzer Prize Winner DRAMA 1990 19 SEVEN GUITARS Internal and external struggles shape African SEVEN American men as they fight for their humanity GUITARS and self-worth .

SYNOPSIS Floyd Barton, a musician recently released from jail, must rebuild his life and his 1948 relationships after burning several bridges. He and the other characters strive to understand Historical Connections themselves and each other in the midst of • Aftermath of World War II instability. The play explores the challenges of establishing oneself in a tumultuous and often Concepts for Pre-Teaching • History of jazz dangerous environment. • Marcus Garvey • Buddy Bolden QUOTABLE “I am not a historian. I happen • Toussaint L’Ouverture to think that the content of my mother’s life • Muddy Waters — her myths, her superstitions, her prayers, • Joe Louis the contents of her pantry, the smell of her • Lazarus kitchen, the song that escaped from her Main Characters sometimes parched lips, her thoughtful repose Louise and pregnant laughter — are all worthy of art. Canewell Hence, Seven Guitars.” —August Wilson Red Carter Vera LISTEN Hedley Louise on men and guns Floyd Barton Ruby Key Monologue IN YOUR WORDS Make a list similar to Wilson’s Vera tells Floyd how she felt above about the contents of the life of someone when he left her, Act 1; Scene 2 you love. Use these details to create a story, poem, song, or one-act play.

New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award Winner BEST PLAY 1996 21

FENCES A father’s frustration with his own past threatens his FENCES son’s future .

SYNOPSIS Troy Maxson is a middle-aged trash collector who eventually becomes the first African- 1957 American garbage truck driver in Pittsburgh. Earlier in his life, Troy was a talented baseball player, but Historical Connections was unable to play for the Major Leagues because • Aftermath of World War II he was too old by the time they allowed black • Pre-Civil Rights Movement players. Troy must reconcile his disappointment in Concepts for Pre-Teaching his past with the choices he makes in the present. • Segregation In striving to take control of his life, he alienates • Integration his wife and son. The play explores Troy’s search for • Negro League Baseball self-actualization and the mistakes he makes along • Jackie Robinson the way. Main Characters QUOTABLE “Some people build fences to keep Troy Maxson Rose Maxson people out…and other people build fences to Cory Maxson keep people in.” —Jim Bono Jim Bono Gabriel Maxson LISTEN Lyons Maxson Rose on Troy’s betrayal Raynell Maxson Key Monologue Cory asks Troy why he has never liked him; Troy WATCH responds, Act 1; Scene 3 High school students read Fences and discuss August Wilson

IN YOUR WORDS Imagine Cory’s life after the events that took place in Fences. Write a monologue for him set in the future, when he is Troy’s age.

Pulitzer Prize Winner DRAMA 1987 23 TWO TRAINS RUNNING African Americans grapple with the social TWO TRAINS and psychological impact of the Civil Rights and RUNNING Black Power Movements .

SYNOPSIS Two Trains Running is set entirely in a restaurant owned by Memphis, a self-made man 1969 who prides himself on hard work and diligence. The restaurant has several regular customers, Historical Connections each of whom has differing views on work, faith, • Post-Civil Rights Movement and race relations. The play explores, through the experiences and opinions of each character, Concepts for Pre-Teaching • Civil Rights Movement whether much has changed for African-Americans • Black Power Movement by the end of the 1960s. • Martin Luther King, Jr.’s assassination QUOTABLE “You can’t go through life carrying • Malcolm X a ten-gallon bucket. Get you a little cup. That’s all you need. Get you a little cup and Main Characters Holloway somebody put a little bit in and it’s half full. Wolf That ten-gallon bucket ain’t never gonna be Sterling full. Carry you a little cup through life and Risa you’ll never be disappointed.” —West West Hambone LISTEN Memphis Holloway on love and death Key Monologue Memphis on socioeconomic decline in the community, Act 1; Scene 1 WATCH Laurence Fishburne on blackness in Two Trains Running*

IN YOUR WORDS Write a prequel to Two Trains with Risa as the central character. In your prequel, reveal the events that led her to cut her legs.

New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award Winner BEST AMERICAN PLAY *Available after the premiere of August Wilson: The Ground On Which I Stand 1992 25

JITNEY Bonds between generations are tested by personal and JITNEY community conflicts .

SYNOPSIS Set in a jitney station that is being threatened with demolition, Jitney explores the 1977 lives and relationships of the station’s various drivers. The story begins when the station’s owner, Historical Connections Becker, learns that his son is to be released from • Post-Civil Rights Movement jail the following day. Becker and his son disagree on what it means to be a man. The play explores Concepts for Pre-Teaching • Urban renewal/ their relationship and what kind of legacy Becker redevelopment will leave behind. • Jitney cabs QUOTABLE “The only thing I ever knew him to Main Characters do was work hard. It didn’t matter to me too Shealy much at the time cause I couldn’t see it like I Becker Fielding see it now. He had his ways. I guess everybody Philmore do. The only thing I feel sorry about…is that Turnbo he ain’t got out of life what he put in. He Doub deserved better than what life gave him. I YoungBlood/Darnell can’t help thinking that. But you right…I’m Booster Rena proud of my old man. I’m proud of him. And I’m proud to be Becker’s boy. I didn’t come here to Key Monologue preach no sermon.” —Booster Booster reflects on his father’s life, Act 2; Scene 4 LISTEN Becker on Booster’s betrayal

IN YOUR WORDS If you wrote a scene set in the hub, or center, of your community, where would it take place? Who would be there? What conflicts might arise? Write or draw that scene.

New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award Winner BEST PLAY 2000 27 KING HEDLEY II A man’s quest for identity and dignity is thwarted KING by limited opportunity, secrets from the past, HEDLEY II and personal demons .

SYNOPSIS King, an ex-convict, seeks to rebuild his life. Tonya is pregnant with King’s first child, 1985 and despite King’s excitement, Tonya is reluctant to raise a child in a world that constantly threatens Historical Connections the lives of black youth. As King tries to rebuild • Post-Civil Rights Movement his life through mainly illegal means, his focus • Reaganomics is on leaving a better legacy behind through his Concepts for Pre-Teaching child. The play explores the challenges of creating • Buddy Bolden a stable family and sense of self in a community • Buffalo Soldiers plagued by violence and prejudice. • “Trickle down” economics QUOTABLE “I’m through with babies. I ain’t Main Characters raising no more. Ain’t raising no grandkids. I’m Tonya looking out for Tonya. I ain’t raising no kid to Ruby Elmore have somebody shoot him. To have his friends King shoot him. To have the police shoot him. Why Mister I want to bring another life into this world Stool Pigeon that don’t respect life? I don’t want to raise Key Monologue no more babies when you got to fight to keep Tonya tells King she doesn’t them alive.” —Tonya want to bring another child into the world, Act 1; Scene 2 IN YOUR WORDS Find local, state, and national current events, such as in Ferguson, MO, that reflect the issues that Tonya lamented in 1985. Make a collage of headlines to illustrate the problems.

Pulitzer Prize Finalist DRAMA 2000 29

RADIO GOLF The rewards of the American Dream are weighed against the cost to the larger RADIO GOLF community .

SYNOPSIS Wilson’s final play revolves around the proposed demolition of the house at 1839 Wylie 1997 Avenue, the location mentioned in previous plays as the residence of Aunt Ester. Harmond Wilks and Historical Connections Roosevelt Hicks have formulated an ambitious plan • Post-Civil Rights Movement to redevelop The Hill District. Harmond discovers • Reaganomics that the house at 1839 Wylie was acquired illegally; • Manifest Destiny furthermore, its owner is reluctant to sell. Harmond Concepts for Pre-Teaching and Roosevelt clash over whether to proceed with • Urban renewal/ the demolition and deny the past in the name redevelopment of “development,” or to preserve the house and • Gentrification therefore a significant part of The Hill’s history. • “Cowboys and Indians” Main Characters QUOTABLE “A Negro don’t know he’s a Negro. Harmond Wilks He thinks he’s a white man. It’s Negroes like Mame Wilks you who hold us back.” —Sterling Roosevelt Hicks Sterling Johnson LISTEN Joseph Elder Barlow Sterling on independence Key Monologue Sterling accuses Roosevelt of IN YOUR WORDS You’ve been asked to address holding back the community, Act 2; Scene 5 the crowd protesting the demolition of 1839 Wylie Avenue. Write a 2-minute speech that conveys your thoughts about the fate of the house.

New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award Winner BEST AMERICAN PLAY 2005 31

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Digital Toolkit

Want more August Wilson In addition, membership is free education resources? Check on PBS Learning Media which out our Digital Toolkit at will also include excerpts and wqed or. g/augustwilson for: lesson from the documentary.

• MORE printable extension Visit: lessons and activities wqed PBSLearningMedia. or. g • watch party kit for the to find these and other documentary, August Wilson: compelling PBS videos from the The Ground On Which I Stand American Masters series. • professional development videos

• study guides from theaters around the country • links of interests related to August Wilson’s life, work, and impact

August Wilson Inspires

In August Wilson: The Ground on Which I Stand, many actors are discussed and offer what August Wilson meant to their burgeoning careers. Famous actors playing famous Wilson roles include: Viola Davis Charles S. Dutton Laurence Fishburne James Earl Jones Phylicia Rashad Ruben Santiago-Hudson Denzel Washington

34 In Your Students’ Words: Storytelling With Us!

After completing In Your Words, Selected student work may be: In Your Backyard or your • featured on our blog Expression Projects activities listed for each play or any of the • placed on our digital activities in the deck of cards, storytelling map (audio your students can share their and video) voices with us! Submit to: • shared as an exemplar of wqed or. g/augustwilson/ student learning with other resource/share teachers around the nation

We welcome student reviews of August Wilson’s plays in audio or written format.

Join our social media conversation about all things August Wilson!

@AugustWilsonEdu Facebook.com/WQEDPittsburgh #AugustWilsonInspires

35 Educators’ Voices

The language and themes word for me; and I choose not in August Wilson’s work are to use hate language. I may be challenging, intense, and often old-fashioned, and you might racially charged . In particular, think I’m wrong, or that I am Wilson’s use of the being fussy or fearful; “n-word” may give maybe you think I’m some educators exaggerating, but pause. Here’s I have made how Daniela my decision Buccilli, an based on English information teacher in and a suburban experience school that you

district, THE will also addresses N have. You this issue: WORD will have to make your “I teach August decision. Don’t Wilson’s award- make a decision winning play Fences without being informed, to lower-tracked 11th graders though. Ignorant people do in a predominately-white and so. You may think you know conservative school district. everything about the ‘n-word’; My colleague and I use Gloria let’s see. This lesson challenges Naylor’s article from The New students to decide what the York Times “The Meanings of word means to them…” a Word”(1986) to help us with the very beginning of the play, a Read more from beginning where Wilson has the Daniela and other hero Troy use the word ‘n*gger.’ educators, and share your classroom success “I start the lesson (that usually stories at: spans two to three days) with wqed or. g/augustwilson the announcement that I refuse or to use the “n-word.” I am honest augus twilsonedu@ about how the word makes me wqedg or. cringe to hear and to say—that growing up in the 70’s and 80’s as a white person has made the word nothing but a hate