![]() ![]() “…I founded Black Horizons Theatre in Pittsburgh with the idea of using the theatre to politicize the community or, as we said in those days, to raise the consciousness of the people.” (Wilson) His detailed characters made audiences fall in love and Wilson even went on to win two Pulitzer Prizes because of his talent to captivate an audience. If it didn’t apply to the audience, then it wasn’t something they had to worry about, but Wilson changed that perspective. Before August Wilson, people still were very closeminded to coming to terms with real African American struggles in everyday life. Wilson’s plays gained attention of high-class audiences who really started to appreciate African American history. Wilson’s play tickets for his first play were only 50 cents. Wilson co-founded the theatre with his close friend Rob Penny. In 1968 Black Horizons theatre began and August Wilson didn’t hesitate to be a helping co-founder. Wilson’s plays at Black Horizon Theatre as well as outside Black Horizon Theatre showed characters struggle with racism, and opened the audience’s eyes to the constant judgment African Americans face.Īugust Wilson made a big impact in African American theatre. ![]() Wilson said, “Pittsburgh is a very hard city, especially if you’re black.” (Wilson) Wilson’s humble beginnings can remind people that someone always has it worse, and at the end of the day we are all human, even despite our different histories. In 1968, August Wilson became the cofounder and director of Black Horizon Theatre. At a young age Wilson turned to poetry and soon after theatre, he began to write plays that gained attention. Wilson faced constant backlash and racism towards his family, and at just fifteen, Wilson dropped out of school and began self-teaching himself education outside of the school system. Wilson was able to make racism in playwright understandable for audiences who potentially never went through racism. The Century Cycle gained August Wilson attention and made him important to us today because he reveals racism through playwright with a different point of view. Wilson ’s most recognized achievement is the Century Cycle, which consists of ten plays on African American history in the 20 th century. “That is simply that I believe race matters – that is the largest, most identifiable and most important part of our personality.” (Wilson 3) Wilson won two Pulitzer prizes from his original play Fences, and The Piano Lesson, that both involve detailed African American characters. Growing up Wilson had to face racism, which made racisms worth fighting for Wilson. By Caroline Coniglio (Marketing, Class of 2024)Īugust Wilson was an American Playwright who taught himself everything and worked his way into the theatre industry. ![]()
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