2011–2012
At
The Center of it All
season
11/ 20 11– 201 2 s eas on at a g l anc e Music
Dance
august 2011
Theatre
Visual Arts
november
Festivals & Special Events
Family Series
09 – 10 (Fri.–Sat. 8 pm)
through Sept. 12
18 (Through Mar. 17)
Dynamic Women of Dance
From Process to Print: Graphic Works by Romare Bearden
August Wilson Center Juried Invitational
10 (Sat. 11 am and 1 pm)
through oct. 31
(Fri.–Sun. 3 pm and 8 pm) Black Dance Festival
Romare Bearden: The Last Years, Photography by Frank Stewart 18 – 20 (Thurs.–Sat. 8 pm)
August in August
25 (Thurs. 7 pm)
DUETS: Exploration in Rhythm
04 – 06
07 (Mon. 7 pm)
Reading Round Table
12 (Sat. 11 am and 1 pm)
TRAINS RUNNING! August Wilson’s Century Cycle
september
From Process to Print: Graphic Works by Romare Bearden through oct. 31
Romare Bearden: The Last Years, Photography by Frank Stewart
december
August Wilson Center Juried Invitational 05 (Mon. 7 pm)
Reading Round Table
24 (Sat. 6 pm)
Pittsburgh Jazz Orchestra Holiday Performance january 2012
12 (Mon. 7 pm)
Through Mar. 17
Reading Round Table
August Wilson Center Juried Invitational
17 (Sat.)
SWING! Mary Lou Williams’ Musical Adventures in the Land of Oo Bla Dee (11 am and 1 pm) Our Father, Who Art Blakey (8 pm)
02 (Mon. 7 pm)
Reading Round Table
october
Romare Bearden: The Last Years, Photography by Frank Stewart 01 – 02, 07 – 09
(Sat.–Sun., Fri. – Sun. 8 pm) Last of the Line 03 (Mon. 7 pm)
Reading Round Table 15 (Fri. 8 pm)
April
Strength in the Struggle: Civil Rights 01 (Sun. 7 pm)
Every Tongue Confess
02 (Mon. 7 pm)
Reading Round Table
21 (Sat.)
TELL IT! The Color of American Music (11 am and 1 pm)
Spring Concert featuring NEA Jazz Master Benny Golson (8 pm) m ay
Through June 2012
26 (Thurs. 7 pm)
07 (Mon. 7 pm)
DUETS: Generations of Jazz
Reading Round Table
february
August Wilson Center Juried Invitational 06 (Mon. 7 pm)
Reading Round Table
18 – 26 (Fri.–Sat.)
FIRST VOICE: A Pittsburgh International Black Arts Festival 19 (Sat. 11 am and 1 pm)
DREAM! The Triumph of Lorraine Hansberry
18 (Sat. 8 pm)
Pittsburgh vs. Philadelphia 24 –25 (Fri.–Sat. 8 pm) Between a Ballad and a Blues
june
Through June 2012
Strength in the Struggle: Civil Rights 01 – 03, 08 – 10
march
Heidi Latsky Dance GIMP
Through Mar. 17
20 (Thurs. 7 pm)
August Wilson Center Juried Invitational
So You Think They Can’t Dance?
23 – 25, 30 – 31
(Fri.–Sun., Fri.–Sat. 7 pm) Every Tongue Confess
Strength in the Struggle: Civil Rights
Through Mar. 17 through oct. 31
DUETS: Jazz and Poetry
Suite Bill
21 (Sat. 8 pm)
30 (Fri. 8 pm)
Last of the Line
22 (Thurs. 7 pm)
Through June 2012
Through Mar. 17
through Sept. 12
MOVE! The Power of Black Dance
Through June 2012
Strength in the Struggle: Civil Rights 05 (Mon. 7 pm)
Reading Round Table
(Fri.–Sun. 8 pm) Gem of the Ocean 04 (Mon. 7 pm)
Reading Round Table 14 (Thurs. 7 pm)
DUETS: Gospel
/12 Music / 2
DANCE / 4
THEATRE / 6
VISUAL ARTS / 9
Festivals & SPECIAL EVENTS / 10
FAMILY SERIES / 1 1
engages regional and national audiences in its mission of preserving, presenting, interpreting, celebrating and shaping the art, culture and history of African
Americans utilizing the rich history, legacy and culture of African Americans from Western Pennsylvania as a foundation. The Center presents a year-round program of music, dance, theatre, visual arts and exhibitions along with cultivation activities for all ages and backgrounds in its state-of-the-art venue in the heart of Pittsburgh’s Cultural District and throughout the region.
M u s i c , 2 0 1 1 – 2 0 1 2 s e a s o n / S e a n J o n e s , A r t i st i c D i r e cto r
Our Father, Who Art Blakey Saturday, September 17, 2011 8 pm
$40 / $35 / $20 The 2011–2012 season kicks off with the Pittsburgh Jazz Orchestra in a celebration of the life and legacy of Art Blakey, the Pittsburgh native who blazed a trail for jazz hopefuls, and created his own style of drumming that became famous around the globe. Featuring special guest master drummers Roger Humphries, James Johnson, Cecile Brooks III and Tom Wendt, this event will celebrate Blakey’s contribution to jazz and the unique lineage of jazz drumming that emerged from the Pittsburgh region.
Pittsburgh Jazz Orchestra Holiday Performance
Pittsburgh vs. Philadelphia Saturday, February 18, 2012 8 pm
Saturday, December 24, 2011 6 pm
$40 / $35 / $20 Old favorites receive a jazz makeover, as the skilled musicians of the PJO render a new treatment on holiday classics, and turn the holiday season into a unique celebration of wonder, bliss and merriment the whole family will enjoy.
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$40 / $35 / $20 Never done before on The Center’s stage, this lively Pittsburgh Jazz Orchestra performance pits the best of the region’s jazz drumming against its Philadelphia counterpart in a friendly but spirited rivalry.
The Pittsburgh Jazz Orchestra , resident big band of the August Wilson Center for African American Culture, celebrates Pittsburgh’s rich jazz history in the here and now by uniting local jazz musicians to perform the broad scope of jazz styles in an orchestral format. Photo taken at the Carnegie Music Hall in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh. © Martha Rial
Spring Concert featuring NEA Jazz Master Benny Golson Saturday, April 21, 2012 8 pm
$50 / $40 / $25 Saxophonist and NEA Jazz Master Benny Golson debuts a new composition with the Pittsburgh Jazz Orchestra that will set The Center ablaze with innovative sound and technique. A veteran of the bands of Art Blakey, Dizzy Gillespie, Lionel Hampton, and countless others, Golson has also composed and arranged music for Count Basie, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald and Diana Ross. The Center is pleased to welcome this living legend back to PIttsburgh. Benny Golson © Oliver Rossberg
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danc d a n c e , 2 0 1 1 – 2 0 1 2 s e a s o n / G r e e r R e e d - J o n e s , A r t i st i c D i r e cto r
Black Dance Festival
Suite Bill
Friday – Sunday, November 4–6, 2011
Saturday, January 21, 2011
part i: 8pm Friday / 3pm Saturday
8pm
part II: 8pm Saturday / 3pm Sunday
$30 / $25 / $20
$25 The acclaimed Ailey II, Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, Rennie Harris Puremovement and Deeply Rooted are joined by The Center’s own August Wilson Center Dance Ensemble for a festival of inspired movement. Be mesmerized and revived as these dynamic companies merge in an expression of style, choreography and celebration of the past, present and future of African American dance.
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In the 1970s and 80s, few stirred emotions of love, yearning and heartbreak like the great R&B soul singer William Harrison “Bill” Withers. For one night only, Bill’s honesty, sensitivity and genuine folksy style come alive in a captivating night of dance and reverie, as the August Wilson Center Dance Ensemble moves and grooves to “Lovely Day,” “Lean on Me,” “Grandma’s Hands,” “Ain’t No Sunshine” and other classics. Kick back and relax, as music and dance share the The Center’s main stage, and the dancers, coupled with Bill’s “sweet suite,” take us on an emotional, stirring journey.
nce The August Wilson Center Dance Ensemble is the resident multicultural dance company at the August Wilson Center joined together in a professional, educational environment while focusing on keeping black dance traditions in the forefront of the region’s dance community. Photo taken at the West End Overlook, in the Elliot neighborhood of Pittsburgh. © Martha Rial
dyna mic women of dance © Cassie Kay Rusnak
Dynamic Women of Dance Friday + Saturday, March 9 + 10, 2012 8pm
$30 / $25 / $20 The August Wilson Center Dance Ensemble partners with choreographers Sidra Bell, Camille Brown, Keisha Lalama-White and Gia Cacalano to bring some of today’s most exciting and cutting edge movement to The Center’s stage in celebration of women. Be inspired, as the rich vision of these dynamic choreographers meets the bold creativity of the Dance Ensemble.
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t h e a t r e , 2 0 1 1 – 2 0 1 2 s e a s o n / M a r k C la y to n S o u t h e r s , A r t i st i c D i r e cto r
August Wilson Center Reading Round Table 1st Monday of each month*
August in August Co-produced with The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust August 18–20, 2011 8 pm
September–June
$50 / $30 / $25 / $20
7 pm
S PECIAL OPENING NIGHT
FREE This reading series will feature the plays of Pulitzer Prize-winning and Pittsburgh native August Wilson, along with works by up and coming playwrights. *September Round Table moved to 9/12 due to the Labor Day holiday
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TIC KET: $50 (includes show,
post reception and cast meet & greet) In a single evening grasp the fullness of August Wilson’s complete 10-play “Century Cycle”—the epic dramatization of the African American experience and august wilson
The August Wilson Center Theatre Ensemble , the resident theatre company at the August Wilson Center, is a preeminent Pittsburgh-based ensemble comprised of professional actors with teaching artist experience. Ensemble members, along with other local and national actors, perform a three-play season and teach in various organizations and scholastic settings. Photo taken in back of August Wilson’s childhood home on Bedford Avenue, in the Hill District neighborhood of Pittsburgh. © Martha Rial
heritage in the twentieth century, set in Pittsburgh’s historic Hill District. Anthony Chisholm, David Conrad, Antonio Fargas, Andrea Frye, Stephen M. Henderson, Sala Udin, winners of the August Wilson Monologue Contest and the August Wilson Center Theatre Ensemble explore the Hill District native’s lifework through a variety of scenes and monologues.
Last of the Line
Tony Award-nominated playwright and actor Samm-Art Williams’ Last of the Line bursts with drama and comedy, suspense and candor, laughter and regret, as the descendants of African American slaveholders and their ancestors take center stage. Told in a stream of consciousness tenor, the play flashes back from 2005 to the years 1845 –1875 in a story that tests loyalties and histories, and forces the modern day characters to examine their own identities in relation to power, resources and “blood money.”
world premiere
By Samm-Art Williams Directed by Mark Clayton Southers September 30, October 1, 2, 7, 8, 9, 2011 8 pm
$30 / $25 / $20 7
t h e at r e , 2 0 1 1 – 2 0 1 2 s e a s o n
Between a Ballad and a Blues
Every Tongue Confess
By Linda Parris-Bailey Co-produced with The Carpetbag Theatre, Inc.
pittsburgh premiere
February 24 + 25, 2012
March 23, 24, 25, 30, 31, April 1, 2012
8 pm
$30 / $25 / $20
$30 / $25 / $20 Between a Ballad and a Blues, by playwright Linda Parris-Bailey, explores the life of African American string-band and country blues musician Howard “Louie Bluie” Armstrong, and his experiences during the segregation era, as he performed internationally with fellow musicians Carl Martin and Ted Bogan. The play captures Howard’s multi-lingual and musical gifts, as well as his struggle for survival in a world that may have loved his talent, but not his skin. When asked by the playwright to recount his life in music, Howard reportedly said, “It’s somewhere between a ballad and a blues.” The August Wilson Center welcomes the Carpetbag Theatre’s production of this triumphant play.
By Marcus Gardley Directed by Tre Garrett
A series of church burnings in 1990s rural Alabama lead the townspeople to question their lives, identities, and journeys, both collectively and individually. Soul-shaking blues howls from beneath the soul-stirring gospels, and amidst the fiery sermon, lies the hope for redemption. Written by awardwinning playwright Marcus Gardley, Every Tongue Confess blends the secular with the spiritual, and Bible stories with the everyday occurrences of newsworthy events.
Gem of the Ocean By August Wilson Directed by Mark Clayton Southers Co-produced with Pittsburgh Playwright’s Theatre Company June 1, 2, 3, 8, 9, 10, 2012
$30 / $25 / $20 Gem of the Ocean features the potent power of “Aunt Ester,” Wilson’s gatekeeper to spiritual matters, and the hearts of the Hill residents she loves. When Aunt Ester opens her home to the troubled Citizen Bartlow, a recent migrant from the rural South, a battle ensues not only within Citizen, who begs Aunt Ester to “wash his soul,” but also between Citizen and Caesar Wilkes, a stern man of the law, threatened by Citizen’s independence and defiance of his authority. Bound by nothing but freedom, Citizen must choose a past steeped in fear, or a future made glorious with destiny and purpose. The August Wilson Center Theatre Ensemble joins the Pittsburgh Playwright’s Theatre Company for this production.
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K i n g H e d l e y II , 2 0 1 0 – 2 0 1 1 s e a s o n © Aaron McClendon
v i s u a l a r t s , 2 0 1 1 – 2 0 1 2 s e a s o n / C e c i l e S h e llma n , A r t i st i c D i r e cto r
visual arts
romare bearden, “The Train” © Romare Bearden Foundation
From Process to Print: Graphic Works by Romare Bearden Through September 12, 2011
Tuesday–Saturday, 11 am–6 pm
Organized by the Romare Bearden Foundation, From Process to Print: Graphic Works by Romare Bearden encompasses a carefully selected body of original prints, including seventy-five lithographs, etchings, collagraphs, collagraph plates, screen prints, drypoints, monoprints and engravings created over a 30-year span of Bearden’s multi-faceted career. The retrospective moves beyond collage and photomontage, of which Bearden was a master, to reveal Bearden’s process, as crucial to him as the very art he crafted. The August Wilson Center is proud to be one of six arts organizations to host this exciting exhibition this year. From Process to Print is organized by The Romare Bearden Foundation and is part of a three year national tour through Landau Traveling Exhibitions.
Romare Bearden: The Last Years, Photography by Frank Stewart Through October 31, 2011
Tuesday–Saturday, 11 am–6 pm This lively companion exhibit features the work of award-winning photographer, Frank Stewart, who met Romare Bearden in 1975 while filming the documentary, “Two Centuries of Black American Art.”
Stewart spent the subsequent thirteen years shooting Bearden at exhibitions of his artwork, as the artist worked in his studio, and in candid moments of reflection and relaxation. Stewart is the author of ROMARE BEARDEN: Photographs by Frank Stewart, and The Sweet Breath of Life: a Poetic Narrative of the African American Family, with Ntozake Shange.
August Wilson Center Juried Invitational November 18, 2011–March 17, 2012
Tuesday–Saturday, 11 am–6 pm Comprising submissions from local artists selected by jury, The Center’s inaugural Invitational will be a broad-ranging survey of contemporary visual fine art — including Traditional, Realism, Modern, Visionary, Conceptual and Folk — from artists in Western Pennsylvania and Affrilachia.
Strength in the Struggle: Civil Rights March–June, 2012
This self-contained, curated fine arts exhibition incorporates photography and other disciplines, with themes reflecting the struggle and nobility of local and regional “soldiers” in the fight for civil rights. All listed exhibits take place in the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation Gallery, 2nd floor.
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festivals & special events
FIRST VOICE:
A Pittsburgh International Black Arts Festival May 18–26, 2012
Free – $20 First Voice festival celebrates the creator and the creative process, giving voice to African American artists from both inside and outside the Pittsburgh region. The fourth annual festival is also the platform from which the third class of August Wilson Center Fellows present new works created during their yearlong residencies. Representing a variety of artistic ventures in an array of disciplines, this eclectic and diverse class of August Wilson Center Fellows showcases original work all week long. The festival will also include an inaugural New Jazz Competition led by Sean Jones.
Heidi Latsky Dance GIMP October 15, 2011 8PM
Choreographer Heidi Latsky presents a roster of performers who embody unique physical virtuosity. Outstanding technique, raw beauty and the physical poetry of risktaking, propel the artists and the audience into the collective unknown. GIMP examines the uncompromising ways we are often identified or defined by our physicality; an elegant landscape of portraits, illuminating limbs to accentuate uncommon beauty, mystery and grace; the ways in which our bodies support and rebel. GIMP confronts the audience with their preconceptions, challenging us to re-think accepted notions about dance, performance and body image. GIMP is presented in collaboration with the Pittsburgh Dance Council and the FISA Foundation.
Sean Jones Presents … Duets
So You Think They Can’t Dance?
SELECT THURSDAYS
October 20, 2011
7PM
7pm
$25
$25
This new series pairs distinct artists in a unique display of talent and collaboration in one of music’s purest forms, the duet. Join us in an informal, intimate setting. Price includes complimentary drink. Cash bar available and food for purchase.
Join us as the August Wilson Center Stars take center stage with August Wilson Center Dance Ensemble company members!
sean jones © Martha Rial
Exploration in Rhythm August 25, 2011
Sean Jones (trumpet) & Roger Humphries (drums) Generations of Jazz January 26, 2012
Benny Benack III (trumpet) & Joe Negri (guitar) Jazz and Poetry March 22, 2012
Sean Jones (trumpet) & Vanessa German (spoken word) Gospel June 14, 2012
Alton Merrell (piano) & Deborah Moncrief (vocals)
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a lv i n A i l e y
f a m i ly s e r i e s
M ary Lou Willia ms art © www.KeithHenryBrown.com
SELECT saturdays 11am + 1pm
$5 Fun, enlightening and interactive events hosted by our resident companies, designed for the entire family!
SWING! Mary Lou
Williams’ Musical Adventures in the Land of Oo Bla Dee September 17, 2011
Swing with us as we discover how Mary Lou Williams, “the little piano girl from East Liberty” became the “First Lady of Jazz” and a master of ragtime, stride, boogie-woogie, bebop and beyond.
TRAINS RUNNING!
August Wilson’s Century Cycle
MOVE! The Power of
Black Dance March 10, 2012
The August Wilson Center Dance Ensemble invites us to discover giants of Black dance: Katherine Dunham, Carmen de Lavallade, Alvin Ailey and Ulysses Dove.
November 12, 2011
Join host Mark Clayton Southers and the August Wilson Center Theatre Ensemble for an interactive afternoon full of the stories of blues that people began 100 years ago and lead right up to you!
TELL IT! The Color of
American Music April 21, 2012
In this interactive journey that takes us from jazz to rock to soul to hip hop, host Sean Jones and the Pittsburgh Jazz Orchestra explore how the magical, musical color blue makes American music sound, well, American.
DREAM! The
Triumph of Lorraine Hansberry May 19, 2012
In her short career, the brilliant playwright of A Raisin in the Sun inspired us to care about race, politics, family, change and our dreams. Join the August Wilson Center Theatre Ensemble as we joyously come together to care about it all.
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Affrilachia—The Continuum The Center is pleased to introduce The Continuum, a series of programs tied to a specific theme. The 2011–2012 Continuum is AFFRILACHIA (af-ruh-LAY-shuh), a term describing African Americans living in or from the Appalachian region. Look for this symbol to identify Continuum programming with an Affrilachian theme.
i n f o r m at i o n
Hours
Membership
Tuesday through Saturday 11 am to 6 pm
Join us … and help tell our story!
Admission Second Floor Special Exhibitions admission: • Adults $8 • Teachers $6 • Seniors (62 and over) $4 • Students with valid ID $4 • Children $3 • Members free
Access For Persons With Disabilities To reserve a courtesy wheelchair, call 412.338.8742. At performances, assistive listening devices are available in our theater and may be used with or without a hearing aid. To reserve a device, call 412.338.8742.
Getting Here The August Wilson Center is located at the intersection of 10th Street, Liberty Avenue and William Penn Way in Downtown Pittsburgh’s Cultural District.
Become a member of the August Wilson Center for African American Culture and enjoy these and other exciting benefits: • Free admission to The Center’s Special Exhibitions • Invitations to member only events • Discounts and free August Wilson Center Cultivation Programs* • Complimentary tickets to select season performances* • Discounts on group tickets* • Listing in the performance program book* • Discounts on building space and full building rentals* • Cast meet and greets* *benefits vary depending on membership levels
Membership Levels: Basic Memberships
• Individual $25 • Family $75 Premium Memberships
• Patron $250 • Leader $500 • President $1,000 • August Wilson Circle $2,500 Corporate Memberships
For real-time parking info about garages in the Cultural District: • visit the App Store (iPhone Users) • visit m.pghpark.org (other smart phones) • Text PARKING to 412.423.8980 • Call 412.423.8980 • Visit ParkPGH.org 12
• $5,000 • $10,000 • $15,000 For more information about memberships, call 412.338.8725 or email membership@AugustWilsonCenter.org.
Tickets
Connect AugustWilsonCenter.org
Phone
412.456.6666 or 412.338.8742 Groups of 10+: 412.471.6930
facebook.com/AugustWilsonCenter Follow us @AWC_Pittsburgh Also, don’t forget to follow our Twitter list: twitter.com/AWC_Pittsburgh/ AugustWilsonCenter.
Online
www.culturaldistrict.org In Person
August Wilson Center Box Office 980 Liberty Avenue Tuesday−Saturday, 11 am to 6 pm Closed Sundays, Mondays and major holidays Opens 2 hours before performances The Box Office at Theater Square 665 Penn Avenue Monday−Saturday, 9 am to 9 pm Sunday, 12 to 6 pm
Text “AWC” to 77950 to receive updates via text message.
Donors The August Wilson Center extends grateful appreciation to the following contributors of major support for the 2011–12 season:
TICKET POLICY
Ticket exchange is subject to availability. If you are unable to make the performance, please consider donating your ticket. For details, call 412.338.8742 or email boxoffice@AugustWilsonCenter.org.
Seating Chart
Balcony (lowest ticket prices) Orchestra Rear Orchestra Front (highest ticket prices)
We Value Your Patronage!
Try Us Out!
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Whether you are thinking about seeing a show for the first time, or just haven’t been to The Center in a long time, here’s your chance to sample our programming! For just $40 enjoy balcony seats for the following:
tickets to any show and receive
20% off your total purchase!
Last of the Line (Oct. 1, 2011) Pittsburgh Jazz Orchestra: Pittsburgh vs. Philadelphia (February, 18, 2012) Dynamic Women of Dance (March 10, 2012) (Mention the “Try Us Out” Sampler when ordering) 13
Cert no. XXX-XXX-000
Writing: Dr. Tameka L. Cage Design: Landesberg Design
2011–2012 season
music dance theatre visual arts
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