SELF MADE MAN: THE FREDERICK DOUGLASS STORY to Begin Performances Off-Broadway Next Month

SELF MADE MAN: THE FREDERICK DOUGLASS STORY, a new play written and performed by Phil Darius Wallace, will have its world premiere Off-Broadway at the ArcLight Theatre (152 West 71st Street), beginning Tuesday, November 18th , with opening set for Monday, November 24th. The production is directed by Melania Levitsky. SELF MADE MAN: THE FREDERICK DOUGLASS STORY takes the audience on a journey through Douglass' life, dramatizing the heartbreak, humor, outrage and charisma that were embodied by the life of this slave-turned Abolitionist leader. This story is adapted from the writings, speeches, letters and autobiographies of Fredrick Douglass. Tickets are $49 and can be purchased by visiting www.Frederickdouglassplay.com or by calling 866-811-4111.

Scenic design is by Angelina Margolis, with lighting by Nastassia Jimenez, costumes by Katia Andreiez, sound design by Erik T. Lawson and musical composition by John McDowell.

Phil Darius Wallace is a native of Flint, Michigan. His acting career began with the Michigan Shakespeare Festival as Caliban in The Tempest and his journey as a solo performer began with the Flint Youth Theater as Malcolm X. He has traveled all over the country performing his one man shows, with such characters as Martin Luther King, Richard Wright, Langston Hughes and his most popular, Frederick Douglass. He is currently a company member at the Tennessee Shakespeare Company where he has performed in Hamlet, Taming of The Shrew, As You Like It, Romeo and Juliet, and Macbeth. His TV credits include ABC's "Nashville". His Film credits include "Nothing But The Truth" and narrating the documentary, "The Invaders".

Melania Levitsky (Director) is the Associate Artistic Director of Walking the Dog Theater (WDT). Her directing credits include: Chekhovek; Virtue, Desire, Death and Foolishness; Taming of the Shrew and The Tempest. Favorite roles as actor include Rosalind, Cyrano, Touchstone, Sarafina (Rose Tattoo), Olivia (Twelfth Night). Collaborative devised shows with colleagues of WTD include The Death Show and The Money Show. She is an enthusiastic, novice performer of long-form improv. She is also a singer and is collaborating on a CD with a colleague in Amsterdam. Melania will be directing A Winter's Tale for WTD next summer.

Frederick Douglass (1818-1895) was born into slavery on a plantation in Maryland. Despite a childhood of servitude and brutality, he learned to read and write, and at the age of 20, he escaped on a train to the north where he settled in a thriving community of free blacks. He began attending abolitionist meetings where he met William Lloyd Garrison, who asked him to tell his story to the anti-slavery gatherings. Douglass quickly became a leader in the abolitionist movement, developing a following and gaining in reputation. After publishing his Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, Douglass became one of the most famous men in the United States.

During the Civil War, Douglass met with President Lincoln, advocating for the rights of black men to fight for their country. He founded several newspapers, including The North Star, which had as its motto, "Right is of no sex - Truth is of no color - God is the Father of us all and we are all brethren", marking him as the founder of the civil rights movement. Following the war, Douglass was appointed to several political positions, becoming the first African American nominated for Vice President of the United States on the Equal Rights Party ticket in 1872. Frederick Douglass set forth that no man is a "self made man" without building on the lives and lessons of the generations before him, but that he who is born without privilege or access can, nevertheless, through industry, passion and necessity, become a great man. His is the paradigm of such a life. Frederick Douglass died in Washington D.C. in 1895 and is buried in Mount Hope Cemetery in Rochester, NY. On January 1, 1863, slavery was outlawed everywhere in the United Sates by the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution.

SELF MADE MAN: THE FREDERICK DOUGLASS STORY will run from November 18 through December 14. The playing schedule is as follows: Tuesday through Thursday at 7PM, Friday and Saturday at 8PM with matinees on Saturday at 2PM and Sunday at 3PM. Tickets are $49, and can be purchased by visiting Frederickdouglassplay.com or by calling 866-811-4111. Student rush tickets are also available for $20. For group sales contact: frederickdouglassgroupsnyc.com.