WBTT Will Celebrate Playwright August Wilson During Black History Month

In the month of February – which is Black History Month – Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe will present several offerings focused on Pulitzer Prize-winning American playwright, August Wilson. In addition to its current production of “Fences,” WBTT will also welcome award-winning actor and playwright Wali Jamal, who will star in a limited run of the play “How I Learned What I Learned” and present a lecture that will celebrate the incredible legacy of Wilson.

On February 6 at 4 p.m., Jamal will present “August Wilson: Acting in His Plays and How it Led to Writing My Own.” He will share his extensive knowledge and experience as an award-winning actor/playwright, and his experience being the first and only actor in the world to have performed in all 10 plays of August Wilson's American Century Cycle as well as the one-man play based on Wilson's book, “How I Learned What I Learned.” The discussion will include interactive readings of excerpts from Wilson's plays and Jamal's works. Some patrons will be invited to participate in the building of the "Wall of Work" made famous by Wilson for Jamal's performance of “How I Learned What I Learned.” The lecture takes place in WBTT's Howard Millman Black Box Theatre; tickets are $15.

Jamal will also star in seven performances of the one-man show, “How I Learned What I Learned,” based on Wilson's 2003 book; the show premiered off-Broadway at the Signature Theatre in November of 2013. “How I Learned What I Learned,” which provides an in-depth look at the significant events that shaped Wilson's life, is considered essential viewing for fans of the playwright. Showtimes are February 9 and 11-14 at 3 p.m. and February 10 and 16 at 7:30 p.m. in the Howard Millman Black Box Theatre. Tickets are $37; the production is recommended for audiences ages 13 and older as it contains adult language and staged violence.

A prolific actor, Jamal has performed in shows including “To Kill a Mockingbird,” “The Little Foxes,” “Our Town,” “One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest,” “Death of a Salesman,” “Once On This Island,” “The Civil War,” “The Full Monty,” “Kinky Boots,” and other plays. He has also been a featured extra in movies starring Bruce Willis, Andy Garcia, Danny Aiello, and Michael Keaton. Through it all, he is proudest of acting in all 10 of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright August Wilson's plays and Wilson's staged autobiography, “How I Learned What I Learned.”  

“Fences” is the sixth in Wilson's ten-part American Century Cycle, which explores the African American experience and race relations across different decades of the 20th century. The show, which opened on January 15, runs through February 23 in The Donelly Theatre of WBTT (1012 N. Orange Ave., Sarasota). Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays, with 2 p.m. matinees on Saturdays and Sundays. (There will be a talk-back after the matinee show on Sunday, February 9 – limited tickets remain for that performance.)

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