{"id":112984,"date":"2022-07-14T21:25:48","date_gmt":"2022-07-15T01:25:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=112984"},"modified":"2022-07-14T21:25:48","modified_gmt":"2022-07-15T01:25:48","slug":"pennsylvania-shakespeare-festival-presents-august-wilsons-fences","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=112984","title":{"rendered":"Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival presents August Wilson\u2019s Fences"},"content":{"rendered":"

CENTER VALLEY, PA: July 14, 2022\u2014 August Wilson\u2019s groundbreaking Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award- winning drama\u00a0Fences<\/em>\u00a0opens at Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, the professional theatre on the campus of DeSales University. The show previews July 27 and 28, opens on July 29 and runs through August 7 on the Main Stage at the Labuda Center for the Performing Arts.<\/p>\n

Set in 1950s Pittsburgh against the backdrop of a rapidly changing America, August Wilson\u2019s\u00a0Fences<\/em>\u00a0depicts the yearnings and struggles of the Maxson family. Troy Maxson, a former home run king of the Negro baseball leagues now supports his family as a garbage collector, and builds fences around a world he has battled his entire life. An epic work of stunning poetry by a Pennsylvania native,\u00a0Fences<\/em>\u00a0has been hailed by critics as \u201ca blockbuster piece of theater\u201d and \u201cthe strongest, most passionate American dramatic writing since Tennessee Williams.\u201d\u00a0Fences<\/em>\u00a0is a timeless story and a true American classic.<\/p>\n

Wilson\u2019s\u00a0<\/strong>award-winning drama will be helmed by veteran stage, film, and television actor\u00a0Tony Todd<\/strong>. Mr. Todd returns following his one-man performance in last season\u2019s August Wilson play\u00a0How I Learned What I Learned<\/em>. With an acting career spanning more than 30 years, Todd has an extensive list of credits in all genres. He has received accolades for numerous roles on stage including a coveted Helen Hayes Award for his performance in Athol Fugard\u2019s\u00a0The Captain\u2019s Tiger<\/em>\u00a0at La Jolla Playhouse, Manhattan Theatre Club, and The Kennedy Center; and originating the title role in the world premiere of August Wilson\u2019s\u00a0King Hedley II\u00a0<\/em>in Pittsburgh, Boston, and Seattle. His additional stage credits include\u00a0Zooman & the Sign, Playboy of the West Indies, Les Blancs, Othello, Aida\u00a0<\/em>on Broadway, and many others, including Troy Maxson in\u00a0Fences<\/em>\u00a0at the Geva Theatre Center.<\/p>\n

His films include Oliver Stone\u2019s Academy Award-winning\u00a0Platoon<\/em>;\u00a0Lean On Me\u00a0<\/em>with Morgan Freeman; Clint Eastwood\u2019s\u00a0Bird;\u00a0<\/em>and the voice of the Fallen in\u00a0Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen<\/em>, among many others. The charismatic six-foot-five actor is perhaps best known for his chilling performances in horror and sci-fi films including the title role in the\u00a0Candyman<\/em>\u00a0franchise, as well as the\u00a0Hatchet\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0Final Destination\u00a0<\/em>franchise hits, along with\u00a0Night of the Living Dead<\/em>,\u00a0The Crow<\/em>, and\u00a0The Rock<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Todd will be joined by stage, television, and film actress\u00a0Ella Joyce<\/strong>\u00a0who will play the role of\u00a0 Rose, Troy\u2019s wife. Joyce\u2019s stage career has earned her numerous awards and nominations. Select credits include: the Goodman Theatre,\u00a0Having Our Say<\/em>\u00a0by Emily Mann, earning a Black Theater Alliance Nomination; August Wilson\u2019s\u00a0King Hedley II\u00a0<\/em>at The Matrix, earning a Los Angeles Ovation Award and a LA Drama Critics Circle Nomination; Tonya in the original production of\u00a0King Hedley II<\/em>\u00a0at O\u2019Reilly Pittsburgh Public Theater (starring alongside Mr. Todd);\u00a0Two Trains Running<\/em>\u00a0on tour, premiering at Yale Rep; and originating the role of Lily Ann Green in Lynn Nottage\u2019s\u00a0Crumbs From the Table of Joy<\/em>\u00a0at Second Stage Theater, South Coast Rep, and Goodman Theatre, earning her a Jefferson Award and Black Theater Alliance Award. She is perhaps best known for her role as Eleanor on the sitcom\u00a0Roc<\/em>, which earned her an NAACP Nomination; as well as several other television shows including\u00a0My Wife and Kids<\/em>,\u00a0Seinfeld<\/em>,\u00a0Eve<\/em>, and\u00a0The Jamie Foxx Show<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The production will be directed by\u00a0Ryan Quinn<\/strong>, who is a co-founder and artistic director of Esperance Theater Company in New York City. His directing credits there include Shakespeare\u2019s\u00a0Twelfth Night, Youth and Ambition,\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0Breitwisch Farm<\/em>. Quinn received his MFA at the Yale School of Drama. Select directing credits include\u00a0The Mountaintop\u00a0<\/em>at Arc Stages;\u00a0Dad\u2019s Season Tickets, The Lost Girl\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0So Thrive My Soul\u00a0<\/em>at Milwaukee Rep; and\u00a0The Tempest<\/em>,\u00a0Macbeth,\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0The Two Noble Kinsmen<\/em>\u00a0at Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival. As an actor, Quinn recently appeared Off-Broadway as John Proctor in Bedlam\u2019s critically acclaimed production of\u00a0The Crucible<\/em>. Additional Off-Broadway credits include\u00a0Sense and Sensibility<\/em>\u00a0at A.R.T.;\u00a0King Lear<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0Hamlet<\/em>\u00a0at Theatre for a New Audience;\u00a0Whorl Inside a Loop<\/em>\u00a0at Second Stage, and many more.<\/p>\n

Also joining the cast are\u00a0Brian D. Coats<\/strong>\u00a0as Gabriel, Troy\u2019s brother; and\u00a0Shane Taylor<\/strong>\u00a0as Jim Bono, Troy\u2019s friend.<\/p>\n

Coats\u2019 extensive Broadway credits include\u00a0The Merry Wives of Windsor\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0The Two Gentlemen of Verona\u00a0<\/em>at The Public Theater;\u00a0On the Levee\u00a0<\/em>at Lincoln Center Theater\/LCT3; and\u00a0La Ruta<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>at Working Theater. Regional performances include Cincinnati Playhouse, Old Globe, Arena Stage, Seattle Rep, Pittsburgh Public, Denver Center for the Performing Arts, and Williamstown Theatre Festival, to name a few. Among some of his television credits are\u00a0Blue Bloods<\/em>,\u00a0Law & Order<\/em>,\u00a0The Sopranos<\/em>, and\u00a0Boardwalk Empire<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Taylor has performed Off-Broadway in such productions as\u00a0Knives in Hens\u00a0<\/em>at The Shop Theater; the 50th Anniversary production of\u00a0In White America\u00a0<\/em>at New Federal\/Castillo Theatre; and\u00a0Romeo and Juliet<\/em>\u00a0for the Lincoln Center Institute. Select regional credits include performances at Orlando Shakespeare Theater, Milwaukee Rep, Berkshire Theatre Festival, and Williamstown Theatre Festival. He has also received a Best International Actor Award at the Barbados National Film Festival for his roles in\u00a0God\u2019s Forgotten House<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0Sarbane\u2019s-Oxley<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Portraying the Maxson children are\u00a0PSF alum\u00a0Brandon Edward Burton<\/strong>\u00a0as Lyons, Troy\u2019s oldest son from a previous marriage;\u00a0Tyler Fauntleroy<\/strong>\u00a0as Cory, Troy and Rose\u2019s son; and local actor and Allentown Civic Theatre student\u00a0Ilan Annum<\/strong>\u00a0will play Raynell, Troy\u2019s daughter.<\/p>\n

Burton, a Yale School of Drama graduate, has performed and collaborated regionally with many theatres, including Baltimore Center Stage, The Public Theater, Shakespeare & Co., and Theatre of the Oppressed NYC. \u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00adAt Yale, he was the recipient of the Herschel Williams Prize for outstanding acting ability.<\/p>\n

Fauntleroy\u2019s credits include Off-Broadway\u2019s\u00a0Tambo and Bones\u00a0<\/em>at Playwrights Horizons and\u00a0Looking for Leroy\u00a0<\/em>at New Federal Theatre.\u00a0<\/em>Select regional performances include Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, Folger Theatre, and People\u2019s Light. His television credits include\u00a0Succession<\/em>,\u00a0FBI<\/em>, and\u00a0The Oath<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The 1950s Pittsburgh set, where the play takes place, was designed by\u00a0Baron E. Pugh<\/strong>, with lighting designed by\u00a0Aja M. Jackson<\/strong>.\u00a0Kendra L. Johnson<\/strong>\u00a0designed costumes, with\u00a0Earon Chew Nealey\u00a0<\/strong>as hair, wig, and makeup designer.\u00a0Larry D. Fowler, Jr.<\/strong>\u00a0is the sound designer.\u00a0J. Alex Cordaro<\/strong>\u00a0is the fight director.\u00a0Erin Joy Swank<\/strong>\u00a0will serve as stage manager of the production, with\u00a0Chiara H. Johnson<\/strong>\u00a0as assistant stage manager.<\/p>\n

Amaranth Foundation\u00a0<\/strong>is the Production Sponsor for August Wilson\u2019s\u00a0Fences.<\/em>\u00a0 The Production Co-Sponsor is\u00a0Keenan Nagle Advertising<\/strong>. The Actor Sponsors are\u00a0Lee & Dolly Butz<\/strong>.\u00a0\u00a0Kathleen Kund Nolan & Timothy E. Nolan\u00a0<\/strong>are\u00a0<\/strong>the 2022 Season Sponsors. Associate Season Sponsors are\u00a0Douglas Dykhouse, Linda<\/strong>\u00a0Lapos & Paul Wirth<\/strong>,\u00a0the Szarko Family<\/strong>, and\u00a0Harry C. Trexler Trust<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Subscription packages and single tickets can be purchased online at\u00a0pashakespeare.org<\/a>\u00a0or by calling the PSF box office at 610.282.WILL [9455].<\/p>\n

Summer 2022 Season<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

Main Stage:\u00a0<\/strong>A Chorus Line<\/em>\u00a0(June 22 to July 10),\u00a0<\/strong>Fences<\/em>\u00a0(July 27 to August 7),\u00a0Shakespeare for Kids<\/em>\u00a0(July 28 to Aug 6).<\/p>\n

Schubert Theatre:\u00a0<\/strong>Little Red\u00a0<\/em>(June 3 to Aug 6),\u00a0Every Brilliant Thing<\/em>\u00a0(June 7 to June 19),\u00a0Much Ado About Nothing<\/em>\u00a0(July 13 to Aug 7),\u00a0The River Bride<\/em>\u00a0(a staged reading, July 1 to July 3).<\/p>\n

The season runs now to August 7 at the Labuda Center for the Performing Arts on the bucolic campus of DeSales University in Center Valley.<\/p>\n

Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival\u00a0features acclaimed actors from Broadway, television, and film, and\u00a0is summer home to over 200 artists from around the country, including winners and nominees of the Tony, Obie, Emmy, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, Jefferson, and Barrymore awards.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

For tickets, contact the PSF box office at 610.282.WILL[9445] or\u00a0pashakespeare.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

About Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, under the leadership of Producing Artistic Director Patrick Mulcahy, is the only professional Equity theatre of its scope and scale within a 50-mile radius. PSF is one of only a handful of theatres on the continent producing Shakespeare, musicals, classics, and contemporary plays, all of which can normally be seen in rep and in multiple spaces within a few visits in a single summer season. Similarly, PSF was among just a handful of theatres on the continent in recent summers to produce three Shakespeare plays in a single summer season.\u00a0 A patron would have to travel seven to nine hours from PSF to find a comparable range of offerings at a single theatre within a few weeks\u2019 time. The Festival\u2019s award-winning company of many world-class artists includes Broadway, film, and television veterans, and winners and nominees of the Tony, Emmy, Obie, Outer Critics Circle, Drama Desk, Jefferson, Hayes, Lortel, and Barrymore awards. A leading Shakespeare theatre with a national reputation for excellence, PSF has received coverage in\u00a0The Washington Post<\/em>,\u00a0NPR<\/em>,\u00a0American Theatre Magazine<\/em>, Playbill.com,\u00a0The Philadelphia Inquirer<\/em>, and in recent seasons\u00a0The New York<\/em>\u00a0Times\u00a0<\/em>has identified PSF as one of the leading summer theatre festivals in the nation. \u201cA world-class theater experience on a par with the top Bard fests,\u201d is how one New York Drama Desk reviewer characterized PSF. Founded in 1992 and the Official Shakespeare Festival of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, PSF\u2019s mission is to enrich, inspire, engage, and entertain the widest possible audience through first-rate productions of classical and contemporary plays, with a core commitment to Shakespeare and other master dramatists, and through an array of education and mentorship programs. A not-for-profit theatre, PSF receives significant support from its host, DeSales University, from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Traditionally, with 150 performances of seven productions, the Festival attracts patrons each summer from 30+ states. In 30 years, PSF has offered 200+ total productions (82 Shakespeare), and entertained 1,000,000+ patrons from 50 states, now averaging 34,000-40,000 in attendance each summer season, plus another 13,000 students each year through its WillPower Tour to schools. PSF is a multi-year recipient of awards from the National Endowment for the Arts:\u00a0Shakespeare in<\/em>\u00a0American Communities<\/em>, and is a constituent of Theatre Communications Group, and the Shakespeare Theatre Association (STA). In 2013, leaders of the world\u2019s premier Shakespeare theatres gathered at PSF as the Festival hosted the international STA Conference.<\/p>\n

The Festival\u2019s vision is for world-class theatre.<\/p>\n

PATRICK MULCAHY\u00a0(Producing Artistic Director, PSF) Since assuming leadership in 2003, Mulcahy has led PSF\u2019s surge in artistic excellence, financial stability, and national recognition. Accomplishments include first and subsequent grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, attracting a multitude of award-winning artists including winners and nominees of the Tony, Obie, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, Barrymore, and Emmy awards, a doubling of annual attendance, a successful campaign to double the Festival\u2019s endowment, and the expansion of the number of Actors\u2019 Equity contracts per season. He led the strategic planning process that led to PSF\u2019s Vision 2030, a commitment to world-class professional theatre, and coverage in The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and The Washington Post. As a professional director, actor, and fight director, credits include Broadway, Off-Broadway, regional theatre, television and radio. Mr. Mulcahy has acted with many industry luminaries including Don Cheadle, Angela Bassett, Cynthia Nixon, and Tony Shaloub at the New York Shakespeare Festival, The Roundabout Theatre, Hartford Stage, Great Lakes Theatre Festival, and the Walnut Street Theatre.\u00a0 He served as fight director for\u00a0A Few Good Men<\/em>\u00a0on Broadway, and multiple Off-Broadway productions starring Marcia Gay Harden, John Mahoney, Patrick Dempsey, and John Savage.\u00a0 He directed Oscar nominee Vera Farmiga in\u00a0The Real Thing<\/em>, and, for PSF, directed\u00a0The Winter\u2019s Tale<\/em>,\u00a0Henry IV, Part 1<\/em>,\u00a0The Tempest<\/em>,\u00a0Antony and Cleopatra<\/em>,\u00a0Hamlet<\/em>,\u00a0Macbeth<\/em>,\u00a0Julius Caesar<\/em>, and\u00a0Shakespeare in Love<\/em>. Also Head of Acting at DeSales, Patrick holds degrees in acting and directing from Syracuse University.<\/p>\n

Artist Bios:<\/strong>
\nILAN ANNUM\u00a0(Raynell,\u00a0Fences<\/em>) resides in Allentown with her family while attending elementary school in the Parkland School District. She\u2019s a student at the Civic Theatre of Allentown. Her most recent roles were Caroling Urchin and Street Urchin in Civic Theatre\u2019s,\u00a0A Christmas Carol.<\/em>\u00a0She was a lead voice actor as Hazel in\u00a0The Quarantine Plays\u00a0<\/em>by the Merry Beggars. Ilan takes voice and trumpet lessons. She\u2019s an avid reader and entrepreneur of a custom pillow business. Ilan would like to thank her family and friends for their love and support. She is also profoundly grateful to director Ryan Quinn for this valuable experience.<\/p>\n

BRANDON EDWARD BURTON*\u00a0(Lyons,\u00a0Fences<\/em>) Regional:\u00a0The Folks at Home<\/em>\u00a0(Baltimore Center Stage),\u00a0Merry Wives<\/em>\u00a0(Public Theater). Yale Drama:\u00a0Othello<\/em>\u00a0(Othello),\u00a0Henry VI pt. 3<\/em>\u00a0(York, George, Bona),\u00a0Marty and the Hands That Could\u00a0<\/em>(Mike Money). Yale Rep:\u00a0A Raisin in the Sun<\/em>\u00a0(Bobo). A native of Saint Louis, and a graduate of Yale School of Drama, he resides in New York, and has collaborated with fine and new media artists: Bassera Khan, Farai Malianga, Dominic Chambers, Theatre of the Oppressed NYC, and Shakespeare & Co. At Yale: Artistic Director of The Yale Cabaret (2019-2020 Season) and recipient of the Herschel Williams Prize for outstanding acting ability.<\/p>\n

BRIAN D. COATS*\u00a0(Gabriel,\u00a0Fences<\/em>) has New York credits that include\u00a0Broadway (MTC\/ U.S. Tour)\u00a0Jitney, On the Levee\u00a0<\/em>(Lincoln Center Theater\/LCT3),\u00a0La Ruta<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>(Working Theater), Pan Asian Rep. Theatre, Ensemble Studio Theatre,\u00a0The Bacchae, The First Noel\u00a0<\/em>(Classical Theatre of Harlem),\u00a0The Merry Wives of Windsor\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0The Two Gentlemen of Verona\u00a0<\/em>(The Public Theater)\u00a0among others. Regional\/Touring credits: Mark Taper Forum, Old Globe, Arena Stage, Seattle Rep, Pittsburgh Public, Huntington Theatre, Cincinnati Playhouse, Two River Theater, Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Actors Theatre of Louisville,\u00a0Geva Theatre Center and others. Television credits:\u00a0Queens,\u00a0FBI: Most Wanted, Luke Cage, Boardwalk Empire,\u00a0Law & Order, Law & Order: SVU,\u00a0JAG, Blue Bloods,<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0The Sopranos<\/em>. Mr. Coats is a graduate of the University of North Carolina\u2019s School of the Arts.<\/p>\n

TYLER FAUNTLEROY*\u00a0(Cory,\u00a0Fences<\/em>)\u00a0Off-Broadway:\u00a0Tambo and Bones\u00a0<\/em>(Playwrights Horizons\/Center Theatre Group),\u00a0Looking for Leroy<\/em>\u00a0(New Federal Theatre). Regional:\u00a0Tempest<\/em>,\u00a0The Most Spectacularly Lamentable Trial of Miz Martha Washington<\/em>\u00a0(Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival),\u00a0Henry IV part 1<\/em>\u00a0(Folger Theatre),\u00a0Cinderella: A Musical Panto<\/em>\u00a0(People\u2019s Light),\u00a0Romeo and Juliet<\/em>\u00a0(Westport Country Playhouse),\u00a0Next to Norma<\/em>l (Syracuse Stage); TV:\u00a0Succession<\/em>,\u00a0FBI<\/em>,\u00a0The Oath<\/em>. Audelco Award for Best Acting Ensemble. BFA: Virginia Commonwealth University.<\/p>\n

ELLA JOYCE*\u00a0(Rose,\u00a0Fences<\/em>) has earned many awards and citations for her work. Credits include: Goodman Theatre,\u00a0Having Our Say<\/em>\u00a0by Emily Mann, earning a Black Theater Alliance Nomination for Dr. Bessie Delaney; August Wilson\u2019s\u00a0King Hedley II\u00a0<\/em>at The Matrix earning a Los Angeles Ovation Award and an LA Drama Critics Circle Nomination for the role of Ruby; Tonya in the original production of\u00a0King Hedley II<\/em>\u00a0at O\u2019Reilly Pittsburgh Public Theater with Tony Todd; Risa in\u00a0Two Trains Running<\/em>\u00a0on tour, premiering at Yale Rep; originating the role of Lily Ann Green in Lynn Nottage\u2019s\u00a0Crumbs From the Table Of Joy<\/em>\u00a0at Second Stage Theater, South Coast Rep, and Goodman Theatre earning a Jefferson Award and Black Theater Alliance Award. As a Beinecke Fellow at Yale Rep School of Drama, Ella performed in\u00a0Bossa Nova<\/em>\u00a0by Kirsten Greenidge which she also originated at the Sundance Playwriting Lab in Utah. She is an original founding member of The National Black Theatre Festival in Winston-Salem, NC, and has performed as a favorite at that Festival for years. She performed with Ruby Dee at the Bermuda Arts Festival in Ron Milner\u2019s\u00a0Checkmates<\/em>. Ella is also known for her role of Eleanor in the sitcom\u00a0Roc<\/em>\u00a0which earned her an NAACP Nomination. Other select TV\/Film:\u00a0Temptation<\/em>,\u00a0My Wife and Kids, The Jamie Foxx Show, Seinfeld, Eve, Being Mary Jane, Preacher\u2019s Kid, Lucky Girl, Bubba Ho-Tep, Set It Off, Selma, Lord Selma, Nina,\u00a0<\/em>and MTV Award winning \u201cWaterfalls\u201d video. As a voiceover artist, she is heard on Audible Books-on-tape: Ron Milner\u2019s\u00a0Ruby McCollum Story<\/em>, as the voice of Zora Neal Hurston produced by Los Angeles Theatre Works, and BET\u2019s\u00a0Storyporch<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>children reading series.<\/p>\n

SHANE TAYLOR*\u00a0(Bono,\u00a0Fences<\/em>) PSF: debut. Off-Broadway:\u00a0Knives in Hens\u00a0<\/em>(The Shop Theater) 50th Anniversary Production of\u00a0In White America\u00a0<\/em>(New Federal\/Castillo Theatre) and\u00a0Romeo and Juliet<\/em>\u00a0(Lincoln Center Institute). In New York:\u00a0The Desire<\/em>\u00a0(The Billie Holiday Theatre),\u00a0The Love Talker<\/em>\u00a0(NY Fringe).\u00a0 Regional: Orlando Shakespeare Theatre, Luna Stage, Premiere Stages, Roundhouse Theater, Actor\u2019s Theatre of Louisville, Berkshire Theatre Festival, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Indiana Repertory Theatre, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Berkeley Rep, Florida Studio Theater, and Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park. Film:\u00a0God\u2019s Forgotten House<\/em>,\u00a0Sarbane\u2019s Oxley\u00a0<\/em>(Best International Actor 2007 Barbados International Film Festival). TV:\u00a0King of the Bingo Game<\/em>\u00a0(PBS) and numerous appearances and voice-overs in national commercials. Education: MFA, Rutgers University, Mason Gross School of the Arts.<\/p>\n

TONY TODD*\u00a0(Troy,\u00a0Fences<\/em>) made his PSF debut last summer in Wilson\u2019s\u00a0How I Learned What I Learned<\/em>. Other recent theater: TheaterWorks production of Dominique Morriseau\u2019s\u00a0Sunset Baby<\/em>,\u00a0Ghost in the House<\/em>, the one man play about the late great boxer Jack Johnson, the world premiere of\u00a0The Black Odyssey<\/em>\u00a0at Denver Center for the Performing Arts, the workshop of\u00a0The Royale<\/em>\u00a0for the LATC at the Kirk Douglas Theater. He has also done a number of workshop seminars across the country. Tony is proud to have been in the productions of\u00a0Fences<\/em>, at the Geva Theatre Center;\u00a0Captains Tiger<\/em>, at the La Jolla Playhouse, Manhattan Theater Club, and The Kennedy Center (for which he received a Helen Hayes nomination);\u00a0Zooman & the Sign<\/em>\u00a0at Second Stage;\u00a0Home and Playboy of the West Indies<\/em>, at Crossroads;\u00a0Les Blancs\u00a0<\/em>at the Arena Stage, Huntington, and Seattle Rep. Tony originated the role of King Hedley II, at Pittsburgh Public, Huntington and Seattle Rep. Tony trained at Eugene O\u2019Neill Theater Center and Trinity Rep Conservatory. Tony recently starred in the hit series\u00a0The Flash<\/em>\u00a0as the sinister character \u2018Zoom\u2019, in the HBO series\u00a0Room 104<\/em>, and in the Freeform series\u00a0Dead of Summer<\/em>. Film\/TV:\u00a0Platoon<\/em>,\u00a0Lean On Me<\/em>,\u00a0Night of the Living Dead<\/em>,\u00a0The Crow<\/em>,\u00a0Candyman<\/em>,\u00a0Frankenstein<\/em>,\u00a0Sushi Girl<\/em>,\u00a0Transformers Prime<\/em>,\u00a0Final Destination 1,3,4,5<\/em>,\u00a0Le Secret<\/em>,\u00a0Star Trek the Next Generation<\/em>,\u00a0Deep Space Nine<\/em>, and\u00a0Voyager<\/em>,\u00a0The Rock<\/em>,\u00a0Bird<\/em>,\u00a0The Man From Earth<\/em>,\u00a0Changing the Game<\/em>,\u00a0Hatchet 1&2<\/em>,\u00a0Chuck<\/em>,\u00a0Hawaii 5-0<\/em>,\u00a0Criminal Minds<\/em>,\u00a0Law & Order<\/em>,\u00a0Homicide<\/em>,\u00a0NYPD Blue<\/em>,\u00a0X-Files<\/em>,\u00a0Call of Duty: Black Ops 2<\/em>,\u00a0Black Fox<\/em>,\u00a024<\/em>,\u00a0True Women<\/em>, to name a few. Upcoming films:\u00a0Drive Me to Vegas or Mars<\/em>,\u00a0From Jennifer<\/em>,\u00a0West of Hell<\/em>\u00a0among others. Presently Tony is finishing his screenplay\u00a0Providence\u00a0<\/em>and preparing his one-man theater project\u00a0Conversations with: Bayard Rustin, Woody Strode, and Lester Young<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Creative Team Bios:<\/strong><\/p>\n

J. ALEX CORDARO(Fight Director,Fences<\/em>) has spent the last 30 years studying, practicing, teaching, and directing theatrical violence in the US and Europe. He has served as Fight Director on over 200 professional shows, including 12 World and U.S. Premieres with AEA and AGMA. Alex currently runs the stage combat progression at the University of the Arts in Philly.<\/p>\n

LARRY D. FOWLER, JR.\u00a0(Sound Designer,\u00a0Fences<\/em>) is a Philadelphia based theater sound designer, radio imaging producer, and music producer whose work spans 20+ years. Theater companies Larry has designed for include Arden Theater, Wilma Theater, Azuka Theater (current Board Member), InterAct Theater, Theater Horizon, People\u2019s Light, New Paradise Labs, Simpatico, Theater Exile, Lantern Theatre, Denver Center, Trinity Rep, Rennie Harris Puremovement (DJ-Rome And Jewels), ELeon Dance, Danse4Nia, and Khaleah London Dance. He is a 3-time Barrymore Award nominee for his work on\u00a0Blood Wedding\u00a0<\/em>(Wilma Theater, 2017),\u00a0Peter and the Starcatcher<\/em>\u00a0(Theater Horizon, 2018), and\u00a0Hype Man<\/em>\u00a0(InterAct Theater, 2018). In broadcast radio, Larry has been an in-studio producer and board operator for Radio One, Inc. in Philadelphia and is currently an imaging producer, voice over talent, and content editor for HealthcareNowRadio.com. He is also an Adjunct Associate Professor at The University of the Arts.<\/p>\n

AJA M. JACKSON\u00a0(Lighting Designer,\u00a0Fences<\/em>) Off-Broadway:\u00a0A Commercial Jingle for Regina Comet<\/em>. Regional: Hartford Stage,\u00a0Lost in Yonkers;<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>Everyman Theatre,\u00a0Behold, A Negress;\u00a0<\/em>American Repertory Theater,\u00a0Hear Word<\/em>; The Public Theater Under the Radar Festival,\u00a0Hear Word<\/em>; North Carolina Black Rep,\u00a0Freedom Summer<\/em>; Kitchen Theatre,\u00a0Catch as Catch Can<\/em>; Speakeasy Stage,\u00a0Once on This Island;<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>Lyric Stage Company of Boston,\u00a0The Cake, Breath and Imagination<\/em>; Actors\u2019 Shakespeare Project,\u00a0Nat Turner in Jerusalem<\/em>; Moonbox Productions,\u00a0Passing Strange<\/em>; Boston Early Music Festival,\u00a0Pimpinone<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0Ino.<\/em>\u00a0Dance: Modern Connections,\u00a0Hot Water Over Raised Fists<\/em>. Holdtight:\u00a0What Keeps You Going?<\/em>\u00a0Other: Boston Conservatory Theater,\u00a0The Consul, Glory Denied, Can\u2019t Keep Quiet,\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0<\/em>Brandeis University.<\/p>\n

CHIARA H. JOHNSON\u00a0(Assistant Stage Manager,\u00a0Every Brilliant Thing<\/em>,\u00a0Fences<\/em>,\u00a0River Bride<\/em>) is a BIPOC stage manager from NYC. Credits include New York Theatre Workshop, Roundabout Theatre, Utah Shakespeare Festival, and Playbill\u2019s Pride Plays series.<\/p>\n

KENDRA L. JOHNSON\u00a0(Costume Designer,\u00a0Fences<\/em>) made her design debut at PSF with last year\u2019s\u00a0How I Learned What I Learned.<\/em>\u00a0In her twenty years of designing, Kendra costumed over 100 productions, including the world premiere of\u00a0The Power of Sail<\/em>,\u00a0The Cake, Intimate Apparel<\/em>,\u00a0Fences<\/em>,\u00a0Macbeth<\/em>,\u00a0A Midsummer Night\u2019s Dream,\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0Dutchman<\/em>. She has worked with theatres in the northeast, southeast, and midwest, including Cincinnati Shakespeare, Nebraska Repertory Theatre, Hangar Theatre in Ithaca, NY, Actor\u2019s Express in Atlanta, and The Warehouse Theatre in Greenville, SC, and Geva Theatre in Rochester, NY. Kendra is also an associate professor in the Performing Arts Department at Clemson University, where she teaches costume design and technology and African American Theatre.<\/p>\n

EARON CHEW NEALEY\u00a0(Hair, Wig and Makeup Design,\u00a0Fences<\/em>). Broadway:\u00a0Macbeth<\/em>\u00a0(Associate Hair Designer);\u00a0Chicken and Biscuits<\/em>\u00a0(Associate Wig and Makeup Designer);\u00a0Sweat<\/em>\u00a0(Associate Makeup Designer). Other design:\u00a0Kinky Boots<\/em>\u00a0(Bucks County Playhouse);\u00a0On Killing<\/em>\u00a0(Soho Rep);\u00a0Fat Ham<\/em>,\u00a0Cullad Wattah<\/em>,\u00a0Mojada<\/em>\u00a0(The Public Theater);\u00a0Little Girl Blue<\/em>\u00a0(Goodspeed, New World Stages);\u00a0Meet Vera Stark<\/em>,\u00a0Matilda<\/em>\u00a0(Colorado University);\u00a0On Sugarlad<\/em>\u00a0(NYTW);\u00a0Nina Simone: Four Women<\/em>\u00a0(Berkshire Theatre Group);\u00a0Once on This Island<\/em>\u00a0(Pioneer Theatre Company);\u00a0Little Women<\/em>\u00a0(Dallas Theater Center);\u00a0Oklahoma!<\/em>,\u00a0Patsy Cline<\/em>\u00a0(Weston Theater Company);\u00a0Memphis<\/em>,\u00a0Dream Girls<\/em>\u00a0(Cape Fear Regional Theater);\u00a0Cadillac Crew<\/em>,\u00a0Twelfth Night<\/em>\u00a0(Yale Rep).<\/p>\n

BARON E. PUGH\u00a0(Scenic Designer,\u00a0Fences<\/em>) PSF:\u00a0How I Learned What I Learned<\/em>.\u00a0Lyric Stage Company of Boston:\u00a0The Light<\/em>,\u00a0Breath and Imagination, The Wiz<\/em>. The Huntington Theatre:\u00a0The Bluest Eye<\/em>\u00a0(associate designer).\u00a0Trinity Rep:\u00a0Tiny Beautiful Things, Radio Golf<\/em>. TheatreSquared:\u00a0The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity<\/em>,\u00a0<\/em>School Girls<\/em>. Umbrella Theater:\u00a0The Colored Museum, The Old Man and the Old Moon<\/em>. SpeakEasy Stage Company:\u00a0Passover, Choir Boy, School Girls<\/em>. Shakespeare Theater of New Jersey:\u00a0The Comedy of Errors<\/em>,\u00a0Snug<\/em>. Baron received his MFA in Scenic Design from Boston University and is a proud member of United Scenic Artists Local 829.<\/p>\n

RYAN QUINN\u00a0(Director,\u00a0Fences<\/em>) is an actor, director, teacher. In 2021, he directed\u00a0The Mountaintop\u00a0<\/em>at Arc Stages,\u00a0Dad\u2019s Season Tickets\u00a0<\/em>at Milwaukee Rep, and\u00a0The Tempest<\/em>\u00a0at The Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival (where he also directed\u00a0Macbeth, The Two Noble Kinsman<\/em>\u00a0and two productions of\u00a0Romeo and Juliet\u00a0<\/em>for the tour\/conservatory company).\u00a0<\/em>Ryan is a co-founder and the artistic director of Esperance Theater Company, directing\u00a0Twelfth Night, Youth and Ambition,\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0Breitwisch Farm<\/em>. Additional directing:\u00a0Everybody, Lost Girl, So Thrive My Soul\u00a0<\/em>at Milwaukee Rep (PTI Program),\u00a0God of Carnage<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0Stick Fly\u00a0<\/em>at AADA, and\u00a0Comedy of Errors\u00a0<\/em>at LIU Post. As an actor, Ryan most recently appeared Off-Broadway as John Proctor in Bedlam\u2019s critically acclaimed production of\u00a0<\/em>The Crucible<\/em>. Also, with Bedlam;\u00a0DeadDogPark<\/em>\u00a0at 59E59 Theaters,\u00a0Sense and Sensibility<\/em>\u00a0at A.R.T. and Portland Center Stage,\u00a0Bedlam: The Series, and Hedda Gabler\u00a0<\/em>later in 2022. Additional Off-Broadway:\u00a0Whorl Inside a Loop\u00a0<\/em>at Second Stage,\u00a0Vanity Fair\u00a0<\/em>at The Pearl,\u00a0The Killer<\/em>,\u00a0Antony and Cleopatra<\/em>,\u00a0King Lear<\/em>, and\u00a0Hamlet<\/em>\u00a0at Theatre for a New Audience. MFA: Yale School of Drama.<\/p>\n

ERIN JOY SWANK*\u00a0(Stage Manager,\u00a0Fences<\/em>,\u00a0River Bride<\/em>) (she\/her) enjoys working in a variety of genres; recent credits include Baltimore Center Stage, Tantrum Theater, Memphis Opera, Cirque Dreams Holidaze, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Tuacahn Center for the Arts, and\u00a0The Nutcracker<\/em>\u00a0in Las Vegas. Five Christmases of yore were spent touring the\u00a0Radio City Christmas Spectacular<\/em>, featuring the Rockettes and three adorable camels. Erin recently became a published author, collaborating on\u00a0Off Headset: Essays on Stage Management Work, Life, and Career\u00a0<\/em>(Routledge), and writes a popular blog geeking out about stage management.<\/p>\n

AUGUST WILSON\u00a0(Playwright,\u00a0Fences<\/em>)\u00a0(1945\u20142005) authored Gem of the Ocean, Joe Turner\u2019s Come and Gone, Ma Rainey\u2019s Black Bottom, The Piano Lesson, Seven Guitars, Fences, Two Trains Running, Jitney, King Hedley II<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0Radio Golf<\/em>.\u00a0These works explore the heritage and experience of the descendants of Africans in North America, decade by decade, over the course of the twentieth century, forming the compilation entitled\u00a0The American Century Cycle<\/em>. His plays have been produced on Broadway, at regional theaters across the country and all over the world. In 2003, Mr. Wilson made his professional stage debut in his one-man show,\u00a0How I Learned What I Learned<\/em>, currently touring and featuring Eugene Lee reprising Mr. Wilson\u2019s role. Mr. Wilson\u2019s works garnered many awards including: the Pulitzer Prize for\u00a0Fences\u00a0<\/em>(1987) and for\u00a0The Piano Lesson<\/em>\u00a0(1990); a Tony Award for\u00a0Fences<\/em>; Great Britain\u2019s Olivier Award for\u00a0Jitney<\/em>; and seven New York Drama Critics Circle Awards for\u00a0Ma Rainey\u2019s Black Bottom, Fences, Joe Turner\u2019s Come and Gone, The Piano Lesson, Two Trains Running, Seven Guitars<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0Jitney.\u00a0<\/em>Additionally, the cast recording of\u00a0Ma Rainey\u2019s Black Bottom<\/em>\u00a0received a 1985 Grammy Award, and Mr. Wilson received a 1995 Emmy Award nomination for his screenplay adaptation of\u00a0The Piano Lesson<\/em>. Mr. Wilson\u2019s early works included the one-act plays\u00a0The Janitor, Recycle, The Coldest Day of the Year, Malcolm X, The Homecoming<\/em>\u00a0and the musical satire\u00a0Black Bart and the Sacred Hills<\/em>. Mr. Wilson received many fellowships and awards, including the Rockefeller and Guggenheim Fellowships in Playwriting, the Whiting Writers Award and the 2003 Heinz Award. He was awarded a 1999 National Humanities Medal by President Bill Clinton and received numerous honorary degrees from colleges and universities, as well as the only high school diploma ever issued by the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. He was an alumnus of New Dramatists, a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a 1995 inductee into the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and on October 16, 2005, Broadway renamed the theater located at 245 West 52nd Street \u2013\u201cThe August Wilson Theatre.\u201d Additionally, Mr. Wilson was posthumously inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame in 2007. Today, his plays continue to be produced and his place in the American Theatre continues to grow. New York Public Radio recorded all ten plays in the\u00a0The American Century Cycle<\/em>\u00a0at the Greene Space, casting many of the actors that worked on the original productions. PBS aired a documentary on Mr. Wilson, entitled\u00a0The Ground On Which I Stand<\/em>, as part of the\u00a0American Masters\u00a0<\/em>series. Mr. Wilson was born and raised in the Hill District of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and lived in Seattle, Washington at the time of his death. He is immediately survived by his two daughters, Sakina Ansari and Azula Carmen Wilson, and his wife, costume designer Constanza Romero, who is the executor of his estate.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

*Member of Actors\u2019 Equity Association.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Information provided to TVL by:
\nTina Louise Slak
\nPennsylvania Shakespeare Festival
\nThe Professional Theatre at DeSales University
\n2755 Station Avenue
\nCenter Valley, PA 18034
\np: 610-282-WILL [9455]\nwww.pashakespeare.org<\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CENTER VALLEY, PA: July 14, 2022\u2014 August Wilson\u2019s groundbreaking Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award- winning drama\u00a0Fences\u00a0opens at Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, the professional theatre on the campus of DeSales University. The … Continue reading Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival presents August Wilson\u2019s Fences<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":112516,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[69,482],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-112984","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-in-the-valley","category-press-release-2"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/PSF.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112984"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=112984"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112984\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/112516"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=112984"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=112984"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=112984"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}