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About the Project

The Idea

The August Wilson Performing Project was first proposed by Kent-Meridian High School theater director Jay Thornton. He was interested in providing a theatrical experience that would be relevant to his students in the confines of a pandemic and time of social injustice and unrest. The idea was to read all ten of August Wilson’s American Century Cycle plays, inviting different professional actors to participate in both reading and discussing the work, culminating in a collaboratively created performance piece inspired by Wilson’s work.

Bringing the Project to Life

Alex Lee Reed, Seattle Rep's Associate Director of Engagement Youth & Learning, jumped into action and organized a schedule and staff of teaching artists to assist, facilitated by Allyson Lee Brown. Over a five-week period, students read and discussed Wilson’s work, and the remaining three weeks were spent on collaboratively creating, rehearsing, and performing a reflection piece in response to Wilson's works.

Still Loading… is a result of those efforts and speaks to the search for self-realization and inner peace that at times, for us all, seems unattainable.

 

^{Watch the Still Loading... teaser trailer for a sneak peek at the performance.} 

Still Loading... By the Numbers

1 award Pulitzer Prize-winning African American playwright

1 American Century Cycle

10 plays

76 characters

8 weeks

40 Zoom calls

8 wifi connections of varying quality at varying times

5 high school drama students

1 high school theater director

1 facilitating teaching artist

3 guest teaching artists

1 Associate Director of Arts Engagement, Youth & Learning

1 Tony Award-winning regional theater

1 collaboratively written and produced play:
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