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August Wilson Influence

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August Wilson and His Influence on American Theatre by Isaac Harris

As I sit here, on my couch, researching a man named August Wilson, who died ten years ago, I wonder why he is still taking up my time. What has he done in his life that is oh-so important that he is still stressing teenagers out over an essay they have to write about him. Well, for starters, he won 25 theatre awards over the course of 25 years, he wrote 16 plays, ten of which correlated directly to each other and his life, and he is influencing playwrights all over the world to this day. August Wilson connected all his plays to one another, starting a trend that is still prevalent today, as seen in much of Tim Burton’s work. Wilsons collection is called “The Pittsburgh …show more content…

This play showcases a singer songwriter trying to make a name for herself, but soon realizes her band is jeopardizing her chances of hitting it big. This play was nominated twice and won the 1985 New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award for Best American Play. The third play, in chronological order by release date, is “Fences”, released in 1987, which takes place in the 1950’s. This play is about an African American man named Troy, who was a stellar baseball player in his youth, but is now retired and is struggling to pay the bills and support his family. He becomes a garbage man, but wonders why he can’t be a truck driver, and determines it has something to do with race. This play won five awards, including the Pulitzer Prize and a Tony. The next play, the fourth, is “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone”, which takes place in the 1910’s and was released in 1988. This play explores how the first generation of free African American’s deal with racism and intolerance in the real world. Another play regarding racism, this is when Wilson truly began to show his distaste for intolerance. This play was nominated three times and won the 1988 New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award for Best

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