“Theater’s poet of Black America”

- The New York Times

August Wilson Playmakers Festival

About August Wilson

August Wilson (1945 - 2005) was a two-time Pulitzer Prize winning playwright, a Tony award winning author, and perhaps the most famous representative of African American theater. His remarkable career is celebrated in the American Theater Hall of Fame.

Wilson’s signature artistic achievement is his incredible “Pittsburgh Cycle” of plays, which are ten poetic, realistic, and incisive dramas documenting the African American experience over several decades. Stylistically, Wilson’s work combines seemingly disparate elements to portray the African American experience at the intersection of history, poetry, and everyday life. His plays including Jitney (1982), Fences (1984), Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (1984), Joe Turner's Come and Gone (1986), The Piano Lesson (1987), King Hedley II (1999) are most likely to appear in anthologies as representative works of African American drama

Festival Schedule

August Wilson’s “Joe Turner’s Come & Gone”, Followed by Lecture

June 12, 2022

Various Days

August Wilson’s “Joe Turner’s Come & Gone”, Followed by Lecture

Come see this moving play and stay to learn more about the play’s context from August Wilson Society Education Director, Pedro E. Alvarado. The lecture is open to the public and does not require that you attend the play.

Opening Night of August Wilson’s “Joe Turner's Come & Gone”

June 10, 2022

Various Days

Opening Night of August Wilson’s “Joe Turner's Come & Gone”

Come experience the buzz of opening night! August Wilson’s brilliant drama “Joe Turner’s Come & Gone” will be produced by Chattanooga Theatre Centre’s Circle Theatre and hosted by The August Wilson Playmakers Festival.

“Peeing in a Soda Bottle” By E. Claudette Freeman, Followed by Discussion

June 16, 2022

Various Days

“Peeing in a Soda Bottle” By E. Claudette Freeman, Followed by Discussion

Come see a profound one-woman show by E. Claudette Freeman. Join us and sit on the porch with Chayonne and her rifle, Tilda, to learn life’s most valuable lessons.