By Margaret Hicks
Staff Writer
mhicks@theoklahomaeagle.net
Theatre North will be holding auditions on Saturday and Sunday, October 14 and 15, from 3-5 p.m. at Langston Hughes Academy, 1821 E. 66th Street North, in Tulsa, Oklahoma. They are seeking four African American males and three African American females between the ages of 25 and 60. The production is August Wilson’s Seven Guitars which will be performed at the Tulsa Performing Arts Center (TPAC), 110 E. 2nd Street, at 8 p.m. on February 3, and 10, 2018, and 3 p.m. February 11.
Seven Guitars is presented by special arrangement with Samuel French, Inc. (SFI). This production is also made possible with the assistance of the Oklahoma Arts Council (OAC), the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the Arts & Humanities Council of Tulsa (AHCT), the Allied Arts of Tulsa (AAT) and the Tulsa Performing Arts Center Trust Authority (TPACTA).
About August Wilson
Wilson was an African American playwright whose work include Fences, a period drama film which was directed by Denzel Washington, who also starred in the 2016 film. Wilson died in 2005, but completed the screenplay before his death. Fences earned him a Pulitzer Prize and a Tony Award in 1987. He won another Pulitzer Prize in 1990, for The Piano Lesson. In 1996, Seven Guitars premiered on the Broadway stage, followed by King Hedley II in 2001 and Gem of the Ocean in 2004.
About Seven Guitars
Seven Guitars is a tragi-comedy, sixth in the author’s 10-part Pittsburg Cycle, exploring the black experience in America.
“Seven Guitars is part bawdy comedy, park dark elegy and part mystery. In the backyard of a Pittsburg tenement in 1948, friends gather to mourn for a blues guitarist and singer who died just as his career was on the verge of taking off. The action that follows is a flashback to the busy week leading up to Floyd’s [the guitarist and singer’s] sudden and unnatural death.”
About Samuel French Inc., et al
Brining a play to stage is a major feat regardless of the size of the theater. Partnership is required. SFI, headquartered in New York City, licenses plays and musicals to theatrical groups. They are the largest publisher of plays and musicals, and have been helping to make theatre happen since 1830.
OAC is appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the state Senate. OAC support opportunities for all Oklahomans to create, perform or attend arts activities.
NEA was founded back in 1965 by President Lyndon B. Johnson. This independent agency of the United States federal government offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence.
AHCT, in a nutshell, partners with community groups to strengthen the relationship of the arts to economic development, and introduce the arts and humanities to new audiences. This is just a tip of the iceberg as to what AHCT does.
ATT is a United Arts Fund that strengthens and supports the arts for a greater Tulsa through fundraising, support services, audience development and responsible investment and allocation of resources.
TPACTA supports local non-profit arts groups with grants that pay the basic cost for using the Tulsa Performing Arts Center facility.
This collaboration speaks to the integrity of Theater North.
About Director Rodney Clark
As well as being a director, Clark is a writer, producer and actor of films and stage plays. To his credit is All We Ever Do Is Talk About It, Pastor I’m Available, Pastor, I’m Available Too, Gees Bend, and October Baby.
Clark is also founder and principal of the charter school, Langston Hughes Academy for Arts and Technology.
About Maybelle Wallace
Maybelle Wallace, Executive Director of Theatre North acted in Rumble Fish, a 1983 Francis Ford Coppola production set and filmed in Tulsa. Stars in that film included Matt Dillon, Laurence Fishburne and Nicolas Cage.
If you are interested in auditioning for Seven Guitars place contact Wallace at 918-814-1311 or theatrenorthmw@hotmail.com.
