The Brown & White

This semester, Theatre Professor Kashi Johnson is dedicated to one man - the black American playwright August Wilson.

Johnson's new course, "The Place of August Wilson," is based on Wilson's literary legacy.

"As an actress and as an African-American, I am thankful I was given the permission to teach this course," Johnson said. "I'm a fan of the man's work. He's easily regarded as one of the best American playwrights of the 20th century."

Wilson, a Pulitzer Prize winner, wrote 10 plays. Critics call the collection "The Pittsburg Cycle" because nine of the 10 plays are set in the Hill District of Pittsburgh, which was once considered the epicenter of black life in the city.

Each play is set in a different decade of the 1900s, and they chronicle the comedy and tragedy of living as a black American in the 20th century.

Johnson's class consists of 26 students. Calvin John Smiley, '08, said the class' subject sets it apart from others and is unique to Lehigh.

"It brings a different dynamic to the class," Smiley said. "I think it's kind of a ground-breaking class. I've never heard of people studying August Wilson's plays in such depth here or at any school."

The first play of Wilson's "Pittsburgh Cycle" takes place in the 70s, but the next play Wilson wrote takes place in the 20s. Students read all 10 of Wilson's plays but do not read them in chronological order. Instead, they read the plays in the order in which they were written, even though they jump around in time, Johnson said.

Students study one play per week. In the process, they give PowerPoint presentations, watch videos, read scenes aloud in class and debate about various topics.

"My class is very interactive," Johnson said. "I try to see what's out there. If we just sat and read the play in class, it's still exciting, but it's more exciting to look at other supplemental materials. Also, by reading the plays in the sequence Wilson wrote them, we are able to see how he grows as a writer."

For a midterm project, Johnson asks her students to write a piece to perform. The project requires students to compose a monologue that is based on one of Wilson's plays and uses the author's voice. Students then perform their monologues.

The final project is to make an outline of how they imagine Wilson's 11th play would be if he had written one. They address where Wilson would go next.

"The only wish I have is that this class could be longer," Johnson said. "Just when we are ending a play we have to start reading another one. We often see [that] things we are reading resonate with the real world, so we may stay on one play longer. However, we have to stay on schedule so it makes us rush through the next play."

Johnson said the students in her class are becoming "Wilsonians." Wilson, who died in 2005, has left a great body of work to examine, Johnson said, and learning about it is an ambitious undertaking.

Johnson, who has seen nine of Wilson's 10 plays performed on Broadway, said she is passionate about this subject.

"I always learn from passionate teachers best, and that's what I have to offer as well," she said. "If I'm excited, hopefully they are excited. It keeps things interesting."

Tara Sheppard, '10, said Johnson's class is like no other class she has ever taken at Lehigh. It is a perfect mixture of acting, writing and discussion, she said, and it is a close-knit classroom.

"Kashi is an amazing teacher," Sheppard said. "She's so supportive. She takes a genuine interest in her students and is very knowledgeable on this topic. I don't think many people know as much about August Wilson as Kashi does."

Johnson is also directing one of Wilson's plays, "The Piano Lesson." All of her students in the Wilson class are performing in the play, Johnson said.

The play, which received a Pulitzer Prize for drama in 1990, is set in 1936 Pittsburgh. It explores slavery and racism in the U.S. through a story of vicious sibling rivalry and a priceless family heirloom.

The production premiered Friday and will continue to show at Diamond Theatre in Zoellner Arts Center until Saturday, April 12.

General admission is $12, and tickets can be purchased online, by phone or at the Ticket Services office. Faculty and staff tickets are $11, and student tickets are $5.

"August Wilson is rich in symbolism and he focuses a lot on African-American discrimination and racism," Sheppard said. "He's a deep writer, very thought-provoking."

The Virginia Theatre, located in New York City's Broadway theater district, was renamed the August Wilson Theatre on Oct. 16, 2005, 14 days after Wilson's death. It is the first Broadway theater named after a black American.