February 22, 2017
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Local high school students who are semifinalists this year’s August Wilson Red Door Project are pictured with members of the Red Door team. On Monday,
Feb. 27 at 7 p.m. at the Newmark Theater, downtown, the students will perform works by the master black playwright August Wilson and compete for a
chance to perform at the August Wilson Theatre on Broadway in New York.
Photo by
Unapologetically Ethnic
Students perform
works by master
black playwright
What does it mean to present an
evening of theatre and music that is
unapologetically ethnic? According to
the August Wilson Red Door Project,
you start with talented and determined
Portland area high school students
performing works from the master
black playwright, then move to Hands
Up, a series of monologues about law
enforcement and the black communi-
ty, and then weave through it all music
that has helped forge a culture – from
blues to jazz to hip hop.
The August Wilson Red Door Proj-
ect Monologue Competition will be
held Monday, Feb. 27 at 7 p.m. at the
Newmark Theater, downtown. The
event is free, but reservations are re-
quired by visiting reddoorproject.org
for tickets.
Red Door is a national showcase
for high school age students who
have the grit and spirit to embark on
a challenging journey. Professional
actors and directors train students to
master Wilson’s complex characters,
lyrical language, and astute depiction
of African American experience and
culture.
At the Newmark, the students will
vie for a chance to perform at the Au-
gust Wilson Theatre on Broadway in
New York, competing against peers
from 10 other cities, including major
theatre centers like New York, Bos-
ton, Chicago and Seattle. Local and
national contest winners receive cash
prizes, exposure, and opportunities to
continue their studies. In 2014, the na-
tional winners in New York met Den-
zel Washington, director and star of
August Wilson’s play, Fences, which
is now enjoying tremendous critical
and audience acclaim as a film.
“This is an important program for
Portland especially,” said Kevin Jones
of Portland, the chief executive officer
and artistic director of the Red Door.
“We have more millennials moving
here than any other city in the coun-
try, and they’re bringing a different
paradigm. They don’t think of race
the same way older generations do.
The fact that the AWMC celebrates a
playwright of color and performers of
all colors makes it not only about the-
atre—it’s directly connected to equity
and our city’s future.”
The Red Door Project’s mission is
to change the racial ecology of Port-
land through the arts. In 2016, they
presented Hands Up, a series of seven
monologues about law enforcement
and the African American communi-
ty, written by black writers and per-
formed by black actors.