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The December edition of the August Wilson Center’s monthly Reading Roundtable Series broke new ground with a first staged reading of August Wilson’s “The Piano Lesson” with an all-female cast on last month in the August Wilson Center for African American Culture. “There are so few roles for women in August Wilson’s plays,” said reading director Vanessa German. “I’ve always wanted to get on stage and say some of the wonderful monologues that August wrote for men. It’s the language, and the ferocity of the story; to have the opportunity as an actress to come alive inside of those words is earth shaking.
To have the opportunity to stretch, and bring life and vitality to roles that we, as women would never have the opportunity to place, was too good to pass up. Lots of plays have been mounted with non-traditional casts, this, is just a staged reading, it will give audiences the unique opportunity to hear the masterful language and storytelling of August Wilson in a way they never have previously.” The reading was presented on the main stage and featured members of the August Wilson Center’s Theatre Ensemble: Vanessa German, Crystal Detwiller, Bria Walker, Tami Dixon, Stevie Akers, Twanda Rene Clark and Nia Clark (a freshman at Pittsburgh CAPA) and Naila Ansari, a member of the AWC Dance Ensemble. This presentation, directed by Vanessa German, was a staged reading of the entire play, with a brief intermission and was followed by a question and answer session.
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