Actor, playwright and poet Nathan James hopes that the themes of Black male masculinity, the peeling away of layers and dealing with depression discussed in his one-man show, “Growing Pains,” which will be presented at the August Wilson Center for African American Culture Dec. 8 and 9, will ultimately lead to dialogue and healing.
“I think it’s important as we’re in an era of discovering Black male emotions and depression,” explained the Beltzhoover native who currently resides in New York. “Dealing with staying away from the negative influences on the streets, losing people along the way and learning to deal with heartbreak, it’s all of these things that young men—especially young men growing up in Pittsburgh—can look to and realize that they are not alone in their experience.”
Through spoken-word poetry, monologues, movement and multi-media imagery; his one-man show, Growing Pains, illuminates the voice of the true authentic culture of the Hip-Hop generation. It takes a firsthand look at the births of the mentalities of urban African American males, as opposed to the constant highlighting of stereotypical behaviors found in music videos, social media, and nightly news.
Growing Pains explores how people end up where they are in life based on their personal experiences. It examines the influence of media and upbringing over the way people view politics, beauty, each other, and most importantly, themselves. It taps into the part of the human spirit that enables people to empathize with one another as individuals, even if they can’t always relate to each other’s life experiences.
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