"Parks: A Portrait of a Young Artist" at History Theatre

When I saw a reading of the then-titled The Gordon Parks Play Project three years ago, I wrote: "Friends, this is one of those experiences that transcended theater." When the reading is that good, and the playwright is one of #TCTheater's most talented and prolific, Harrison David Rivers, adding in acclaimed director Talvin Wilks, you know the finished product is going to be something special. Parks: A Portrait of a Young Artist, which has finally opened at History Theatre, is just that. Beautifully written, directed, and acted, with evocative images, well-chosen period songs, and an almost constant underscoring of music, Parks traces the origin of photographer, musician, and filmmaker Gordon Parks during his decade or so living in St. Paul as a youth. Once again his great-niece Robin P. Hickman-Winfield, a collaborator on the piece, was in attendance and spoke before the performance I attended, and it's clear that Gordon's legacy of Black artistry lives on in her, the students at Gordon Parks High School in St. Paul, and any other Black youth who picks up a camera, or a paintbrush, or a pen as their weapon against racism and injustice.

The History Theatre's New Works Festival "Raw Stages" 2019

Last weekend was one of my favorite weekends of the year: "Raw Stages" weekend at the History Theater in downtown St. Paul. Most of the work produced by the History Theatre is new work that they develop, a claim few theaters of their size can make. Specifically, they produce plays and musicals inspired by local history. Usually some part of history that's not well known, but somehow relates to the modern world and helps us gain insight into where we are by looking back at where we were. An important part of the development process is their annual new works festival, in which four new pieces receive a director, cast, workshop, and public reading. I was able to attend two of the four readings this year, both exciting and promising works that I hope to see on the stage next season. But first, History Theatre's current season concludes with three HERstory plays - world premieres by and about women (click here to find out more).