Kenny Leon to Host 9th Annual August Wilson Monologue Competition; Judges Announced!

The 9th Annual National August Wilson Monologue Competition, hosted by Tony Award Winning Director, Kenny Leon, with special musical performance by blues guitarist and storyteller, Guy Davis, will take place on Monday, May 1st at 7:00 p.m. at the August Wilson Theatre (245 West 52nd Street).

A panel of celebrity judges will include: Tony Award and Obie Award winner John Earl Jelks, Obie Award and Lortel Award winner Roslyn Ruff, Broadway actor, playwright and director Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Tony Award and Obie Award winning set designer David Gallo, and BET Humanitarian Award winner Pauletta Washington.

True Colors Theatre Company (Kenny Leon, Co-Founding Artistic Director) and Jujamcyn Theaters (Jordan Roth, President) are proud to announce the 9th Annual August Wilson Monologue Competition. The event, which is free and open to the public, features high school students from Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York, North Carolina, Pittsburgh, Portland and Seattle performing monologues by the late, legendary American playwright. There will be a special performance by American Blues musician and actor, Guy Davis and a tribute to legendary actor Bill Nunn.

Founded in 2007, the Annual August Wilson Monologue Competition aims to expose a new generation of creative minds to the life's work and artistic legacy of this seminal American playwright. Program participants in cities across the country encounter Wilson's ten-play cycle and receive coaching from teaching artists as they prepare their monologues for local, city-wide and national competitions.

True Colors Theatre Company is based in Atlanta, GA and lead by Artistic Director Kenny Leon, and Managing Director Jennifer Dwyer McEwen. True Colors' mission is grounded and centered in the rich canon of African American classics with a strong commitment to diverse new voices. True Colors strives to be an important voice in the American discussion of diversity including plays and playwrights from various times, cultures and perspectives. True Colors' next shows are Stephen Adly Guirgis' 2015 Pulitzer Prize winner Between Riverside and Crazy in July 2017 and the regional premiere of the Tupac Shakur musical Holler If You Hear Me in September 2017.

Jujamcyn Theaters, founded in 1956, is widely recognized as a Broadway innovator, championing shows that push theatrical boundaries and delivering service and hospitality that redefines both the theatergoing and theatre-making experiences. The company owns and operates five Broadway theatres including the St. James, Al Hirschfeld, August Wilson, Eugene O'Neill, and Walter Kerr. The dynamic leadership team is led by Jordan Roth, Paul Libin and Jack Viertel, the company's President, Executive Vice President and Senior Vice President, respectively. Jujamcyn presents some of the most influential and successful musicals and plays on Broadway today. Current productions include The Book of Mormon, Groundhog Day, Amélie, Kinky Boots, and Present Laughter. Past productions include Jersey Boys, Something Rotten!, A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, American Idiot, Angels in America, Big River, Caroline or Change, Clybourne Park, Fela!, Grey Gardens, Guys & Dolls, Hair, How to Succeed in Business, Into the Woods, M. Butterfly, The Producers, Proof, Smokey Joe's Cafe, Spring Awakening and 6 plays by August Wilson. In addition to its core theatre business, Jujamcyn operates Givenik.com and Red Awning. Givenik.com is a unique service allowing theatergoers to buy discounted tickets and give 5% of their ticket price to the charity of their choice. The program currently supports over 500 charitable organizations from major national agencies to local PTA groups. Red Awning provides executive producing services and creative consulting to a variety of Broadway and touring productions.

For more information, visit www.AugustWilsonMonologue.com.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride