Bryan-Keyth Wilson​​​​​​​ Receives Playwright Residency In New Jersey

Houston based playwright Bryan-Keyth Wilson was selected by a committee as the first place winner of the 2020 Show Me The Monologue Playwriting Competition. FOR COLORED BOYZ on the verge of a nervous breakdown/ when freedom aint enuff was among a group of high caliber projects selected from over 100 submissions nationwide. The Show Me the Monologue Competition is presented by the Paterson Performance Arts Council in New Jersey.

As the first place winner Wilson is the recipient of the playwright-in-residence program, Wilson will receive developmental support over a six-month period. This includes working with a dramaturge, director, and other creative team members to mount a mainstage production of FOR COLORED BOYZ as part of their lineup during the Hamilton Arts Festival (June 17 - 25, 2021).

"Today's news is bittersweet as I learn about my residency and my hometown is dealing with another pandemic that plagues our world and that is police brutality towards black men. A young man by the name of Joshua Feast was gunned down and shot in the back by La Marque Police Officer Jose Santos. It's moments such as this where FOR COLORED BOYZ was birthed! I am blessed and grateful to have the opportunity as an author/ playwright to use the medium of the American Theatre where I can share stories such as Joshua's and the many others that were lynched by the police," said Bryan-Keyth Wilson.

FOR COLORED BOYZ on the verge of a nervous breakdown/ when freedom ain't enuff is a collection of 35 poems telling the stories of black men from slavery to the present. This composition examines the dark realities of what it means to be a man of color in America. Wilson's work delves into issues such as toxic masculinity, homophobia, systematic racism, mental issues, and police brutality. While there's no linear narrative each poem is weaved together through music and dance making this piece a choreopoem. The choreopoem is performed by five nameless men only represented visually by their colors. They are The Man in Black, Man in Red, Man in Green, Man in Orange and Man in Blue. Other subjects examined in this choreopoem include colorism, racial stereotypes, the black family and politics. By the conclusion of Act II, walls are broken, and each man on stage takes a new right of passage giving reverence to the ancestors and affirming the bond of brotherhood is what they need to move forward in this world. "FOR COLORED BOYZ takes us through actual moments in history where black men were either victorious, downtrodden or lynched. The black man is a complex/ magical being that has faced adversity since colonization and here we are in 2020 still trying to figure it out. Writing a piece such as this has been therapeutic and haunting. We are excited to be back in Houston," says Wilson, FOR COLORED BOYZ playwright and director.

For more information please visit www.bryankeyth.com.

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