NCIS's Rocky Carroll To Star In August Wilson's HOW I LEARNED WHAT I LEARNED At Los Angeles Theatre Center

NCIS's Rocky Carroll to star in Los Angeles premiere of August Wilson's "How I Learned What I Learned" One performance only, Saturday, April 15, 2pm at Los Angeles Theatre Center

Rocky Carroll, now in his 15th season of starring as Leon Vance on the CBS hit drama series "NCIS," will return to his live theatre roots when he stars in the Los Angeles premiere of the late August Wilson's autobiographical solo show "How I Learned What I Learned," to be presented one time only on Saturday, April 15 at 2pm at Los Angeles Theatre Center, 514 S. Spring Street.

Tickets are free but reservations are required. Reservations may be made through https://www.eventbrite.com.

Following his dramatic play reading, Carroll will participate in a 25th anniversary retrospective / prospective on the 1998 Town Hall "African American Theater - The Next Stage: Los Angeles," which was convened by August Wilson, African Grove Institute for the Arts executive director Dr. Victor Leo Walker II, and several of their colleagues in AGIA and the National Black Theater Network.

The retrospective will be hosted by Charles Floyd Johnson, managing partner of CHARTOR Entertainment and executive producer of such television series as "NCIS," "JAG," "Magnum PI" and "Rockford Files," and the NAACP Image Award-winning film "Red Tails."

Panelists include Dr. Walker, AGIA legal counsel Mariea Cromer and playwright Ifa Bayeza, all of whom participated in the 1998 Town Hall; Dominic Taylor, vice chair Theater Film & Television at UCLA; Ernest Dillihay, executive director, Los Angeles Inner City Cultural Legacy Project; and Dr. Monica White Ndounou, of Dartmouth College and an authority on the thrivability of Black storytelling in theatre, film, TV and related media. Dr. Oscar Edwards, managing partner, Diversity Equity Inclusion Group, LLC, will serve as moderator.

Rocky Carroll, already established on the New York theatre scene with Joe Papp's New York Shakespeare Festival, was introduced to the works of August Wilson in 1987 as an original cast member of Wilson's Pulitzer Prize-winning play "The Piano Lesson." In 1990, Carroll was nominated for Tony and Drama Desk Awards for his performance in the Broadway production. In the summer of 2005, Carroll starred in a national tour of Wilson's then-final original play, "Radio Golf."

"Working with August Wilson was a privilege and a once-in-a-lifetime experience," says Carroll. "There's a good reason he became one of America's most successful playwrights. Not only do his plays portray the Black experience in a manner that few other writers have, but they are universal in the way they capture the characteristics of the human condition that we all share."

Carroll transitioned from his theatre career to make his television debut in 1991 as Joey Emerson on the Fox comedy-drama "Roc," followed by a starring role as Dr. Keith Wilkes in the series "Chicago Hope," and guest appearances on numerous other prime time shows.

He joined the cast of "NCIS" in 2008, reuniting with his "Chicago Hope" colleagues Mark Harmon and Lauren Holly, and subsequently reprised his role of Leon Vance in the spinoffs "NCIS Los Angeles," "NCIS New Orleans" and "NCIS Hawaii." In 2015 he made his debut as a director on "NCIS" and has since helmed 21 episodes.

Carroll's film credits include a starring role opposite Oprah Winfrey in "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" for HBO, as well as "Crimson Tide," "The Great White Hype," "Yes Man," "Prisoner," "The Ladies Man," "Best Laid Plans," "Born on the Fourth of July," "Prelude to a Kiss," "Talk Radio" and "The Chase." He has also found time to return to the stage, starring in the political drama "Fraternity" for the Ebony Rep Theatre Company at the Nate Holden Performing Arts Center.

The playreading and retrospective are presented by Los Angeles Inner City Cultural Center, the African Grove Institute for the Arts and UCLA's Beloved Community Initiative.

Inner City Cultural Center played a major role in the development of August Wilson's early career as a playwright before he went on to achieve national recognition.

The April 15 event will serve as a prelude to UCLA's 2023 Beloved Community Awareness Week, presented by UCLA's Beloved Community Initiative (BCI) from April 18-25.

Beloved Community Awareness Week celebrates the legacies of the philosopher Josiah Royce, who created the concept of The Beloved Community and after whom UCLA's Royce Hall is named; the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who further expanded the concept of The Beloved Community in a historic speech at UCLA on April 27, 1965; and Los Angeles Inner City Cultural Center (LAICCC) co-founders C. Bernard Jackson and Dr. J. Alfred Cannon, staff and faculty members respectively at UCLA who pioneered multicultural and color-blind casting at LAICCC to provide exposure to minorities previously excluded from the entertainment industry, and to utilize the arts as a tool for community healing following the 1965 Watts uprising.

Further information about the April 15 event may be found on https://www.EventBrite.com and at http://www.innercityculturalcenter.org/events.html.

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