The August Wilson African American Cultural Center Hosts A TASTE OF THE AMERICAN CENTURY

The August Wilson African American Cultural Center has announced the final event of the first season of Beyond the Red Door, a unique experiential event series that expands on the permanent exhibition August Wilson: The Writer's Landscape. The event, titled "A Taste of the American Century," will take place on Wednesday, April 26th at 5:30 pm in the transformed AWAACC café.

The event will be a foodie experience that showcases one of the historically Black recipes highlighted in August Wilson's American Century Cycle. The demonstration kitchen event will feature Chef Mike "BIG EZ" Barnes of Roux Orleans, who will put his own spin on the recipe, followed by a catered dinner featuring additional food and dessert mentioned throughout the Cycle.

"Recipes are stories and histories; they are a passing on of culture, love, and memory," says Stephanie Rolland, AWAACC Theatre Curator, who conceived and curated Beyond the Red Door. "August Wilson featured many historically Black recipes and businesses throughout his plays, and we wanted to bring those stories and flavors to life in this event."

Beyond the Red Door: A Theatrical Event Series will return this fall. Tickets for the event are available for purchase on the AWAACC website at Awaacc.org.

Michael Barnes is a New Orleans native who moved to Pittsburgh's East End in 2014 with his family. While he worked in restaurants throughout his life, Chef Mike "BIG EZ" Barnes realized that he could add his own flavor to the 'Burgh through his food. He created Roux Orleans in 2017 to bring Southern Cajun/Creole flavors up North. Chef EZ has worked in several kitchens, including his Grandmothers over the past 3 decades in Louisiana and Texas perfecting knife skills and flavor profiles from some of the best chefs in Louisiana. With Roux Orleans, Chef EZ is able to bring some of his home-grown passion to a new city while focusing on developing the communities around him through job creation.

Stephanie Rolland is a Lilly Award-winning creative producer, curator, and arts administrator. Her work is fueled by connection, experimentation, and laughter. She finds her joy in bringing multi-faceted, swirling, human universes together in space to make magic. Current: Theater Curator for the August Wilson African American Cultural Center, 2022-2023 Urban Bush Women Choreographic Center Initiative 2.0 Producing Fellow. Experience: Lecturer in Theatre Management with David Geffen School of Drama, Associate consultant with ALJP Consulting Group, Producing Faculty, Why Not Theatre's ThisGen Fellowship (Toronto, CA), Co-Founder-Interfest, Co-Producer - "Building New Pathways" virtual gala for Black Theatre Coalition, Line Producer - 'A Past Becomes A Heritage', a virtual play reading and panel discussion for CLASSIX and Princeton's Lewis Center for the Arts, KCACTF SDC Directing Initiative Respondent 2021, Director of Theatre Operations for Theatre Row, Artistic Line Producer for McCarter Theatre, Artistic Administrator for Baltimore Center Stage. She was chosen as a member of the 2018-2020 cohort of WP Theater Producing Fellows, the Americans for the Arts' inaugural Diversity in Arts Leadership Lab, and the Theater Communications Group (TCG)'s inaugural Rising Leaders of Color cohort. Stephanie has also served on both the Philadelphia Young Playwrights and The Playwrights Realm script reading committees, TCG's National Awards Committee, LORT's 'Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee and as an NEA Grant Panelist. She holds a BA from the University of Pennsylvania and an MFA in Theater Management from Yale School of Drama.

The August Wilson African American Cultural Center is a non-profit cultural center located in Pittsburgh's cultural district that generates artistic, educational, and community initiatives that advance the legacy of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright August Wilson. One of the largest cultural centers in the country focused exclusively on the African American experience and the celebration of Black culture and the African diaspora, the non-profit organization welcomes more than 119,000 visitors locally and nationally. Through year-round programming across multiple genres, such as the annual Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival, Black Bottom Film Festival, AWCommunity Days, TRUTHSayers speaker series, and rotating art exhibits in its galleries, the Center provides a platform for established and emerging artists of color whose work reflects the universal issues of identity that Wilson tackled, and which still resonate today.

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