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As an August Wilson scholar and a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, I am constantly doing research on the rich cultural, historical, and social legacy that is etched in Wilson's plays. I view August Wilson as a hometown son who has made great literary and dramatic contributions, not only to Broadway, but also directly to Pittsburgh, where all of his 10 major plays have been performed by the local theatre community over the last 35 years. For this article, I conducted interviews over a two-year period in which I interviewed a prominent Pittsburgh playwright and director, a prominent Pittsburgh actor and writer, a prominent costume designer, and a very close member of Wilson's family. They shared their insights and observations about the late, great August Wilson and his creative genius. In addition, they discussed the effects that Wilson's legacy has had on the Pittsburgh theatre community.
Interview with Mr. Mark Southers ( June 22, 2007). Mr. Southers is a Pittsburgh playwright, director, and actor who is the Artistic Director and Founder of the Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Company.
Brian: Hello, Mark. Thank you for taking time in your busy schedule to grant me an interview.
Mark: No problem.
Brian: Mark, when did you first encounter an August Wilson play?
Mark: Back in 1987,1 saw the Kuntu
Repertory Theatre's production of Ma Rainey's Black Bottom.
Brian: What did you think of the play?
Mark: Man, I loved it. It was a great production.
Brian: You also have worked with the Kuntu Repertory Theater.
Mark: I used to work as a photographer for the New Pittsburgh Courier. And then in the early '90s, I was a photographer for the Kuntu. Eventually, I got into acting with the Kuntu.
Brian: How did you end up studying with August Wilson?
Mark: In 1998,1 got the opportunity to go over to South Africa with Derrick Sanders, who also worked with the Kuntu. August was teaching a Master's class over there at a theatre workshop, and Derrick and I attended the class.
Brian: That must have been an awesome experience.
Mark: Yes, I learned a lot from him. And then I had the opportunity to go to a theatre workshop in Alaska shortly after the South Africa trip. August was there. Derrick...