The Monologue Project that began in Pittsburgh and Dallas has generated a free online resource of more than 30 audition-length monologues for women of color by theatrical luminaries.
In July 2017,a performances in Pittsburgh inaugurated the project, an initiative aimed at celebrating women of the African diaspora and their impact on theater.
Playwrights whose work is now available online include Pittsburgh-based Yona Harvey, Mark Clayton Southers, Kim El, Bria Walker and Chrystal Bates, along with Dominique Morisseau and Cori Thomas, whose work has been produced by City Theatre on the South Side.
The project’s organizing partners are playwright Gab Cody, Pittsburgh regional representative for the Dramatists Guild, working with Reginald Douglas, artistic producer of City Theatre; Kyle Haden, Carnegie Mellon University director and assistant professor; and Teresa Coleman Wash of Bishop Arts Theatre Center in Dallas. Pittsburgh actress Siovhan Christensen is a member of the advisory committee.
Ms. Morisseau, in an introduction to The Monologue Project, explains, “We write because we speak our truths out loud. Black women actors deserve to tell stories where they are exploring their humanity without restriction. ... The writers write so actors can speak, and collectively we are all giving voice to our totality.”
The monologues range from high drama to comedy. A sample from the contribution of Ms. Harvey, who teaches poetry at the University of Pittsburgh, is “Carol Speaks” and gives as its setting “Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Homewood Neighborhood, 2015.”
“Why fight over a little bit of nothing? Why
shoot at a vigil? Two years after taking Antwan? Looked
like they wanted to kill him all over again. Here
death ain’t enough for misery. And can you believe I said,
‘Today let’s have peace’? ...”
With the online resource now a reality, the Dramatists Guild and Monologue Project are holding “an evening of performance and activism” Friday in New York City to celebrate Women of the African Diaspora during the guild’s national conference. The event will be directed by CMU’s Mr. Haden, with performers including Shamika Cotton, who recently performed in Cori Thomas’ “Citizens Market” at City Theatre,
The Monologue Project works are available on the Bishop Arts Theatre Center website at bishopartstheatre.org.
Sharon Eberson: seberson@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1960. Twitter: @SEberson_pg.
First Published: July 24, 2018, 4:00 p.m.
