Court Theatre series takes audiences on a tour through 100 years of Black theater
<p>When Ron “OJ” Parson thinks about the past century of Black arts, he can’t help but zero in on one genre: theater.</p><p>The resident artist of the University of Chicago’s Court Theatre, Parson had an idea about a decade ago alongside his friend, the Chicago-based director Chuck Smith.</p><p>Both Parson and Smith have a reputation for being former collaborators of the legendary playwright August Wilson.</p><p>Parson is on the cusp of directing all 10 plays of Wilson’s famed “American Century Cycle,” a set of 10 ambitious works that dramatize the lives of Black Americans in different decades, with a 2027 production of “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone.”</p><p>“Chuck Smith said he was going to do an August Wilson reading series,” said Parson. “I thought we should do something like that at Court, but from a different angle.
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<p>When Ron “OJ” Parson thinks about the past century of Black arts, he can’t help but zero in on one genre: theater.</p><p>The resident artist of the University of Chicago’s Court Theatre, Parson had an idea about a decade ago alongside his friend, the Chicago-based director Chuck Smith.</p><p>Both Parson and Smith have a reputation for being former collaborators of the legendary playwright August Wilson.</p><p>Parson is on the cusp of directing all 10 plays of Wilson’s famed “American Century Cycle,” a set of 10 ambitious works that dramatize the lives of Black Americans in different decades, with a 2027 production of “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone.”</p><p>“Chuck Smith said he was going to do an August Wilson reading series,” said Parson. “I thought we should do something like that at Court, but from a different angle. We'll do the Black Theater movement.”</p><p>That idea led to the <a class="Link" href="https://www.courttheatre.org/season-tickets/spotlight-reading-series/theodoreward/" target="_blank" >Spotlight Series,</a> which has highlighted Black playwrights both historic and contemporary in its decade of existence. Parson, who studied theater at the University of Michigan in the 1970s, wanted to familiarize up-and-coming artists and current audiences with classic Black plays.
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- <p>When Ron “OJ” Parson thinks about the past century of Black arts, he can’t help but zero in on one genre: theater.</p><p>The resident artist of the University of Chicago’s Court Theatre, Parson had an idea about a decade ago alongside his friend, the Chicago-based director Chuck Smith.</p><p>Both Parson and Smith have a reputation for being former collaborators of the legendary playwright August Wilson.</p><p>Parson is on the cusp of directing all 10 plays of Wilson’s famed “American Century Cycle,” a set of 10 ambitious works that dramatize the lives of Black Americans in different decades, with a 2027 production of “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone.”</p><p>“Chuck Smith said he was going to do an August Wilson reading series,” said Parson. “I thought we should do something like that at Court, but from a different angle.
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Court Theatre series takes audiences on a tour through 100 years of Black theater
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