Tracey Scott Wilson
Playwright Bio
Born in Newark, NJ in 1967
Was interested in journalism and creative writing early on in life
Took classes at Rutgers, earning a BA in English
Went on to earn an MA for English Literature at Temple University
Saw little to no theater growing up, discovered her ability in a playwriting class at Temple
Two Van Lief Fellowships at New York Theater Workshop
2009 Writer in Residence at the National Playwrights Conference
Won over 6 different awards for her plays & 4 Emmys for her work as a TV Writer/Producer
Guest Lecturer at Brown, Rutgers, Yale, NYU
Why is this play important
This play uses the ideas listed above to create a conversation around the lengths to which individuals will go to maintain their characterization of the “in-group”
Main Themes
Use of language within communities
Upward mobility
Desire to be recognized
“In-group” vs. “outgroup”
Highlighted Plays:
The Story, The Public, New York 2003
goodmantheater.org
Exhibit #9 New Perspective New York, 1999
Wilson’s play, based on Wolfe’s Colored Museum, is a hilarious look at what it it really sounds like to hear all of the ridiculous cliches, lies, and hearsay about the Black community, all at once. Exhibit #9 shows that Wilson’s quick wit and fast paced writing style works perfectly to have you laughing while you’re reading, but leave you thinking for much longer after you’ve finished.
Highlighted Plays:
Buzzer The Goodman Theater, Chicago 2014
Wilson’s ability to create works that directly discuss topics that we see and hear about everyday but may feel prepared enough to talk about. Her writing makes conversations real on the stage and bring audiences into the playing space in a way that is very unique to her.
Jackson, an upwardly-mobile black attorney, has just bought an apartment in a transitioning neighborhood in Brooklyn. He sees the potential of his old neighborhood, as does his white girlfriend Suzy ... at first. When Jackson's childhood friend Don leaves rehab to crash with them, the trio quickly becomes trapped between the tensions inside their own home and the dangers that may lurk outside.
Comprehensive List of Plays
Plays
TV/Movies
Bibliography
Als, Hilton. “Blackout: Tracey Scott Wilson on Race, Ambition, and Journalistic Ethics.” The New Yorker, 2003, www.newyorker.com/magazine/2003/12/22/blackout-3.
“Buzzer.” Goodman Theatre, www.goodmantheatre.org/season/buzzer/.
John-Hall INQUIRER STAFF WRITER, A. (2005, January 30). Ripped from the headlines - Janet Cookes 1981 Pulitzer scandal converges with race and class issues in Tracey Scott Wilson's "The Story," now at Plays & Players.. Philadelphia Inquirer, The (PA), p. H01. Available from NewsBank: Access World News – Historical and Current: https://infoweb-newsbank-com.proxy.library.nyu.edu/apps/news/document-view?p=WORLDNEWS&docref=news/107FC02BEB8BD4C1.
Prologue. (2004). In The Story (pp. 1-2). Retrieved from Black Drama: Second Edition database.
Sager, Mike. “The Fabulist Who Changed Journalism.” Columbia Journalism Review, 2016, www.cjr.org/the_feature/the_fabulist_who_changed_journalism.php.
Smarthouse Creative. (2016, 15 Feb.). Tracey Wilson Discusses BUZZER (Part One) [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNurayF7Zyk
The Classical Theater of Harlem. (2020, 22 Jul.). Tracey Scott Wilson, Betty Shamieh | Chronicles of Fortitude | Behind the Curtain [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDALIa7tHBc
“Tracey Scott Wilson.” IMDb, IMDb.com, www.imdb.com/name/nm5885049/.
Wilson, T. (1998). Exhibit #9. Retrieved from Black Drama: Second Edition database.