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From the Founding Artistic Director
August Wilson and I first talked of a season at Signature Theatre Company in 2002 over a picnic table on the grounds of the O'Neill Theater Center. I suppose it was an appropriate beginning because it was there where most of the American theatre became aware of his extraordinary gifts.
He had returned there to reconnect with the place that had brought so many previous moments of inspiration in hope of finding a connection to something that would inform his then current work, Gem of the Ocean. Little did I know that the conversation we had was to be a profound intersection of shared inspiration and, sadly, a moment burned into my memory that I would long to repeat, if only possible.
Then, and in many conversations that followed, August would share his passion for storytelling and reach deep into his staggering vocabulary of prose as he described the future stories he wanted to tell. From coffin makers going on strike, to a second take on Seven Guitars, to a one-man evening featuring August called How I Learned what I Learned; he was rich with ideas and stories he wanted to tell once liberated from his great twentieth-century cycle. You see, as much as he found his voice through that extraordinary series of plays he was most desperate to reach the end of that journey he had traveled for over twenty-five years.
He lit up that day at the picnic table as he thought of what was to come post cycle, and that was the basis of what was to be our time together at Signature. Over the next three years or so we talked of a season of all new work, a marathon reading of his cycle plays over ten days, poetry readings, and of course, August on stage in his one-man discourse. It was thrilling to plan and to imagine together. On one occasion I invited August to stop by the Peter Norton Space to see the space and to share with him some of our past work. The two of us walked through the lobby together and talked about what the season would be and then August paused as he looked at the displays in the lobby that show our past Playwrights-in-Residence and their work at Signature. He read each one carefully in the order of season: Romulus Linney, Lee Blessing, Edward Albee, Horton Foote, Adrienne Kennedy, Sam Shepard, Arthur Miller, John Guare, Maria Irene Fornes, Lanford Wilson, Bill Irwin, Paula Vogel and then reviewed his own portrait that was now among the others and simply smiled. I think that smile expressed a real sense of having found a home among his colleagues.
We then walked into the theatre and stood center stage in the quiet together for a few moments. Then August started to recite some of his own work in a hushed tone to the intimate empty house and we both smiled as we felt his words hush back. Every word, every sound, every breath filled that space; it was one of those great moments when our mission to serve the writer was truly present.
August's remarkable wife and collaborator, Constanza Romero, has been truly extraordinary over these past nine months since August's death. She has been determined that the August Wilson Series be realized. She has worked with us every step of the way to create this celebration of his remarkable legacy. We are indebted to and inspired by Constanza for her generosity, dedication, and willingness to allow us this great honor.
August had so much more to give and embraced with open arms the seemingly endless potential of his future. He had so many stories to tell but time unfairly took our friend away and the stories will now have to live in those shared moments and somehow find their way through memory.
-James Houghton, Founding Artistic Director
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