Pittsburgh teens travel to New York City for national monologue competition
There are only a handful of Pittsburgh teenagers who can say they've performed on stage at the Apollo Theater. And now, there are two more.
They are part of the Bill Nunn Theater Outreach Project. It's designed to get the participants ready for two competitions. The August Wilson Monologue Competition hosts a regional competition in Pittsburgh where students perform the works of the Pulitzer-winning playwright August Wilson. There are also regional competitions for the Next Narrative Monologue Competition, which features the works of contemporary playwrights.
"We've been producing this program since 2008. We have witnessed the transformation of our young people," said Demearia Boccella, managing director of the Bill Nunn Theater Outreach Program.
The late Nunn was also a Pittsburgh native and actor who started the program to expose young people to the work of Wilson.
For at least two months, the students spent several hours on a Saturday selecting their monologues, memorizing and perfecting every nuance of their delivery. It's a program that introduces them to theater techniques, confidence-building and prizes.
Top finalists win scholarship awards to Point Park University and a trip to New York City for the Next Narrative National Monologue Competition.
"Traveling to New York for our participants is the winning prize of the monologue competition in addition to the cash prizes," said Boccella. "But really technically, it's like icing on the cake."
The regional competitions were held in March. This year's top two Pittsburgh finalists were Dayton Jackson and KenNyah Woods. They earned the right to join the finalists from eight other cities around the country for the national competition in New York.
However, this year the Pittsburgh group was a little larger. In a surprise move following the Pittsburgh competition, the Phoenix Helsel Family Foundation came forward and announced that it would sponsor all of the participants to travel to New York to support the finalists.
There were screams of joy from the teens.
"We do things that are a little bit more creative to help people in those different ways," said Anissa Tillman, the foundation's executive director.
The students had the full New York experience. They stayed in Harlem, rode the subway to Manhattan, saw the shops on Madison Avenue, enjoyed artwork at the Whitney Museum, and saw the Tony-nominated play "Purpose.".
Also, the finalists had a chance to meet some of the actors after the show and ask them about their craft.
Woods asked actor Glenn Davis, "Putting yourself into a character who has a bipolar issue, was that hard for you as an actor?"
"Every character has their difficulties," Davis said. "I don't think I've run into a character in my professional life that I went, oh, this is a cake walk. This is easy."
There was more time with well-known performers. Tony Award-winning actress and Broadway director Phylicia Rashad spent lots of time greeting the young people and having an intimate lunch and learn with the finalists.
Kenny Leon, the Tony Award-winning director whose current project is "Othello" on Broadway, operates the Next Narrative Monologue Competition through the Kenny Leon True Colors Theatre Company. His ties to Pittsburgh run deep.
"Pittsburgh will always be the foundation of the monologue competition," Leon said. "And August Wilson will always be in the Army of soldiers that loved us more than we loved ourselves. They always told our stories, so that's a great reminder to all of us that these young people, they can write their own stories, tell their own stories, speak their own stories, direct their own stories."
For the students, the experience left a lasting impression. Jackson and Woods performed their monologues at the Apollo. The rest of the students reflected on their experiences.
"All of the actors did an amazing job," said Candace Smith. "Their portrayal of each character was very authentic, and I really like that."
Layla Sewell-Wilson said she liked the New Yorkers.
"Everybody was so sweet. Like if you wanted to do a TikTok with people, they would do a TikTok," Sewell-Wilson said.
Ashlyn Fair said her takeaway was the monologues performed in New York.
"Watching everybody execute their monologues in their own way was pretty inspiring," she added.
"Everything's a process," said Darnell Peak. "You can't rush anything. You can't jump thinking you're going to be the best already. You just got to take your time, slow down and enjoy it."
Taj Jones believes she gained something she didn't expect.
"Getting to know these people, it was like a blessing. And I feel like I built a great relationship with these people," she said. "I feel like we're almost family."
Tillman added, "I think that each and every one of these kids, no matter what their beginnings were, their endings are going to be something magical."
