Overview
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August Wilson and The Century Cycle
Historical Setting of Fences
Fences in Production
Fences (1985) is one of 10
plays August Wilson wrote to
chronicle ordinary AfricanAmerican family life from
1900-2000. This group of
plays is know as the Century
Cycle, or Pittsburgh Cycle.
Fences represents the middle
of the cycle: the 1950s.
The Century Cycle
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In the Century Cycle, Wilson
dramatizes African American
experience and heritage in the
twentieth century, with a play for each
decade.
Almost all of the 10 plays are set in
the Hill District of Pittsburgh, where he
was born (in 1945) and grew up.
The Century Cycle
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Wilson's extraordinary lifeworkcompleted just before his death in
October 2005.
August Wilson's Century Cycle is "one
of the most ambitious dramatic
projects ever undertaken" (The New
York Times).
Widely acclaimed, Fences went on to
win the Pulitzer Prize for drama.
Think:
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What might the “Century Cycle” reveal
about the African American experience
(or any group’s experience, for that
matter) that 10 unrelated plays by the
same playwright might not?
Fences
Fences presents a slice-of-life in a black
tenement in (Pittsburgh?) set in the
late 1950s through 1965. The main
character, Troy Maxson, is a garbage
collector who has taken great pride in
keeping his family together and
providing for them. Troy's rebellion
and frustration set the tone for the
play as he struggles for fairness in a
society which seems to offer none.
Fences (cont.)
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The father and son relationship between
Troy and Cory is explored as a central part
of the drama. Their relationship becomes
complicated by strong feelings of pride and
independence on both sides.
Fences is both unique to the plight of
African Americans and universal in its
depiction of the human condition. The
father-son and husband-wife relationships
cross both unique and universal boundaries.
Fences
Introductory Commentary
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“August Wilson…has taken the
responsibility of telling the tale of the
encounter of the released black slaves
with a vigorous and ruthless growing
America decade by decade. Fences
encompasses the 1950s and a black
family trying to put down roots in the
slag slippery hills of a middle American
urban industrial city…”
Think:
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What do you think is meant by the
“vigorous and ruthless growing
America”?
What growing opportunities exist for
African Americans in the 1950s?
What ruthlessness might be
encountered along with this growth?
As you read Fences,
question:
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What light does the play shed on the
idea of the American Dream?
How is the pursuit of the American
Dream unique for African Americans?
What major themes come up in the
play?
What are some symbols and what do
they represent?
Historical Background
for Fences
The first black professional baseball team was
the Cuban Giants in 1885, but the teams played
as independent ball clubs until the first black
league was organized in 1920.
That year Rube Foster, the father of black
baseball, founded the Negro National League.
During their existence, the Negro Leagues
played eleven World Series (1924-27, 1942-48)
and created their own All-Star game (1933-48)
that became the biggest black sports attraction
in the country.
The End of an Era
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Jackie Robinson was signed in 1945 to
the Montreal Royals. He was the first
African American to sign to a major
league baseball team. After Jackie
Robinson broke baseball’s color
barrier, the Negro Leagues began to
lose their talent to the major leagues.
With the talent, the fan base departed.
The last Negro League shut down
operations in 1962.
Satchel Paige
Josh Gibson
Cool Papa Bell
Jackie Robinson
Civil Rights and
Segregation…the beginnings of
change
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Jim Crow Laws
enacted from
1876-1965
Migration to the
north for job in
industry
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“Separate but
Equal” beginning
to fade…public
school
integration
Heavy racism and
racial fear; Lack of
opportunity for
AA’s, slowly
changing.
Jim Crow
Fences in Production
August Wilson and his
Influences
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August Wilson’s influences include Jazz, the Blues,
and the tales of older folks in his community
In 1969 Wilson co-founded Black Horizons Theater
Influenced by Amiri Baraka, Malcolm X and the
Black Arts Movement of the 1960s
First a poet, Wilson tried his pen as a playwright in
the mid-1970s
His first successful play was Jitney, followed by Ma
Rainey’s Black Bottom in 1981.
Fences opened in New York in 1987 and won the
Pulitzer Prize for Drama
August Wilson’s
Later Life
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Fences won a Tony award, a Pulitzer
prize, and a Drama Circle Award.
August Wilson has been called "the
foremost dramatist of the American
black experience" and "the most
acclaimed playwright of his time”
Wilson’s Later Life Cont’d
•Wilson moved to Seattle in 1990 and
developed a close working relationship with the
Seattle Repertory Theater.
•Wilson died in 2005 at Swedish Hospital from
liver cancer.
•In October 2005, the Virginia Theater in New
York was renamed the August Wilson Theater.
It is the first Broadway Theater to be named
after an African American.