More Information About Walkin' Talkin' Bill Hawkins... In Search of My Father

Website

http://www.walkintalkin.com

Description

AfroSolo Theatre Company launches its 15th season with the San Francisco premiere of Walkin’ Talkin’ Bill Hawkins… In Search of My Father (WTBH), an award-winning solo show written and performed by W. Allen Taylor.

Walkin’ Talkin’ Bill Hawkins is an inspiring, heartfelt story of self-discovery that celebrates Black culture and the rich legacy of Black radio. The 90-minute solo show tells the intimate story of Taylor's life-long search for his father, Bill Hawkins, the first Black disc jockey in Cleveland, Ohio. Infused with the lively sounds of rhythm & blues, gospel and jazz music that made Bill Hawkins so acclaimed, Taylor skillfully portrays a range of richly defined characters in the journey to discover his roots.

The one-man show received the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics’ Circle Award for Best Solo Performance in 2006 and was critically acclaimed in Cleveland in 2007 where it inspired the posthumous induction of Bill Hawkins into the Radio/Television Broadcasters Hall of Fame of Ohio.

“In addition to our festival this year, we are very excited to present WTBH, which was part of our What's Your Story? Solo Performance Workshop in 1998 and 1999,” said Thomas R. Simpson, founder and artistic director of AfroSolo. "W. Allen Taylor's intimate play about the search for his roots and his growth into a manhood, framed by his rich black culture, is an outstanding story to begin and expand our fifteenth season.” 

“Culminating with our award winning AfroSolo Arts Festival 15 to take place in August 2008, the WTBH presentation represents a fulfillment of our mission, ‘to nurture, promote, and present the culture and experiences of African Americans and those from the African Diaspora through solo performances, and the visual and literary arts.’ Through these arts, we endeavor to bring people of all ethnicities together to explore and share the human spirit that binds us all,” said Simpson.

Taylor's theater career began in 1979 and includes performances in regional theaters around the country including critically acclaimed Off-Broadway companies Negro Ensemble Company and La Mama E.T.C. He performed on Broadway in August Wilson's Seven Guitars and has appeared on network television and in feature films. Taylor received his MFA from the American Conservatory Theatre. A drama professor, Taylor currently teaches and directs at the College of Marin, located just north of San Francisco.

Since its founding in 1993, AfroSolo has presented celebrity guests, such as the award-winning Broadway actor Ruby Dee; political humorist and activist Dick Gregory; blues and jazz legend Charles Brown; beloved poet, writer, and teacher June Jordan; Hall of Fame Member Mavis Staples; gospel artist Emmit Powell; and the works of over 115 emerging solo artists. 

About the Ticket Supplier: Afrosolo Theatre Company

AfroSolo Theatre Company's mission is to nurture, promote, and present African American and African Diaspora art and culture through solo performances and the visual arts. Since 1993, we have provided a forum to give an authentic voice to the diverse experiences of Black people in the Americas. Through art, we bring people of different ethnicities together to explore and share the human spirit that binds us all.

Because of the disparity in health matter in the African American community, we made a bold decision to make Black Health the focus of 2006. Our solo artists will unite with health professionals to promote health, prevent disease and provide incentives to develop healthy habits in the African American Community. We will focus on health in general, but pay particular attention to breast cancer, diabetes, HIV/AIDS and prostate cancer.