Arts In: Peter Callender
by BARBARA ST. CLAIR
Area X: The Southern Reach Trilogy by Jeff Vandermeer
While in St. Petersburg to direct the acclaimed production of A Raisin in The Sun at American Stage, the Artistic Director of the African-American Shakespeare Company talks with Barbara St. Clair about the teachers who guided him to a career in the arts and the relevance of Raisin right now. He shares an insightful analysis of the play, and of last year’s production of August Wilson’s Joe Turner’s Come and Gone.
From Peter Callender’s studies at New York’s High School for Performing Arts (honored in the movie, Fame) and Juilliard, a career as a classical actor led him to San Francisco’s African-American Shakespeare Company, where actors of color have the chance to perform works from A Streetcar Named Desire to Richard III. And he’s playing Richard III this year.
As Peter explains, the works of August Wilson and Tennessee Williams aren’t “black” plays or “white” plays – these are American plays.
Find out more about L. Peter Callender’s work here.
Explore the African-American Shakespeare Company here.
Take a look at visual artist Romare Bearden, who Peter explains was a great inspiration to playwright August Wilson – www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/aug…are-bearden/
