NEW DATE: November 16 at 3:00PM
Don’t miss getting your tickets to the next theatrical reading of the August Wilson Series featuring Jerome Preston Bates in King Hedley II.
August Wilson was a Pulitzer Prize winning American playwright who has been referred to as “theater’s poet of Black America”. Best known for his series of 10 plays that chronicled the experiences and heritage of the African-American community, he highlighted the joys and the struggles of Black Americans over the course of the 20th century.
Jerome Preston Bates is a graduate of Laney High School and studied at Paine College, Knoxville College, Spelman summer acting program, University of Tennessee, LAMDA London then moved to NYC. His Broadway performances include Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller; Seven Guitars and Jitney by August Wilson; American Son by Christopher Demos-Brown, and Stickfly directed by Tony-nominated Kenny Leon. Off Broadway highlights include Seven Guitars with Viola Davis; Loose Blossoms with Chadwick Boseman; and Macbeth at the Old Globe Theatre. Television and film include HBO series Oz, Law and Order, Shaft, Peeples, Marvels, and Something to Give. He directed ten August Wilson Plays in 2005 to 2008 at the Laney Museum to sellout crowds. An acclaimed director, actor, playwright, and teacher, Mr. Bates was awarded the President’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2024. Mr. Bates is very excited to bring the series of theatrical readings to a new generation.