
If you love theater, the way it makes you laugh and cry, gives you chills, makes you shudder, hold your breath, scratch your head and say -
"Wow, I didn't know that, never looked at things that way before . . . hmm, maybe I should _________"
That's why P. A. Wray loves theater, why she writes these plays.
I've been learning the craft and writing plays
for over 20 years
Some are complete, published, been produced multiple times
Most are historically-based works in progress
All address the human condition -
personal flaws and strengths
societal failures and triumphs
the way we
harm, heal, move forward
Twists And Turns Hidden: Stories Of American Racial Intersection
A Blog in Publishing Company,
Have Scripts Blue Moon Plays by Jean Hughes Klein
"These stories of intersectionality are what define us, tell us who we were, and suggest who we should be. With that in mind, I am looking to find those stories that have the touch of legend, of the extraordinary, of the memorable but most importantly, of the commonplace, in re-defining the American Dream." Klein https://havescripts.com/twists-and-turns/ for the entire blog
"The story of Wray’s search for Nat Turner had its origins in her youth. When she was sixteen, her grandmother, whose maiden name was Turner, asked Wray to drive her to Southampton County for a Turner family event. Wray immediately said yes, partly because her grandmother had just purchased a cool new white Impala Convertible with a baby-blue interior. The two reportedly tied on bandanas, put their sunglasses on, and headed for the country with the radio blaring." Klein
As Wray explored her past, she discovered that Missie Whitehead was her third-great aunt. " I may not share Nat’s blood, but the blood of my family members was spilled in his rebellion, as was Nat’s after he was caught — and both are still in the soil there . . . the bodies of my family were mishandled, as was Nat’s by some of the same people — and their bones are still buried in the ground somewhere there . . . What a painful legacy we two share." Wray
Nat Turner's Last Struggle: Finding His Way Home
Metropolitan Community College Longview’s
Black History Month's Show Feb 24-26, 2022
in the MCC Longview Cultural Arts Center Theatre
"Opening night of NAT TURNER'S LAST STRUGGLE, went great. With the snow, I thought we would have few attend, but I was pleasantly surprised. We were just at 80% capacity and the show received a great reception from the audience. Come out and see this powerful production. Keith Townsend, Director, Feb 24, 2022
"The audience response was awesome. This was a great production opportunity for our students. It was such a great experience for our program. The audience loved it. Second night audiences had the same positive response to the show. The script is a winner." Keith Townsend, Director, Feb 25, 2022.
Wray has just completed revisions of two of her River of Struggle Plays -
First Up : No One Knows Her Song - is having a reading with Dreamwrights at Zeiders Theatre in Virginia Beach - May 21st
Second Up: In the Presence of Fire Eaters
Looking to do a public reading in Richmond June or July
The Plum Street Project: On a prompt from some Richmond artists, Wray and several members of Virginia Playwrights Forum are working on a piece of devised theater, could even end up as a pageant, dealing with the 1924 passage of The Racial Integrity Law in Virginia, and the role some notable Virginia artists, who lived on Plum Street in the Fan, played in its passage. Look for a presentation in 2024.
Wray is finally ready to do the research on her ancestors, the Whiteheads of Southampton County, Virgina. Contact was made with researchers at the Virginia Museum of History and Culture in Richmond this past week and work will begin soon.
"Fantastic, a new perspective on Nat Turner, so appropriate, and dynamic – I applaud the writer and performance, I think it needs a wider audience"
Bruce Williams, African American Cultural Center, Virginia Beach, Va.
"So moving. I am undone. It needs to be seen in Germany.
"Suzanne Dowaliby, performing artist in Saarbrucken, Germany
"The play was awesome and very informative. The schools don't teach or teach enough about Nat Turner and I wish that there was or can be a dvd on the play. Just in case you missed something while you were watching the play, to have on hand to watch or just to start a discussion on the play. The crew did an excellent job!!!!"
Stacie Torrence
This full length, one act-play about Nat Turner, leader of the Slave Rebellion in Southampton, County, Va., went international and professional with virtual productions by Virginia Stage Company in Norfolk, Virginia in 2020. In 2021 two theaters in California live-streamed productions - all bringing accolades and new fans from across the country and beyond!!
From a production of Nat Turner's Last Struggle: Finding His Way Home seen at Wayne Theater in Waynesboro, Virginia, 2019 - Nat Turner has been ordered to stand to face his sentence - he will not die alone or in vain . . . the Great Mother is there to guide him home Marlon Hargrave as Nat Turner, Charisse Minerva as Great Mother
video credit Ernest Lowrey
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