You need to hear your work read aloud.” He signed autographs on Playbills and posed for countless selfies for students to post (and boast) on their social media accounts.įighting back tears, Scott concluded to his gathered FSU family: “It just means the world. “Because if it wasn’t for them, you all wouldn’t be here right now.”Īs the street applause died down, Scott remained on the scene to answer every question from every student and aspiring playwright, e.g., “What do I do when I get writer’s block?” “Write it and have your friends read it. I started writing this when I was living in Frederick Hall,” he began, thanking his mentors in attendance, including Theatre faculty Mattis, Mairzy Yost-Rushton and Darrell Rushton, and Assistant Vice President of Student Affairs Robin Wynder ’80/M’87, with a special acknowledgement for her late husband, Bernard Wynder ’78/M’84. “Literally, this would not be possible without Frostburg. The Western Maryland cohort stood in a group, as the writer paused a moment to share his thoughts. When the stage lights dimmed, ushers led the audience back out to 45th Street. “It represented a lot of the men in my family,” Harris said. It was a journey that started at Frostburg.įSU alums Jha’Neal Blue ’18 and Topaz Harris ’18 made their own journey from Baltimore to see the matinee. I started writing this when I was living in Frederick Hall.” I’ve grown up with them.” “Literally, this would not be possible without Frostburg. He shared with the audience that the play was 15 years in the making. Art is supposed to make you uncomfortable.” “I wanted to create an opportunity and a space for audiences to see all of these men in their complexities. I’m not preaching if I just write my life,” Scott replied. “I just write my people as I know they are. “What you saw here today was a redemption on Black masculinity,” Dyson commented. Keenan Scott, II ’09 took time after his show to speak to as many of the students and alumni in attendance as he could.Īs the standing ovation subsided, the cast acknowledged Frostburg State University’s presence in the house before Scott was whisked to the edge of the stage for a post-show talkback with famed author/speaker and Vanderbilt University Professor Michael Eric Dyson. And, at the end, students rose to their feet to applaud the actors, producers and one of their own. The black and red production design colors were reminiscent of Scott’s alma mater (either by chance or design). Scott stood out in front of the theatre, under a yellow and black awning that adorned his name in bold, 15-inch font, wearing his “Frostburg Alumni” hoodie.Īlumni and faculty, many who ventured to NYC on their own, joined up with the Frostburg group inside the theatre to listen to the wisdom of Scott’s play – presented in 90 minutes without interruption (because it could not be interrupted).įSU students cheered with the audiences, shouting “yes” and “amen” in agreement with the powerful action and dialogue happening on stage. As FSU students filed off and crossed crowded intersections crammed with honking cabs and busy “New Yawkers,” they were greeted by the welcoming face of the playwright himself. Six hours and several boxes of Pop-Tarts later, the two buses rolled onto 45th Street in Times Square, stopping a few blocks from The John Golden Theatre – the home to Scott’s acclaimed brainchild. I’m not preaching if I just write my life.” “Hopefully we’re going to have some alone time with Keenan.” “I just write my people as I know they are. “This is not the trip where we have time to run to Central Park to go ice skating,” said Nicole Mattis, chair of the FSU Theatre Department, running through the day’s “to-do” lists, which included having vaccination proof ready to enter the theatre and the orderly dispersing of tickets. Critics have heralded the piece as “captivating and piercing” and “the most important play of the 21st century.” And it was written while Scott was a theatre major at FSU and first performed in the very Performing Arts Center where students have gathered today, predawn. Scott’s dramatic work about a day in the lives of seven Black men in New York City has been receiving rave reviews since its opening this past fall.
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