PIGEON MAN
We didn’t have pigeons in Kansas.
That’s where I grew up.
Minnesota, on the other hand, has pigeons.
I like to watch them.
Hopping around, pecking at the ground.
Their necks in constant motion.
Their big ol’ eyes.
The way they explode into the air when you get too close.
The way they fly.
Dipping.
Diving.
They make up for their lack of grace on the ground with their grace in the air.
Have you noticed that?
They could be any kind of bird up there.
They could be ravens.
They could be hawks.
They could be eagles.
PARKS
6M, 2W
1926. Fort Scott, Kansas. Gordon Parks, age 14, left home for St. Paul after the death of his mother. He lived with his sister, until her husband kicked him out of the house and into the streets. While struggling to survive, his mother’s words would echo in his head, “Make a good man of yourself, ‘cause you have a choice. You always have a choice.” Inspired by Parks’s book, A Choice of Weapons, PARKS takes us into the world of young Gordon, who would choose a camera to fight back hatred and discrimination. His passion as an artist would lead him to become a major figure in the American cultural landscape.
Productions
World Premiere, History Theatre, St. Paul, 2022: dir. Talvin Wilks
Readings/Workshops
Workshop, Raw Stages New Work Festival, History Theatre, St. Paul, 2020: dir. Ron Peluso
Press
“Engrossing.”
--Arthur Dorman, Talkin’ Broadway
“Under the guidance of multi-Grammy-nominated gospel artist Darnell Davis, a very talented cast of eight enhances the play’s most moving moments with the sadness, comfort and confidence found in the anthems of African-American churches. Combine that with skillfully sculpted characterizations and excellently executed design elements, and you have a biographical drama that admirably keeps its focus firmly on the important lessons one can derive from Parks’ early life.”
--Ron Hubbard, Twin Cities Pioneer Press
“When I saw a reading of the then-titled The Gordon Parks Play Project three years ago, I wrote: ‘Friends, this is one of those experiences that transcended theater.’ When the reading is that good, and the playwright is one of #TCTheater's most talented and prolific, Harrison David Rivers, adding in acclaimed director Talvin Wilks, you know the finished product is going to be something special. Parks: A Portrait of a Young Artist, which has finally opened at History Theatre, is just that. Beautifully written, directed, and acted, with evocative images, well-chosen period songs, and an almost constant underscoring of music, Parks traces the origin of photographer, musician, and filmmaker Gordon Parks during his decade or so living in St. Paul as a youth.”
--Cherry and Spoon
"There's poetry in how director Talvin Wilks cast it, caring more about capturing feelings than whether the actors are the same race, age or gender as their characters. There's poetry in the staging, where actors turn rhythmic movement and three piano benches into a streetcar. There's poetry in Seitu Jones' spare set, with evocative images projected on three large screens. And there's poetry in Harrison David Rivers and Robin P. Hickman-Winfield's script, which likens Gordon Parks — and all of us — to birds, seeking a way to fly."
--Chris Hewitt, Star Tribune