In this incisive program, two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright August Wilson returns home to the Hill District of Pittsburgh in 1990 to review his life and career. Archival footage and interviews with Wilson, former New York Times theater critic Frank Rich, fellow writers, and others provide insights into the African-American experience, from the Great Black Migration to more recent times. Scenes from Jitney, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, Fences, Joe Turner's Come and Gone, and Two Trains Running reveal the impact of the oral tradition and the blues on Wilson's poetic prose, a skillful blend of art and authenticity.

Maps out the flowing of dramatic realism in Broadway.

The video weaves together rarely seen interviews featuring nuts-and-bolts commentary from Neil Simon, August Wilson, Arthur Miller, Edward Albee, Peter Shaffer, Tina Howe, and other artists whose work profoundly moves readers and audiences. Exploring the writer's craft from several different angles—the roller coaster of inspiration, the pros and cons of collaboration, the importance of listening to a character's voice, and more—this luminous compendium of literary wisdom is an indispensable resource for any aspiring author or writing instructor.

Describes the battle for an authentic Irish theater.

Focuses on the theater in London from the 1920s to the '60s.

Has any single person shaped English more than William Shakespeare? This menu-powered DVD uses unparalleled access to some of the greatest English texts, including the first English dictionary and a rare first folio of Shakespeare's plays, to illustrate the great Bard's influence. John Barton, honorary associate director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, discusses the sound and accessibility of Shakespeare's words. His impact is also examined in the larger context of Elizabethan England and the Renaissance.