Saint John Theatre Company engages local playwright Clyde A. Wray to create a work based on historic figures from the Black community.
The Saint John Theatre Company (SJTC) has announced local poet and playwright Clyde A. Wray as the company’s first ever Artist in Residence. Wray will create a work based on several historic figures from the Black community of Saint John.
“I want to tell the stories of Saint John, stories that have not been told. I also want this to be an evening of entertainment,” said Wray.
The project is currently in the development phase. The final product will be staged at the BMO Studio Theatre in February of 2021. The intention is to host both live and livestream performances of the work which will run during Black History Month.
To compliment the project, local artist Daniel Leek has been commissioned to produce a series of murals based on the same historical figures featured in the play. The intention is to have the murals reproduced to create banners on the front of the BMO Studio Theatre building throughout Black History Month. The banners will then be donated to the New Brunswick Black History Society.
Funding for the project has been provided by the Career Development Program of the New Brunswick Arts Board (artsnb), and the TD Inclusiveness and Community Outreach program. Support has been provided by PRUDE, and the New Brunswick Black History Society.
Born in New York City moved to the Maritimes from Los Angeles. Author of four books of poetry, Clyde A. Wray is also a producer, director, playwright and a performer, having had his work performed in notable places such as New York, Los Angeles, Denmark, Halifax, Nova Scotia and Saint John, New Brunswick.
A graduate of Saint Emma Military Academy, he served in the United States Army and attended Texas Southmost Community College, Marist College and American University and is a graduate of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Academy. Clyde presently resides with his wife Kelli and their three children Astrid, Shasta and Nikolai in Saint John, New Brunswick.
