CITY OF BONES
#4 Pitt Community Engagement Center - Hill District
track description:
“mbulu”
The playwright Rob Penny celebrates the life and work of August Wilson over the sounds of Art Blakey’s “Reflection”. Penny was a longtime Hill District resident and playwright at Kuntu Repertory Theatre at the University of Pittsburgh. Kuntu was the university housed successor of Black Horizon Theatre, a community theatre group which Penny co-founded with August Wilson and others. Wilson often attributed his growth as a playwright to Penny.
about City of Bones
City of Bones | Gem of the Confluence is a mixtape that explores August Wilson’s artistic life and theatrical work through the rich history of Black music in Pittsburgh, collaging archival audio and play dialogue with the sounds of artists such as Mary Lou Williams, Ahmad Jamal, and more.
The mixtape and installation are based on August Wilson’s play Gem of the Ocean, set in Pittsburgh circa 1904. In the play, the elder Aunt Ester invites a troubled Citizen Barlow to a meeting with his ancestors in the mythological City of Bones.
Following Aunt Ester’s instructions to Citizen Barlow, the mixtape is installed at various sites across the city relevant to this history.