Tracey Scott Wilson Selected Works

Commissioned by Pillsbury House Theatre through a 2014 Joyce Award, Prep is inspired by a number of recent local events with racial overtones that have stirred up emotions and conflict. Playwright Tracey Scott Wilson spent a month in the Twin Cities earlier in 2014, immersing herself in conversation with community members that have been part of these experiences. As in her 2012/13 production of Buzzer, Scott Wilson’s goal with this play is to cut through political correctness and broach off-limits topics in order to inspire genuine conversations about race.

Jackson is a young, successful African American attorney determined to build a life in the rapidly gentrifying neighborhood of his youth. When he returns "home" with his girlfriend and troubled best friend—both white—in tow, the trio are soon forced to confront the simmering racial and sexual tensions that exist both inside their home, and outside their apartment.

An ambitious black newspaper reporter, Yvonne Wilson, goes against her editor, Pat Morgan, to investigate a murder and find the best story—but at what cost? Wilson explores the elusive nature of truth as the boundaries between reality and fiction, morality and ambition, become dangerously blurred.

In The Good Negro, three emerging black leaders try to conquer their individual demons as the local KKK fights for its old way of life, and everyday black men and women must overcome their fears—all under the ever-watchful eye of the FBI.

Selena's doctor tells her that she's HIV positive, but Selena is certain that's impossible. What she doesn't know is that her husband, Malik, has been "on the down-low," experimenting with gay sex and not taking precautions. Selena tries to escape into the fantasy world of a church drama about AIDS and faith in her church, and her husband fights to maintain his own standing in the community. Both are tested morally and spiritually as their lives unravel.

Phill Wilson of the Black AIDS Institute inspired this project with his passion for finding creative ways to reach African-American clergy, provoking reflection on the effects of HIV/AIDS on their communities. The production features Selena's play-within-a-play commenting on the action and a number of gospel tunes.

This satirical look at stereotypes takes a wild ride through the sideshow that has become the over-achieving James family. Under the scrutiny of Senate Confirmation hearings for oldest son Baby Eddie, the cracks in this "perfect black family" begin to show: Son Jason has dropped out of law school and harbors sitcom stardom dreams; daughter Melissa has an increasingly distant relationship with reality; and father Eddie Sr. has the biggest secret of all. A Greek chorus of ethnic stereotypes interacts with the family during the course of the evening; taunting them, encouraging them and most of all exposing them.