Friday Phone Call # 31: Mark Clayton Southers of Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Company

Summary: By David Dower. Today I talk with the very busy Mark Clayton Southers who is both the Artistic Director of Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Company and the Artistic Director of Theatre Initiatives at the August Wilson Center for African American Culture . Mark is a really good story teller and he spent significant moments in his life in the presence of August Wilson. I loved hearing his stories about Wilson here, but he's a natural "bright spotter" and the call is full of interesting writers and performers who have influenced and his work in Pittsburgh and around the country. This is also a man who has supported most of his career in theater through day jobs-- until recently a long stint in a Pittsburgh steel mill-- and is raising a young family; all the while putting in the time to create and manage these resources and environments for other Pittsburgh theater makers. It's refreshing,...