Actor and playwright Mike Wiley will perform “A Game Apart,” a one-person play about baseball legend Jackie Robinson, on Thursday, March 26, at Piedmont Arts. A reception will begin at 6:30 p.m., followed by the performance at 7 p.m. in the galleries.
“A Game Apart” offers a powerful lesson of courage through dedication, perseverance, and leadership. The play provides a glimpse into Robinson’s life during the era of segregated locker rooms, whites-only hotels, and restaurants with only a back door for athletes of color to enter. Wiley’s powerful performance sheds light on the struggles of the star player who was celebrated on the field but became a second-class citizen when he walked off the diamond. The performance will engage the audience through participation in the play and an after-show discussion.
Wiley is a frequent performer at Piedmont Arts, where he has shared other plays focusing on historical Black figures, such as Emmett Till and Henry “Box” Brown, as well as the landmark Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education.
Wiley holds a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and is the recipient of that university’s Distinguished Alumni Award. He was the 2010 and 2014 Lehman Brady Visiting Joint Chair Professor in Documentary Studies and American Studies at Duke University and UNC-Chapel Hill. In 2020, he received the Ann Atwater Award presented by the Manbites Dog Theater Fund to recognize theatre artists whose body of work reflects and honors Atwater’s lifelong commitment to social justice. He is also a recipient of the North Carolina Theatre Conference’s Constance Welsh Theatre for Youth Award. He has conducted numerous educational residencies funded through grant programs, including several programs in schools in Martinsville and Henry County presented by Piedmont Arts.
Tickets are $20 for general admission and $10 for students in grades K-12. Tickets can be purchased at Piedmont Arts and online at PiedmontArts.org.
This event is sponsored by the Martinsville Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and the Tau Omicron Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.
For more information on exhibits and events, visit PiedmontArts.org.
