Kimberly Wilson’s “A Journey”

“A Journey”

Saturday, August 14, 2021
(originally scheduled Sunday, July  18, 2021)
1:00 – 2:00 pm

FREE and open to the public! Made possible by a generous grant from the Community Foundation of Middlesex County.

A JOURNEY by Kimberly Wilson is an intricate look at the Black experience told through the eyes of the Black woman and performed by one woman, professional actress and singer Kimberly Wilson. Westport resident, Ms. Wilson skillfully tells of the struggles and influence of Black womanhood with courage, dignity, faith, hope, and strength in perfect lockstep with the history of the United States. Eight women, eight pivotal generations, present to you their stories through song, movement and dialogue and how ultimately their faith, hope, and calling help shape the America we know today. Joyful celebrations and painful reflections are rendered artistically to tell a story of persistence and courage and how our Black womanhood, not always intricately woven into the tapestry of American history, is another thread that weaves together the fabric of America’s History. Included in this journey are historical reflections from a Native African Queen, a Slave Woman, Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Haggar Tonquin, Rosa Parks, Maya Angelou, and more.

Originally from Minneapolis, Kimberly first pursued theater while in high school, studying and performing at The Minneapolis Children’s Theatre. Kimberly was also a founding acting company member of Mixed Blood Theater in Minneapolis. After studying theater at Howard University, Kimberly returned home and continued her acting career performing in plays and television commercials. She has performed with many theater companies including, the Shoestring Playhouse, At the Foot of the Mountain, Brass Tacks Theater, Park Square, Theatre in the Round, Illusion Theater, Minnesota Festival Theater, Penumbra Theater, Collective Consciousness Theater, New Haven Theater Company and The Theatre Artists Workshop in Norwalk. For the past seven years, Kimberly Wilson has been touring her original musical one-woman show A Journey locally and nationally in theaters, schools, libraries, historical societies, places of worship and other community organizations. She continues to schedule bookings throughout the year. This highly acclaimed performance brings to life seven historical African-American women, including an African Queen, Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Rosa Parks, Maya Angelou, and more. Through soulful singing, character transformations, joyous celebrations and painful reflections, Ms. Wilson takes the audience on a powerful Journey of courage, persistence, hope, faith, and love. Kimberly Wilson was last seen in the Greenwich Theatre Company production of 7 Easy Pieces by Jack Rushton, November 2019.

A Journey is presented as part of Brief Cameo Productions and Ivoryton Playhouse’s ElementNext Series, part of the On-Site/Off-Site Summer Series. This new series of programming focuses on new and unique small-scale performances, shining a light on local artists in collaboration with BCP and Ivoryton Playhouse to engage with area spaces, both traditional and unconventional. Curated by BCP Resident Music Director Jill Brunelle.

Image Credit: TheWilsonProductions.com

Ivoryton Playhouse
One of the oldest, if not the first, self-supporting summer theaters in the nation, The Ivoryton Playhouse, under the leadership of Executive Director Jacqueline Hubbard, now produces March through December, offering plays, musicals, cabaret performances, and events for children. This 250-seat jewel box of a theater sits on the corner of Main Street and Summit Street in Ivoryton.

Brief Cameo Productions
Founded in 2019, Brief Cameo Productions produces high-quality concert stagings of works of Musical Theater, showcasing superior local and regional talent, and offers audiences artistic and cultural enrichment through live performance. Their first production, Ragtime: In Concert, played to a packed house at the historic Ivoryton Playhouse.

For more information, visit www.ivorytonplayhouse.org -or- www.briefcameoproductions.com

Funding for the on-site/off-site Summer Series is provided by a generous grant from The Community Foundation of Middlesex County.