Focus On: Ma Rainey

Read It. See It. Discuss It. 

Asolo Rep’s Education & Engagement department invites you to experience August Wilson’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom like never before with, Focus On: Ma Rainey a part of the Focus On: The Greatest Season on Earth series. Participants will read the script in advance and come together to engage in discussions of August Wilson’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, guided by James Monaghan, Asolo Rep’s Director of New Works and Dramaturgy. Students are encouraged to catch a performance of Asolo Rep’s production of August Wilson’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom between the two sessions, as the live production will be the central topic of the final class. Read the script, see the show, and join the conversation! 

Schedule: 

Time: 3:00pm – 4:00pm (1 Hour) 

Dates:  

  • Monday January 11: Script Discussion 
  • Monday, February 1: Performance Discussion 

Location:  

  • Asolo Rep Annex, 5333 N Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, FL 34234 
  • A virtual option is available via Zoom. 

 

Pricing 

Program Fee: $50  

*Pricing includes a script fee, which participants can keep 

*Pricing does not include ticket to performance 

Meet Your Facilitator

James Monaghan (Dramaturg, Facilitator)  

James’s dramaturgy for Asolo Rep includes: all productions in the 2025-2026 season, Jesus Christ Superstar, Good Night, Oscar; The Great Leap; The Sound of Music; Into the Breeches; Murder on the Orient Express; Provenance, Knoxville & Hood (Workshops); as well as supporting the outdoor season during the pandemic. Prior to returning to the Asolo, James served as the Programs Director at the Hermitage Artist Retreat, wrote about theatrical design as the Tow Foundation Fellow in the Roundabout Theatre Company Archives, created a one-on-one theatrical experience for the National Theatre of Croatia in Rijeka, and worked in the literary department of PlayCo. He has been a resident artist at the Catwalk Institute, featured in the Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas’ newsletter, and directed a digital production of Spring Awakening with the Georgetown Gilbert and Sullivan Society. He holds an MFA from Columbia University and a BFA with honors from NYU and is originally from Houston, TX.