Duplessis Street

Table Read, February 16, 2025

Inspired in part by the collection of works, all based in Pittsburgh, by the playwright August Wilson, my work is anthological in nature. “Duplessis Street” is the first of a series of stage plays all based on my family, the theme of breaking toxic cycles, and historical facts about the actual Duplessis Street. My great-grandparents were black, native New Orleanians, they built multi-family homes on Duplessis Street with their bare hands in the early 1950s in New Orleans, Louisiana. This remarkable feat was accomplished in spite of the restraints of the Jim Crow south. My family’s legacy lives on through me; I am the third generation to own and live in my home.