Fences Play Analysis

Gregg Daniels has been busy. The accomplished actor has been a fixture in the entertainment world for close to 25 years and has over TV and film credits to his name including the role of Reverend Daniels on True Blood. Recently he put on the director and finished up directing not one, but two plays, both receiving much critical acclaim.

The first play is the drama “Fences.” Set in the 1950s, it is one of the 10 plays by August Wilson and each one chronicling a decade in 20th-century African-American life and include realism, symbolism and the sins of the father fill the stage. The second play Lombardi is based on David Maraniss’ biography When Pride Still Mattered: A Life of Vince Lombardi. Written by Eric Simonson, it is about football …show more content…
“I have a close creative relationship with the Artistic Directors of both theatre companies. We routinely discuss projects I’m interested in directing and presenting material which would be stimulating to their audiences.” He states.

Each play was appealing to Daniels in different ways. “In the case of Fences, it was an opportunity to work with a two time Pulitzer Prize winning writer.” He states. “Wilson is also regarded as one of the great playwrights of the 20th century.” He reiterates. With Lombardi, Daniels was interested in examining the nature of “greatness.” “Vince Lombardi inﬂuenced the face of modern day Football as we know it but was also a hugely ﬂawed human being. I was interested in exploring the qualities that make an individual great.” He explains

Daniels admits he initially wanted to only be an actor. However after spending his early years working in regional theaters across the country, he was slowly gravitated into the directing world. “I began asking questions of various directors that had more to do with the entirety of the production rather than solely focusing on my role. Thank goodness, I worked with very generous directors who acknowledged my interest and encouraged me to pursue …show more content…
“In order to juggle my personal life which really translates in my family’s life, I would say suggest having a signiﬁcant other who understands, supports and most importantly, can be ﬂexible. The most challenging aspect of handling a career in the entertainment industry is the mercurial nature of the business.” He explains. “I could be free for a month then completely tied up for several. I might plan a family vacation in August and two weeks (or less) prior to leaving receive an offer to do a project.” He also credits his wife (who is also an actress) for working along with him to achieve a sense of balance and stability to their lives.

Since both plays have wrapped, Daniels has kept busy. He recently appeared in an episode of Grey’s Anatomy and will also appear in the Jerico, a civil rights era ﬁlm that examines relationships in a small southern town between Caucasians and African Americans. He also has a theatre company which will be producing a MainStage production in the summer of

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