Author Marcus Rediker, actor Mark Povinelli, and Jennifer Tober visited the Woodland Hills High School Library on Friday, February 21 as part of the Woodland Hills Interaction Series.
Rediker is the co-author of the one-man play "The Return of Benjamin Lay," which concludes its run at the Quantum Theatre in Lawrenceville. Povinelli portrays Lay, an English-born abolitionist, activist, and writer who spent much of his adult life in eastern Pennsylvania prior to the American Revolution. Tober is the artistic director for Pittsburgh Shakespeare in the Parks.
The play is Rediker's third piece on Benjamin Lay. His work began with the biography "The Fearless Benjamin Lay: The Quaker Dwarf Who Became the First Revolutionary Abolitionist." A graphic novel, "Prophet Against Slavery," followed four years later in 2021. Throughout all three pieces, Rediker chronicles Lay's abolitionist views and how he laid the groundwork for the anti-slavery movement within the Quakers.
Rediker - a Distinguished Professor in the Department of History at the University of Pittsburgh - discussed his journey as a writer and why Lay has become such an important figure for him in Pennsylvanian and American history.
Povinelli, a veteran stage and film actor whose credits include "Boardwalk Empire," "The Polar Express," and "Nightmare Alley," shared the challenges of being the only person on stage in a one-man play, as well as the importance of being able to portray a historically significant little person and how that kind of representation impacts that community.
Students had the opportunities to ask questions the guests' careers, the play, and more. Afterwards, multiple students stayed for a smaller discussion, including one with Povinelli about some of Woodland Hills' past and current theater productions.
The visit was filmed by Interaction Series alum Tony Buba and Braddock native, who is working on a documentary about the production of the play.