Will Power (performer)
Encyclopedia
Will Power is an award-winning American actor
, rapper, playwright
, and educator.
and Russell Simmons
’s Def Poetry Jam on HBO. He also starred in the 1998 film Drylongso, a hit at Sundance
, as well as being featured in the documentary
All Fathers are Sons.
A pioneer in the genre
of hip hop theatre, Power has created a unique fusion of original music
, rhyme
d dialogue
, and choreography
. His adaptation of the Greek tragedy Seven against Thebes
, entitled The Seven, recently completed a successful Off-Broadway
run at the New York Theatre Workshop
.
In addition to composing the music used in his shows, Power has also written lyrics and music heard on MTV
, UPN
’s Moesha
, and NBC
's Kingpin. He is also the lead vocalist
of the Omar Sosa Sextet.
Power also teaches theatre
and performance
across the globe.
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, rapper, playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
, and educator.
Career
Power has been a featured performer on Last Call with Carson DalyLast Call with Carson Daly
Last Call with Carson Daly is an American late night talk show that is broadcast on NBC. The show is hosted by Carson Daly, the half-hour show featuring celebrity interviews, documentary-style coverage of a topic, and musical performances. Last Call airs weeknights at 1:35 a.m. Eastern / 12:35 a.m....
and Russell Simmons
Russell Simmons
-External links:** * * * * * * from the US Holocaust Memorial Museum* *...
’s Def Poetry Jam on HBO. He also starred in the 1998 film Drylongso, a hit at Sundance
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
, as well as being featured in the documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
All Fathers are Sons.
A pioneer in the genre
Genre
Genre , Greek: genos, γένος) is the term for any category of literature or other forms of art or culture, e.g. music, and in general, any type of discourse, whether written or spoken, audial or visual, based on some set of stylistic criteria. Genres are formed by conventions that change over time...
of hip hop theatre, Power has created a unique fusion of original music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
, rhyme
Rhyme
A rhyme is a repetition of similar sounds in two or more words and is most often used in poetry and songs. The word "rhyme" may also refer to a short poem, such as a rhyming couplet or other brief rhyming poem such as nursery rhymes.-Etymology:...
d dialogue
Dialogue
Dialogue is a literary and theatrical form consisting of a written or spoken conversational exchange between two or more people....
, and choreography
Choreography
Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements in which motion, form, or both are specified. Choreography may also refer to the design itself, which is sometimes expressed by means of dance notation. The word choreography literally means "dance-writing" from the Greek words "χορεία" ...
. His adaptation of the Greek tragedy Seven against Thebes
Seven Against Thebes
The Seven against Thebes is the third play in an Oedipus-themed trilogy produced by Aeschylus in 467 BC. The trilogy is sometimes referred to as the Oedipodea. It concerns the battle between an Argive army led by Polynices and the army of Thebes led by Eteocles and his supporters. The trilogy won...
, entitled The Seven, recently completed a successful Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
run at the New York Theatre Workshop
New York Theatre Workshop
__notoc__New York Theatre Workshop is an Off-Broadway theatre noted for its productions of new works. Located at 79 East 4th Street between Second Avenue and the Bowery in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, it houses a 198-seat theatre for its mainstage productions, and a...
.
In addition to composing the music used in his shows, Power has also written lyrics and music heard on MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
, UPN
UPN
United Paramount Network was a television network that was broadcast in over 200 markets in the United States from 1995 to 2006. UPN was originally owned by Viacom/Paramount and Chris-Craft Industries, the former of which, through the Paramount Television Group, produced most of the network's...
’s Moesha
Moesha
Moesha is an American sitcom series that aired on the UPN network from January 23, 1996 to May 14, 2001. The series stars R&B singer Brandy Norwood as Moesha Mitchell, a high school student living with her family in the Leimert Park neighborhood of South Central Los Angeles.-Overview:The show...
, and NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's Kingpin. He is also the lead vocalist
Lead vocalist
The lead vocalist is the member of a band who sings the main vocal portions of a song. They may also play one or more instruments. Lead vocalists are sometimes referred to as the frontman or frontwoman, and as such, are usually considered to be the "leader" of the groups they perform in, often the...
of the Omar Sosa Sextet.
Power also teaches theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
and performance
Performance
A performance, in performing arts, generally comprises an event in which a performer or group of performers behave in a particular way for another group of people, the audience. Choral music and ballet are examples. Usually the performers participate in rehearsals beforehand. Afterwards audience...
across the globe.
Awards and nominations
- Awarded a United States ArtistsUnited States ArtistsUnited States Artists is an independent nonprofit and nongovernmental philanthropic organization based in Los Angeles, California and dedicated to supporting the work of living American artists by the granting of cash awards, called USA Fellowships...
fellowship for theater arts, 2008 - Won TCG Peter Zeisler Memorial Award, 2006
- Won Joyce Carol ThomasJoyce Carol ThomasJoyce Carol Thomas is an African-American poet, playwright, motivational speaker, and best-selling author of more than 30 children's books. She was born in Ponca City, Oklahoma and currently resides in Berkeley, California. She moved with her family in 1948 to Tracy, California. Thomas received a...
Award, NYFANYFAThe acronym NYFA can refer to:* New York Film Academy* New York Foundation for the Arts...
Fellowship, 2005 - Won Jury Award for Best Theatre Performance at the HBO United States Comedy Arts Festival, 2004
- Won Trailblazer Award from the National Black Theater Network
- Nominated for Drama Desk AwardDrama Desk AwardThe Drama Desk Awards, which are given annually in a number of categories, are the only major New York theater honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway compete against each other in the same category...
for Best Solo Performance, 2004 - Nominated for two AUDELCOAUDELCOAUDELCO, the Audience Development Committee, Inc., was established in 1973 by the late Vivian Robinson to honor excellence in New York African American Theatre through presentation of Vivan Robinson/AUDELCO Recognition Awards...
awards