“Giving Back: The Cast of Pittsburgh Public Theater’s Radio Golf
visits First Tee of Pittsburgh”
The Origin of the Project
Director Ron OJ Parson believes that actors who are playing characters that
excel at a sport need to learn the sport to get into their roles. A long time director
of Wilson plays, he is quoted in a Chicago Tribune article for emphasizing “the
importance of sports in his plays.” Parson wanted to find an opportunity to teach
his actors how to play golf as part of his artistic process.
In addition, since Wilson’s plays are set in Pittsburgh, in July 2008, Parson
asked the Public’s resident dramaturg Heather Helinsky if she could enhance their
understanding of Wilson’s plays by interacting with the Pittsburgh community.
The Public’s resident dramaturg Heather Helinsky built a relationship with
Marc Field, executive director of First Tee. At their initial meeting on August 22nd,
Marc suggested that one of their programs served 20 students from the
Neighborhood Academy (Pittsburgh, PA). Initially, he wanted the actors to come
and speak to the students about their careers and how they became a success.
However, with the directors request to teach the actors how to play golf, the
relationship with First Tee became kismet. By the time the cast arrived, it was
arranged to take the cast of Radio Golf to the Bob O’Connor golf course at
Schenley Park on Tuesday, September 16th at 4pm.
ARTISTIC GOALS: Actors will learn how to play golf for both their external and
internal character development process.
EDUCATIONAL GOALS: In this activity-based clinic, students will teach the Public
actors how to putt on the green, giving them feedback on how to relax their
bodies to achieve success. In addition, they will have an opportunity to speak with
confidence about their abilities and demonstrate their “meet and greet” skills on
the golf course.
Prepared by: Heather Helinsky, Dramaturg
“Giving Back: The Cast of Pittsburgh Public Theater’s Radio Golf
visits First Tee of Pittsburgh”
Interview with E. Milton Wheeler
E. Milton Wheeler plays Roosevelt, a successful African-American businessman, in Radio Golf.
Director Ron OJ Parson wanted Wheeler to learn how to play the game of golf, not only to learn
the physical movement, but to understand internally what it feels like to hit the ball. Going to
First Tee gave the actor sensory awareness of the sport to help his process in creating the role of
Roosevelt.
Question: What was the experience like being taught
by the kids at First Tee of Pittsburgh?
WHEELER: It was incredible to see these young kids
enjoying themselves. They were so knowledgeable. I
was taught by one young man who was a senior in
school. He was very personable and I believe that
will help him go far. This young man was teaching
me how to stand over the ball, to swing the club like
a pendulum. He also showed me how, if the ball is on
a grade or slant, to hit it in one direction so it will get
to the cup by rolling to the other direction.
Listening to the kids speak at the beginning of the
clinic, it helped me become a golf enthusiast, which
is what my character is. I remember one of the kids
saying that playing golf shows your strengths and
weaknesses. I think that is a great lesson for kids to
learn. The sooner you learn that the better you can
make judgment calls in life.
I think it is so cool that these kids can come there for free. You could also see how they are learning to
deal with each other. It was a great opportunity for them to learn how to respect each other.
Prepared by: Heather Helinsky, Dramaturg
“Giving Back: The Cast of Pittsburgh Public Theater’s Radio Golf
visits First Tee of Pittsburgh”
While they were teaching me how to play golf, I was explaining to them that education was key and
what they need to do with their education to succeed in life. Education is so important.
In my opinion, once you become successful in life, you need to give back to the community. Giving back
should be a bigger part of what you do. It’s clear that the kids are learning that as they are learning the
game of golf. Once you play golf, it is a great feeling. It helps you become a better person. The future is
theirs. The more they learn how to become a good human being, the better we can deal with the
problems in our world.
QUESTION: How has this experience helped your process in building the character of Roosevelt?
WHEELER: I think it helped me just by being there on the golf course. Being in the place that Roosevelt
talks about gives me more perspective, on who Roosevelt it, and that’s always a plus for an actor. The
more research you do, the better you can give the audience a truer picture.
Learning the game of golf was a fun thing to do. In watching the kids learn to stand and do their chip
shots, they are learning how to concentrate and focus. It is teaching them the important things in life.
Playing golf is an achievement. Succeeding at golf runs all the way through your body. I felt it the first
time I got on the golf course and played for the first time. My character Roosevelt talks about the things
it will do for kids. It will give them a chance in life. Golf quiets you and fires you up at the same time.
Prepared by: Heather Helinsky, Dramaturg
“Giving Back: The Cast of Pittsburgh Public Theater’s Radio Golf
visits First Tee of Pittsburgh”
QUESTION: Why do you think Wilson chose golf as a metaphor for his 1990s play?
WHEELER: Personally, I think he used golf as a metaphor because of the main character who is running
for mayor and comes from that top echelon of African-Americans. My character Roosevelt studied at a
school where he was constantly around people from the upper class. Roosevelt says in one of his
speeches that deals are made on the golf course. Going out to the Bob O’Connor Golf Course, you can
see why executives go out to the golf course. The golf course feels like a world of its own. It shuts out all
the noise in life and you are
able to relax. We were near
a street, but I didn’t hear
any traffic sounds, even
though I was still in the
middle of the city. You are
so focused. You and your
partner are just out there
walking on the fairway and
everything else just
disappears. It’s like my
character’s relationship with
Harmond. We were old
school chums, so when the
two of us are on stage
together, we’re in our own
world.
E. MILTON WHEELER (Roosevelt Hicks) recently appeared as Wolf in Two Trains Running at the
Signature Theatre in New York and at Kansas City Rep, Our Lady of 121st Street and Jesus
Hopped the A Train (Steppenwolf Theatre), Lemuel and Concerto Chicago (Victory Gardens), and
The Chicago Conspiracy Trial (Remains Theatre). He has been featured in the films: The Club, Lil
Red N’ Da Hood, Spiritual Warriors, Rookie of the Year, Heaven is Playground, and Prayer, which
he directed. As a writer he just completed work on a pilot for his production company,
Plutomars Entertainment.
Prepared by: Heather Helinsky, Dramaturg
“Giving Back: The Cast of Pittsburgh Public Theater’s Radio Golf
visits First Tee of Pittsburgh”
Interview with Tyla Abercrumbie
QUESTION: In Radio Golf, your character Mame is married to Harmond Wilks, the candidate for mayor
of Pittsburgh. The director Ron OJ Parson wanted to go to First Tee so that the actors who played golf
could learn the physical action of the sport. Since your character doesn’t play golf in the play, why was it
important for you to go?
ABERCRUMBIE: With
any theatrical piece, I
think the crafting of the
play is so important. So
any activity that is part
of the crafting of the
play, I want to be a part
of. Golfing definitely
influences my character
because Harmond loves
it so much. I have a
feeling that Harmond,
Roosevelt, Roosevelt’s
wife and I go out
golfing. Any woman in a
relationship knows that
you participate in
sporting events because you love him and want to be a part of things that make him happy. Also,
knowing the kids that Roosevelt talks about, I would venture to say that all of us have a program that we
are involved with. In Radio Golf, Roosevelt gets to talk about his golf program for kids, so Mame &
Harmond probably also give back too in some way.
QUESTION: Once we arrived at The First Tee of Pittsburgh, what was your first impression of the
students in the program?
ABERCRUMBIE: First, I was very happy to see all these black kids participating in a sport that was denied
blacks for such a long time. Whether it was a class or race issue, it was ridiculous that blacks were
denied access to this sport. So that was really beautiful for me to see the students. This is something
that they can dedicated themselves to. It’s consistent; it becomes a part of what they do on a regular
basis. To give you an example, whenever I go to a CPS school (Chicago Public School) as a guest to talk to
them about theater and poetry, they listen to you speak, but it is a onetime event. Conversely, when
you look at these kids, golfing is a part of there routine, this is something that they are committed to.
When the kids talked to us about their best golfing experience, to hear them say that they learned life
lessons was amazing. In my childhood experience, I didn’t have that. Everything I learned was through
Prepared by: Heather Helinsky, Dramaturg
“Giving Back: The Cast of Pittsburgh Public Theater’s Radio Golf
visits First Tee of Pittsburgh”
trial and error. In my own neighborhood, you just didn’t think that there were these possibilities of
things out there to do for you.
These students were very confident. One young lady said “I haven’t sunk one yet, but I’m good.” If you
can get kids to think like that, then you are much more empowered as an adult later in life.
Prepared by: Heather Helinsky, Dramaturg
“Giving Back: The Cast of Pittsburgh Public Theater’s Radio Golf
visits First Tee of Pittsburgh”
QUESTION: How we the lessons in golf helping your process as an actor?
ABERCRUMBIE: Kirk, their coach, said that you learn life lessons from golf---one thing is patience. The
more relaxed you are, the better you
can accomplish your goal. One thing we
always say as actors is that you can’t be
onstage and in the audience at the
same time. That is, you can’t be ‘in the
moment’ and watching yourself at the
same time. You have to trust your
instincts and give over to the world of
the play. The moment you start
thinking about how you are playing the
scene, you are tense and lose focus. If
you happen to lose a line on stage, you
have trouble getting back into it if you
are not relaxed. But if you are relaxed
and you know your character, it comes
back naturally.
In golf, when you are out there on the
green, you can’t focus on how you’re
standing or ‘am I doing this right?’ It’s
the same with acting. If you think too
much, once you mess up on stage, you
get frustrated and it starts snowballing.
You have to be able to let it go.
Prepared by: Heather Helinsky, Dramaturg
“Giving Back: The Cast of Pittsburgh Public Theater’s Radio Golf
visits First Tee of Pittsburgh”
QUESTION: When you were being taught by the students, did you have an opportunity to share with
them about your career?
ABERCRUMBIE: Honestly, my work
didn’t cross my mind. I was enjoying
the whole experience of letting these
students teach me. They were really
good at giving me pointers. I would
have answered if they had inquired,
but we were all caught up in what we
were doing. When I hit a good one,
they were really encouraging. Marcus,
who was one of my teachers, was
asked by one of their teachers how I
was doing. He told his teacher, “She’s
doing really good, actually.” I could tell
by the way he said, “actually” that he
was surprised how fast I was picking up what he was teaching me.
QUESTION: August Wilson, being an athlete, often uses sports as a metaphor in his plays, for example in
Fences baseball is an important element in the story. Why do you think August Wilson chose golf as a
metaphor for Radio Golf?
ABERCRUMBIE: I think that
Wilson uses golf to bring us
forward into the 21st
century. Before, with a play
like Fences, baseball was the
sport that AfricanAmericans were denied
entry. Fences portrays how
devastating dreams denied
can destroy a person. Here
we are in the 1990s, and
through players like Tiger
Woods, golf is a new door
that is now open. However,
the play asks, when those
Prepared by: Heather Helinsky, Dramaturg
“Giving Back: The Cast of Pittsburgh Public Theater’s Radio Golf
visits First Tee of Pittsburgh”
new doors are available to us, how does that change us? Although Wilson never played the game, he
was very observant. Wilson uses Radio Golf to show not only race issues but class issues as well. Deals
are made on the golf course that are not made on a baseball field. That’s a whole other level.
TYLA ABERCRUMBIE (Mame Wilks) is happy to be making her debut at Pittsburgh
Public Theater. Regional: Romeo and Juliet at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, Piano
Lesson at Portland Stage, Flyin’ West at Court Theatre, Gem of the Ocean at Actors
Theatre of Louisville, Intimate Apparel at Milwaukee Rep, Raisin in the Sun at Studio
Arena, Ariadne’s Thread at Victory Gardens, Jitney at St. Louis Black Repertory
Theatre, Four Queens No Trump at Onyx Theatre, and many more. Her most
impressive accomplishment to date is the release of her book, a collection of prose
and poetry entitled Red Wine and the Bles’sed Monkey. Other works include: The
Straw, Asylum (aka) Life, a one woman show and Naked & Raw, a one-act play told
through poetry and music. She is a graduate of Columbia College with a BA in Theater,
a member of The Black Playwrights Association and Chicago Dramatist Writers
Network, and co-founder of Ripe Mango Productions.
Prepared by: Heather Helinsky, Dramaturg