Giving Voice, which premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival and now calls Netflix its home, is a documentary that follows high school students during the 10th anniversary of the August Wilson Monologue Competition. From over 1000 student auditions, approximately 400 young performers compete in regional rounds in major cities around America. From those winners, 20 are selected to advance to the national competition where they earn a chance to perform at the August Wilson Theatre on Broadway.
August Wilson was a Pulitzer Prize winning playwright, hailed as one of the most distinguished figures of modern American drama. He is best known for a series of ten plays often referred to as the “Pittsburgh Cycle,” which primarily investigates the African American experience through each decade of the 20th century. While the stories themselves are unique from one another, many large thematic ideas develop over the course of the entire cycle; including, but not limited to, the lasting impact of slavery on succeeding generations of Black Americans. Wilson’s work has translated to several recent film adaptations including Fences from 2016 and this year’s likely Oscar contender, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. While nothing has yet been confirmed, there are plans to continue adapting Wilson’s work for the big screen, with many hoping that all ten plays of the cycle will someday be preserved by the medium of film.
This documentary follows six main students (Freedom, Nia, Cody, Gerardo, Aaron, and Callie) as we experience each stage of the monologue competition through their eyes. This allows the film to focus on several individual stories about personal identity while giving voices to those who are still discovering their own. We watch the young actors in rehearsals and performances, and progressively learn what inspires each of them as individuals. In many cases, the students are introduced in their homes where they give us a tour of their “world,” with bedroom walls filled with posters of high school performances, dream boards, and Broadway playbills. For anyone who grew up with dreams of their own, it may feel like returning home.
As the competition moves forward, we begin to root for our own favorite performers, gradually becoming invested in the suspense of whether or not each will advance to the next rounds. Only having six subjects means there is a chance that none of our featured competitors will even make it to the end. It’s a risk that has to be taken when making this kind of documentary, but one that definitely offers catharsis in this case. By the end, there is a sense that it doesn’t matter who wins because all of these young people have had an experience that has changed them.
Giving Voice also serves as an introduction to the craft and process of acting. Those looking may even find some great acting advice and practical rehearsal tools, simply by watching the film. Even those outside of the performing arts are still likely to be impressed by the amount of effort and actual preparation that goes into performing a monologue. As actors, the competitors all have such command of their instruments. Their performances are genuinely impressive, regardless of their age or their being at an early point in their training. As young people, they bring a wisdom and maturity that’s beyond most current representations of high schoolers in television and film. The documentarians, Fernando Villena and James D. Stern, approach this world with a respect and austerity that further validates the ideals and dreams of their young subjects.
Also distributed throughout the film are supplemental interviews with several film and stage actors who are well-known for their time spent in the worlds of August Wilson. Viola Davis, Denzel Washington, and Stephen McKinley Henderson all share lessons learned from Wilson, in addition to their own journeys toward becoming actors. These interviews highlight the connection between the young people expressing their dreams of becoming professional actors, and the professional actors reminiscing on the dreams of their younger selves. Members from both groups, a majority of whom are Black, speak about being able to find so much of themselves in the words and characters of August Wilson. There are great revelations and great healing conjured by his work, and it’s a beautiful thing to see those moments captured on screen. The film serves as a true testament to the timelessness and everlasting power of Wilson’s plays; worlds of universal belonging left behind for new voices.
Like many other entertainment industries, theatre in America is at a massive standstill right now. There is no clear foresight into when it will return, or how it will change in a country that is taking a hard look at itself. While we wait for the return of live theatrical events, Giving Voice is a film that can bring some of that magic back into our lives. It is simultaneously a beautiful tribute to playwright August Wilson and his words, and an exploration of the young people who are carrying his legacy into the future. If we put our faith in these young people, if we hear and amplify their voices, we may find the hope necessary to carry us forward.
