Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Pravin Wilkins. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Pravin, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

To date, the most meaningful project I have worked on as a playwright is a stage play called “Moreno,” which is about four fictional NFL players whose bonds and loyalties are tested when Colin Kaepernick’s protests against police brutality and systemic racism spark action among players across the league during the 2016-2017 season. This play was the winner of the Theatre503 International Playwriting Award in 2020 and received its world premiere in London in 2022. To take a deeply American story to an audience in another country was a fascinating experience; the ways that the themes resonated across the Atlantic were very inspiring to me. Then, in November 2024, “Moreno” was performed at InterAct Theatre in Philadelphia, where I have been living for the past three years. Amidst a political upheaval that mirrored 2016, bringing a play to audiences that highlighted both the courage of those willing to take a stand & the challenges of building an intersectional movement felt very important.

Pravin, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My brand as a writer is unflinchingly taking on issues of social justice and reflecting on stage the diverse mosaic of life in America. Personally as an artist, I do not believe that any art can be apolitical; especially in a time where diversity, equity, and inclusion have become bad words and anyone who truly stands for these ideals risks blacklisting, stories that celebrate and engage with the complexities of a heterogeneous society are more important than ever. My work distinguishes itself by bringing together characters of disparate backgrounds and beliefs, engaging with the critical question of how community can be built between communities and how these efforts might succeed or fail. The very act of writing a character who comes from a different place than me, who might think differently than I do, is an exercise in empathy; my ultimate mission is an extension of this practice: to bring audiences into the lives of others, to see themselves in people they might not have thought they would identify with, and to celebrate the pluralism of humanity through narratives that deal with pressing issues of the present day.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

Find out what regional theatres and independent theatre groups are in your city and see some live shows, preferably of new works! Before I went to theatre school, I was honestly completely unaware that “theatre” meant anything other than Shakespeare or really old stuff by really dead people. I could not have been more wrong. Some of the most groundbreaking and radical new art out there is being produced in the world of live theatre. In an ever-digitized world, seeing real life actors and performers live out a narrative, experiencing stories as a community, with others instead of siloed off in our homes, is a refreshing and life-affirming experience.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

When somebody sees themself in my work, or feels seen because of it, I cannot compare the experience to any other. As social media further stratifies our “realities,” as political polarization feeds a doom-loop of inability to communicate with and understand one another, art can bring us closer together again. It moves me deeply when audience members, especially those who feel unheard in their struggles, can see a reflection of their worlds on stage.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://newplayexchange.org/users/39860/pravin-wilkins
• Instagram: @grandmasterprav
• Other: https://www.concordtheatricals.com/a/120198/pravin-wilkins

  https://www.concordtheatricals.com/s/93568/moreno

Image Credits

Adiam Yemane (final photo)