2009

Talvin Wilks began attending The Miami Valley School in seventh grade. He was an exceptional student academically, while managing to balance leadership roles in student government, yearbook, literary magazine and athletics.

His true passion, however seemed to shine in performance. During his senior year, he played the lead roles in school performances and musicals and also led the speech and debate team to a second place standing in the state.

Wilks attended Princeton University where he graduated with a degree in English. Initially studying to become a psychiatrist, he later decided to become a writer for the theater. His first play, Incubus:An American Dream Play, addressed issues of racism and sexism in America’s past, present and future, ones of which he would continue to address during his career.

Wilks has written several plays including Tod, the boy, Tod, the Trial of Uncle S&M, Bread of Heaven, and An American Triptych. His directorial projects include the world premiere productions of Eyewitness Blues, among many others. In 2006, he received a Bessie Award for Dramaturgy for his work Landing/Place. He also received multiple AUDELCO nominations for his work as a director.

Wilks has worked for the University of Massachusetts Amherst, serving as Interim Director for the school’s New WORLD Theater and as an associate professor in the Department of Theater. He has also been a guest director and lecturer at a number of colleges and universities, including SUNY/Stony Brook, Antioch College, Princeton University, Cornish College of the Arts, University of Washington, Howard University, and Florida A&M.