Same Difference

By Samuel G. Roberson, Jr.
Directed by Anton Jones
Illusion Theater: February 8 – February 17, 2008
Pillsbury House Theatre: February 20 – March 1, 2008

First time playwright Samuel G. Roberson, Jr’s Same Difference was a sold out hit at the 2007 Minnesota Fringe Festival. In the play Anthony and Jahmal, two black men from very different backgrounds, are thrust together as college roommates. With incisive wit and engaging humor Same Difference exposes the stereotypes and expectations that the men have of each other as they struggle to make their way in the world and look to find common ground.

Same Difference is a co-production between Illusion Theater and Pillsbury House Theatre. It opens at Illusion on February 8 and runs through February 17. It continues its run at the Pillsbury House Theatre from February 20 through March 1, 2008. Anton Jones, who directed the play for the Fringe Festival will again direct the co-production, with James A. Williams serving as a creative advisor. Samuel G. Roberson, Jr. is a graduate of the Howard University BFA program with a concentration in Theatre Arts. He has served as an acting apprentice with the Children’s Theatre Company and has also been awarded a 2007 Jerome Many Voices Residency through the Playwrights’ Center. Anton Jones is a playwright, director, musician and theatre educator. He has directed for Climb Theatre, University of Iowa’s Darwin Turner Action Theatre and History Theatre’s Raw Stages. He directed his play Tokens~n~Change: A Hip-Hop Drama for the Illusion Theatre’s Light’s Up Workshop Series. Anton Jones received his MFA from the University of Iowa Playwright’s Workshop in 2005 and was a recipient of a Jerome Many Voices Residency in 2006.