Days of Dialogue: A Southern City Speaks presents IncognitoTuesday, Mar 21, 2023

Days of Dialogue: A Southern City Speaks presents Incognito.

Incognito is a one-man, autobiographical play in which, over the course of 50 minutes, Michael Fosberg portrays over a dozen characters as he tells the true tale of the search for his biological father. For the past 15+ years, this non-traditional, unique, entertaining presentation has captivated groups from as far ranging as The Boeing Company, to the Dept. of Homeland Security, to Harvard College, at various high schools, and beyond. It is truly unlike any other program in the DEI space.

Michael’s personal story, performed as a one-man play, is a stimulating catalyst for dialogue on many issues. Raised in a working-class White family in a Chicago suburb by his Armenian-American mother and an adoptive Swedish stepfather, he began the search for his long-lost biological father at the age of 34 when his mother and stepfather announced their divorce. Upon tracking down his biological father in a miraculous first phone call, John Sidney Woods told him, “There are a couple of things I’m sure your mother never told you.” First was that he had always loved and thought about Michael, and second that he is Black.

The quest to find his biological father revealed more than Michael had ever imagined. Not only did Michael develop a new, more comfortable relationship with his sense of identity, but he also uncovered a rich Black heritage. This life-changing revelation, the connections he made to his “new” paternal family, and the questions that his new-found identity raised in relation to how we perceive race in America inspired him to create Incognito the play in 2001.

Days of Dialogue: A Southern City Speaks aims to engage the city of Knoxville in the work of having a difficult conversations-true dialogue. Participants will have opportunities for ongoing dialogue and to support one another to further this work in their own communities. All are welcome to join in this restorative work. A concluding event will take place on Sunday, April 30, 2023.

This event is presented by the Church of the Ascension in partnership with The Beck Cultural Exchange Center, Bijou Theatre, Knoxville Opera Company, Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, and National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Greater Knoxville Chapter.

Pre-registration is required. Registration begins March 3, 2023. Seats will be held for those who registered in advance until 6:45 PM. After that time, the unfilled seats will be released on a first-come, first-served basis.