Masks Before the Altar

About the Book

James Lorenzo Wheaton grew up in a Methodist parsonage as the son of a prominent Mississippi minister. His love for acting began with church pageants and from that beginning he knew theatre was his life. Aware that Broadway and Hollywood offered few roles for Black actors, James opted for a formal education in theatre arts. He attended Wiley College, a historically Black school and received his master's degree from Columbia University.   In 1950 he moved to Los Angeles to study at the Pasadena Playhouse but his admission was rescinded when the Playhouse received his photograph. A year later he was working as a postal clerk in Los Angeles, unable, as most blacks, to enter the private sector. During that year he had been actively pursuing a waning acting career and eventually received a phone call from a friend inviting him to audition for what Wheaton assumed was a "White" company. Against his better judgement he went to the audition and was cast as one of the lead players in Christopher Fry's "The Boy With A Cart."  Masks Before The Altar is the story of his first year with The Bishop's Company and his adjustment to living as the only black in an all white world.

About the Author

Mister Wheaton toured with the Bishop's Company for five years. He was an actor and director with the Ebony Showcase in Los Angeles for twenty years. He received his master's degree from Columbia University and he was a teacher in the Los Angeles school system. He is currently active as an actor and writer in Los Angeles.