On the surface, "Incognito" is Michael Sidney Fosberg’s autobiographical one-man play based on his search to find his biological father in his early thirties. After a fateful call to his dad, Fosberg’s ideals of cultural identity were shaken to the core from the realization that he is African-American. His show is designed to provoke personal stories for everyone.
“It becomes even more about their story,” Fosberg said.
Fosberg grew up with his biological Armenian mother and white stepfather outside Chicago. His light skin gave him no indication of his newfound heritage. He said he felt like a piece of his life puzzle was missing and luckily, almost his entire family welcomed him without question.
Only Sue, his biological father’s wife at the time, resented the idea of an addition to her family. Fosberg visited his grandparents in Virginia and gained knowledge about his family history.
Since 2000, Fosberg has been traveling around America performing "Incognito," though there are multiple versions of the show. Now, he tours colleges, high schools, performing arts centers, festivals, theaters and more. This year, among more than 70 shows, he will perform for the FBR, the IRS, the United States Army, the National Training Center and many church congregations.
After the success of his play, Fosberg published his memoir, "Incognito: An American Odyssey of Race and Self Discovery," in 2011. He is currently working on a film adaptation.
Fosberg said the message he hopes to convey to his audience is universal.
“The story, on a larger scale, is about how we form our identity,” Fosberg said. “Everybody goes through that over the course of their lives.”
With "Incognito," Fosberg said he strives to challenge audiences to think about how they view themselves and their outlook on other people.
“I think a lot of times we are very narrow-minded about how we see other people,” he said.
Fosberg said people generally tend to think a person with power or stardom of a certain race or ethnicity can speak for their entire population. But in reality, they only intend to represent themselves or their constituents.
Fosberg's dialogue about race is something that needs to happen everywhere, he said.
Since Fosberg was not singled out by racism, especially during his childhood, he discussed whether that made him any less of a black man. Fosberg said he views himself as more than a race. He said he is a man lucky enough to have two dads and three heritages.
“We’re all sort of figuring out who we are and how we see ourselves in this world,” he said.