‘Flies At The Well’ To Be Staged In Michigan (at the Fourth Wall)

Friday, January 30, 2015  (Article by by W. WINSTON SKINNER in the Times Herald)

“Flies at the Well,” Jeff Bishop’s play about the 1948 John Wallace murder case, is to be staged in April in Michigan.

Joan Doggrell of the Newnan Theatre Company said “a trial production” of the play is scheduled for April 18 in Jackson, Mich. In 1948, Wallace, a prominent Meriwether County farmer, was tried and convicted of murdering William Turner, who worked for him.

The Michigan production is sponsored by Gary and Marji Minix, Doggrell said.

A reading of the play was staged for an invited group of Coweta citizens at the Wadsworth Auditorium on Nov. 9. The next goal was an out-of-town staging.

Bishop, a former Times-Herald writer who now directs the museums of the Newnan-Coweta Historical Society, “needs to make sure that the play works for an audience outside of Georgia that is unfamiliar with the story,” Doggrell said.

The real life events had lots of twists. William Turner was using the name “Wilson Turner” because his brother, Wilson, was exempted from the military draft. In the Jim Crow era, two black farm workers testified Wallace forced them to help him burn Turner’s body.

Georgia law required human remains for a murder trial, and Turner’s “corpus delecti” consisted of a few shards of bone held in a matchbox. One of the witnesses in the case was Mayhayley Lancaster, an eccentric Heard County fortuneteller who knew both Turner and Wallace.

“Here in Coweta County, the tale is legendary,” Doggrell said – noting some older Cowetans “actually recall the 1948 murder.

”Following the Nov. 9 reading, Bishop “has revised his script and is now ready for a more complete staging,” Doggrell said.

There has been an interest in a play based on the Wallace murder case for years. It has been suggested numerous times that staging the play in the upper floor courtroom of the Coweta County Courthouse – where Wallace’s case actually took place – could be a tourism draw. Parallels have often been drawn to the yearly productions of “To Kill a Mockingbird” in Harper Lee’s hometown in Alabama.

In 2011, a “Citizens’ Posse” headed by Caroline Abbey, then chairman of the NTC board, sent out a proposal inviting authors nationwide to write a new play. “With grants from donors such as the Coweta Community Foundation and the Charter Foundation, the plan forged ahead, and Jeff Bishop was chosen to write the play,” Doggrell said.

“Flies at the Well” emerged from Bishop’s “extensive research in newspaper archives and historical documents.” NTC accepted the play in December 2011.

Once Bishop and NTC are ready, “Flies at the Well” will be staged in Newnan, Doggrell said.

We Are Not In Competition by David Blixt

Thoughtful words from David Blixt, actor and author, about the arts community.

Center Stage Jackson Announces . . .

  ^{2nd Show of 2014-15 Season:}  

Jackson, MI – January 18, 2015

Center Stage Jackson, in partnership with Jackson Public Schools, is pleased to announce the second main stage show of its fifteenth season with the comedy romp “The Iliad, The Odyssey and All of Greek Mythology in 99 Minutes or Less” written by Jay Hopkins and John Hunter.  The show will be performed February 20-22 and February 27-March 1, 2015 in the Kiesel Auditorium at the Middle School at Parkside, 2400 4th Street in Jackson.  Curtain times are 8:00 p.m. on Friday and Saturday performances, 3:00 p.m. on Sundays.  

Tickets may be purchased at the door or at the Center Stage Jackson website www.centerstagejackson.org.  General Admission: $10 adults & $8 students, seniors and groups of 10 or more. 

On a simple stage, with the clock ticking in front of everyone's eyes, the cast speeds through all of Greek Mythology. It is funny, updated and made easy to understand. The Gods walk the Red Carpet. The Creation of Mankind is a botched subcontractors job. Man and Pandora try settling down despite an ominous wedding gift. Love stories are a dating show and the Greek Tragedies are sports highlights! And don't forget the two greatest stories ever told, The Iliad and The Odyssey. Kidnap Helen of Troy and you've got a 10 year slap-fight of epic proportions with pouty Achilles, war-hungry Agamemnon, and clever Odysseus, destined to wander the seas for 10 more years fighting giants, seductresses and the Gods themselves. All the silly decisions, the absurd destinies, and the goofy characters are presented lightning-bolt fast with hysterical results as the clock is stopped with only seconds to spare.

The cast includes:  Phil Kolis, Steven Owsley, Mark Sanders, Sarah Sanders, HannahTritten, Joshua Judd, Amanda Gregurich, Joseph Gerring and Juli Cram, all in a variety of roles.

The Artistic Director is Bruce Crews with Technical Director Preston Judd.

Contact: Bruce Crews at bcrews@co.jackson.mi.us.

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Center Stage Jackson is Jackson’s community theatre group.  Formed in 2001 when Jackson Civic Theatre and Clark Lake Players merged, Center Stage Jackson is a non-profit production company dedicated to presenting quality theatrical productions in the Greater Jackson, Michigan area.  CSJ performs at various area venues including Jackson College, a proud sponsor of CSJ, located at 2111 Emmons Road, Jackson, Michigan. 

www.centerstagejackson.org.  

Purple Rose Concert Reading 2/7/2015

A reading at the Chelsea District Library

Saturday, Feb. 7

10:30am-12:30pm

McKune Room, Chelsea District Library

Registration Required

Join us for a reading of Morning's at Seven by Paul Osborn, read by Purple Rose performers. After the reading, share your feedback with the cast, playwright, and Artistic Director Guy Sanville.

A little bit about Morning's at Seven:

Aaronetta and Ida Gibbs have lived next door to each other most of their lives and along with Esther, all of the Gibb sisters are an open book to each. Husbands not included. Into the fray comes Myrtle Brown, perpetually engaged to Ida's son Homer. But Homer can't seem to pop the question. Taking matters into her own hands, Myrtle finally gets a proposal by compelling Homer to fly the nest. Sort of. This perennially charming portrait of small town America fifty plus years ago was revived on Broadway in 1980 and in 2002 to critical acclaim. 

Can't make it to the library to see the performance?  Chelsea District Library now live streams Purple Rose Concert Readings - click here or on our homepage link.

Additionally, videos of past readings are available under our "Online Resources" tab.