Press Release

 

Civil Rights Activist Dr. Endesha Ida Mae Holland’s
Uplifting From the Mississippi Delta
Comes to Triad Stage, April 27 – May 18, 2008

 

Triad Stage continues its 2007-2008 “Season of Passion” with the inspirational memoir From the Mississippi Delta by Dr. Endesha Ida Mae Holland. These are the tales of home and of family, of hope and of adversity. These are the memories of a courageous woman in turbulent times. Dr. Holland, a Civil Rights activist and Pulitzer Prize-nominated playwright, takes us on the journey through her life. Phelia, a girl born into the depths of poverty in the heart of the segregated South, finds her painful childhood and reckless adolescence transformed as the Civil Rights movement sweeps through the Delta. Three actresses play all the characters – black and white, young and old, men and women – who make this world come alive in an eloquent and impassioned journey filled with story and song. From the Mississippi Delta runs April 27 through May 18, 2008. Opening Night is May 1.

The cast of From the Mississippi Delta includes Soara-Joye Ross, Bria Walker and Cassandra Lowe Williams.

North Carolina A&T State University adjunct professor and local director Donna Baldwin-Bradby helms the production. The creative team for From the Mississippi Delta includes scenic designer Andrew Layton, costume designer Gregory J. Horton, lighting designer Stuart Nelson and sound designer Ryan J. Gastelum. The vocal coach is the Reverend George Pass II and the stage manager is Catherine Hagner.  

Tickets for preview performances of From the Mississippi Delta,on April 27, 29 and 30 are all $16 each. From Opening Night, May 1, single ticket prices range from $10 to $42. Prices vary depending on the day of the week and seat location desired.

All performances are at Triad Stage at The Pyrle Theater, located at 232 South Elm Street in historic downtown Greensboro, North Carolina (between Market and Washington Streets).

Show times for From the Mississippi Delta are 7:30 pm on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday evenings (except on Sunday, May 18, when there is no evening performance) and 8:00 pm Friday and Saturday evenings. Sunday matinees are at 2:00 pm. There are no matinee performances during previews. Pay-What-You-Can performances are Sunday, May 4, and Tuesday, May 6, at 7:30 pm, sponsored by Enterprise Rent-A-Car. Wine Tasting Friday is May 2, prior to the evening’s 8:00 pm performance, sponsored by Total Wine & More. A Sign-Interpreted performance is on Tuesday, May 13, at 7:30 pm, with services provided by the Greensboro Communication Services for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.

Technically Talking,a behind-the-scenes look at the design and production features with the director and designers is Tuesday, April 29, immediately following the 7:30 pm preview performance, sponsored by J. Hyatt Hammond. The InSight Series, the free humanities program that brings a noted speaker to the Triad to discuss the world of the play and the playwright, will be held Sunday, May 4, immediately following the 2:00 pm matinee performance. The InSight speaker for From the Mississippi Delta will be Dr. Millicent Brown, assistant professor in the history department at North Carolina A&T State University. PostScript, a lively, open discussion with members of the cast and creative team, will be held Thursday, May 8, immediately following the 7:30 pm performance.

On Friday, May 2, Josephus III presents The Poetry Café, a post-show event in Triad Stage’s new Cabaret space following the 8:00 pm performance of From the Mississippi Delta. The Poetry Café features live music and an open mic, and is free to the public. More information can be found at www.josephusIII.com. The Cabaret is located on the top floor of the Pylre Theatre, 232 South Elm Street in downtown Greensboro.

From the Mississippi Delta is part of Artbeat Greensboro, a weeklong celebration of the performing and visual arts in Greensboro, running April 27th – May 4th, 2008. This is the inaugural year of the annual event. More information can be found at www.artbeatgreensboro.org.

Triad Stage is a professional not-for-profit regional theatre company based in Greensboro's downtown historic district. All Triad Stage productions are created in Greensboro using the best of local and national talent. Triad Stage gratefully acknowledges the support of Season Sponsors: Mitre Agency, the North Carolina Arts Council and the United Arts Council of Greater Greensboro. The Production Sponsor for From the Mississippi Delta is Aspire Janitorial Service.

 

ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT
Dr. Endesha Ida Mae Holland was born Ida Mae Holland — she added Endesha as an adult — in 1944, in the Mississippi River Delta town of Greenwood, Mississippi. She was raised along with several siblings in a wooden shack. She never knew her father and her mother, a respected midwife, took in local prostitutes as boarders to make ends meet.

On her eleventh birthday, she was raped by a white man who employed her as a baby sitter. When it was over, he handed her $5. Seeing this as a means of earning money, she became a prostitute herself. By her late teens, she had been repeatedly arrested for fighting, shoplifting and prostitution.

In pursuit of a “John” one day, she entered the local headquarters of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) when she followed a young man who turned out to be a volunteer in Greenwood to register black voters. She quickly joined the organization, marching, speaking and registering voters, and was jailed 13 times for her activities.

In 1965, a suspicious fire broke out in her family’s home, killing her mother. Dr. Holland said afterward that she believed the Ku Klux Klan had firebombed the house in retaliation for her Civil Rights work.

Encouraged by colleagues in the Civil Rights movement, she eventually obtained her high school equivalency diploma and enrolled at the University of Minnesota where she earned a bachelor’s degree in African-American studies, followed by a master’s degree and a Ph.D., both in American Studies. Professor Holland taught at the State University of New York, Buffalo from 1985 to 1993 and the University of Southern California until she retired in 2003.

The author of such plays as Second Doctor Lady, The Reconstruction of Dossie Ree Hemphill, Fanny Lou and Requiem for a Snake, she is best known for From the Mississippi Delta, which earned her a Pulitzer Prize nomination in 1988. Her memoir by the same name was published in 1997.

Dr. Endesha Ida Mae Holland died of complications of ataxia in Santa Monica, California in 2006.

 

BIOGRAPHIES

CAST
Soara-Joye Ross (Woman One) Triad Stage Debut! Broadway: Les Misérables, Dance of the Vampires. Off-Broadway: Jerry Springer: The Opera (Carnegie Hall), Dessa Rose (Lincoln Center Theater-Original Cast Recording), Single Black Female (Playwrights Horizons). Regional: Aida (Aida; Colorado Theater Guild: Outstanding Leading Actress Nominee), Tick, Tick…Boom (Susan; The Alliance Theater), Ragtime (Sarah; Gateway/Weston Playhouse), Once on This Island (Asaka; Sacramento Music Circus/ Bay Street), Ain’t Misbehavin’ (Armelia; Huntington Theatre Co). Film: Garden State (Handi-World Cashier). Education: The American Musical and Dramatic Academy.

Bria Walker (Woman Two) Regional: Crowns, A Christmas Carol, King Lear, Amadeus, Working, The Elephant Man, 365 Days/365 Plays (Denver Center Theatre Company); It Ain’t Nothin’ But the Blues (Theatre Aspen); Shakespeare on Nature (Aspen Ideas Festival). La Dolce Sondheim, Romeo & Juliet, Caucasian Chalk Circle (National Theatre Conservatory). The World Goes Round (Summer Stage Wright). Film: 1903: The Wings of Dreams (ThinkTV16); Wallstrip.com. Education: MFA, National Theatre Conservatory; BFA, Wright State University.

Cassandra Lowe Williams (Woman Three) Triad Stage: North Star and understudy to Ms. Irma P. Hall in A Lesson Before Dying. Regional: Mahalia: Queen of Gospel & Black Nativity (NC Black Repertory Company); Crowns (Actor’s Theatre of Charlotte & NC A&T State University guest artist); Peace in the Valley (Barn Dinner Theatre); A Raisin in the Sun (UNCG Theatre guest artist); The Wiz (Livestock Musical Theatre). Film: Greensboro Sit-Ins. Education: UNC-Greensboro; Fellowship, Northwestern University. Other: retired theatre teacher, Guilford County Schools; minister.

 

CREATIVE TEAM
Donna Baldwin-Bradby (Director) is Adjunct Professor and Director of Marketing and Publicity for the Department of Visual and Performing Arts at North Carolina A&T State University. Donna earned a BFA in Professional Theatre from NC A&T and an MFA in Arts Management from Virginia Tech. She has directed, choreographed and performed for professional, community and educational theatres locally and regionally. Donna appeared in Crowns at Actor’s Theatre of Charlotte, directed Eubie! at NC A&T, and was the director for The Old Settler, choreographer for Das Barbecü, ballroom dancing coach for ‘MASTER HAROLD’…and the boys, and movement coach for The Matchmaker and The Diary of Anne Frank at Triad Stage.

Andrew Layton (Scenic Designer) is a graduate of the North Carolina School of the Arts (BFA) and The University of Washington (MFA), and is excited to be back in North Carolina, working with Triad Stage again. Recent favorite designs include Dissonance (Williamstown Theatre Festival); Suor Angelica, Soledad, an adaptation of One Hundred Years of Solitude; Orphee Aux Enfers and Tom Jones. Andrew is currently Resident Scenic Designer and faculty member at the Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts (PCPA) where he enjoys teaching and designing.

Gregory J. Horton (Costume Designer) is an associate professor at NC A&T. Production designs include Sweet Charity, The Visit, A Woman from the Town, Something’s Afoot, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, A Company of Wayward Saints, The Crucible, The Heiress, The Glass Menagerie, Dreamgirls, Foreigner, The Wiz, The Colored Museum, Crowns, Fences, Tartuffe, Waiting to be Invited, My Fair Lady and Seven Guitars. Directing credits include Pretty Fire, Dreamgirls, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Nunsense, Ain’t Misbehavin’ and Godspell. Guest Director and Costume Designer at The University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, Columbia Basin College, Western Washington University, Hampton University, The Ensemble, The Colorado Shakespeare Festival, Penumbra Theatre, Swine Palace, Utah Shakespeare Festival, Play House on the Square, Memphis Black Repertory, Kuntu Repertory and the St. Louis Black Repertory Company.

Stuart Nelson (Lighting Designer) Triad Stage: Syncopation, On Golden Pond, August Snow, A Dickens of a Christmas, Suddenly Last Summer (ALD). New York: Rats, The Indian Wants the Bronx, The Mercy Plays (Center Stage); Birth Story (Barrow Group); The Seagull (Theatre at Lake Lucille); The Substance of Fire (78th St Theater Lab); plus numerous ballets throughout the Northeast. Four years as associate lighting director for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Education: BFA, North Carolina School of the Arts. Grew up in Winston-Salem, NC, spent 6 years in NYC, and now lives in Fraser, CO.

Ryan J. Gastelum (Sound Designer) Triad Stage: Mrs. Warren’s Profession, Beautiful Star, Sleuth, The Diary of Anne Frank (Assistant Sound Designer). Regional/Local: The Tempest, As You Like It, King Lear, Twelfth Night, The Winter’s Tale (Shakespeare Santa Cruz); Cats (The Little Theater of Winston Salem); West Side Story (NC School of the Arts, Assistant Sound Designer). Education: BA, UC Santa Cruz. Other: Sound Intern, The Guthrie Theater.

Reverend George Pass II (Vocal Coach) has appeared in Mahalia, Jubilation Morning and Peace Like a River (Barn Dinner Theatre) and in Crowns and Black Nativity (NC A&T SU). He has recorded with gospel music greats Yolanda Adams, John P. Kee, Larnelle Harris, BeBe and CeCe Winans, as well as the Richmond Symphony, Charlotte Symphony, Winston-Salem Symphony and Greensboro Symphony, among others. Reverend Pass is the spiritual leader of Open Door Church in Greensboro, and can be seen onstage in the upcoming Motown LoveMachine at the Barn Dinner Theatre.

Cindi Rush (Casting Director) New York: Jacques Brel, Six Dance Lessons In Six Weeks, The Thing About Men, Showtune, I Sing, Urinetown, Say Goodnight Gracie. Regional: Triad Stage; Northern Stage Company; Cape Cod Theatre Project; NOHO Arts Center, Actors Theatre of Louisville. Film: Home Movie, The Girl Next Door, Headspace, Funny Valentine, Master Class. Other: Hats (Denver, New Orleans, Chicago). Upcoming Tours: Made for Each Other, The Thief. Casting Society of America Member, Consultant for National Alliance for Musical Theatres, Consultant for NYU Graduate Program for Musical Theatre Writing.

Catherine Hagner (Stage Manager) Triad Stage: 36 productions from The Rainmaker through Doubt. She joined the company after serving as Production Stage Manager for American Stage in St. Petersburg, Florida, for four seasons. Ms. Hagner received a BA in Theatre and English from Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, and completed an apprenticeship in Directing/Dramaturgy at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis.

 

Following From the Mississippi Delta,the 2007-2008 Season concludes with the world premiere of Bloody Blackbeard (June 8 – July 6, 2008). Both feature the bold acting and breathtaking design that have been nationally recognized by The Wall Street Journal and haveearned the theatre accolades including “One of the Best Regional Theatres in America”, New York’s Drama League; “Best Live Theater”, Go Triad/News & Record and The Rhinoceros Times; and “Professional Theater of the Year”, North Carolina Theatre Conference. 

To purchase tickets or for more information, call the Triad Stage Box Office at 336.272.0160 or toll-free at 866.579.TIXX (8499), or visit www.triadstage.org.

###

CALENDAR EDITORS, PLEASE NOTE:

Triad Stage presents
From the Mississippi Delta
by Dr. Endesha Ida Mae Holland
April 27 – May 18, 2008

Performed at the Pyrle Theater
232 South Elm Street
Greensboro, NC 27401

These are the tales of home and of family, of hope and of adversity. These are the memories of a courageous woman in turbulent times. Civil Rights activist and Pulitzer Prize-nominated playwright, Dr. Endesha Ida Mae Holland takes us on the journey through her life. Phelia, a girl born into the depths of poverty in the heart of the segregated South, finds her painful childhood and reckless adolescence transformed as the Civil Rights movement sweeps through the Delta. Three actresses play all the characters – black and white, young and old, men and women – who make this world come alive in an eloquent and impassioned journey filled with story and song.

For tickets:
Phone: (336) 272-0160
Toll-free: (866) 579-TIXX (8499)
Box Office hours: Tuesday – Friday, 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Online: www.triadstage.org
Ticket prices: $10 – $42, depending on performance date and seat location

Group tickets:
Call (336) 274-0067 ext. 218
Email: groupsales@triadstage.org
Ticket discounts: Groups of 10 – 49, 15% off; Groups of 50+, 20% off

Educators’ 50% discount tickets:
Current school teachers and professors receive a 50% discount off regular price tickets to all performances. Must present valid school employee ID or proof of employment to Box Office when picking up tickets. Subject to availability. Some restrictions apply.
Call: (336) 272-0160 or toll-free (866) 579-TIXX (Tue – Fri, 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.)
Ticket prices: $6 – $21, depending on performance date and seat location

$7 Student Rush tickets:
Current students with valid school ID may purchase tickets for $7. Student Rush tickets are only available at the Triad Stage Box Office one hour before each performance. Subject to availability. Some restrictions apply.
Available at the Box Office for walk-up sales. (Performance days: Sunday, Tuesday – Thursday, 6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.; Sunday matinees 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.)

$10 Gallery Seats:
A limited number of $10 general admission gallery seats are available for each performance.
Call: (336) 272-0160 or toll-free (866) 579-TIXX (Tue – Fri, 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.)
Also available at the Box Office for walk-up sales.

 

Performance dates:
Sunday, April 27 7:30 p.m.  1st Preview
Tuesday, April 29 7:30 p.m.  Preview/“Technically Talking” post-show discussion
Wednesday, April 30 7:30 p.m.  Preview
Thursday, May 1 7:30 p.m.  Opening Night with free pre-show lobby party
Friday, May 2 8:00 p.m.  Wine Tasting pre-show event/Poetry Café post-show event
Saturday, May 3 8:00 p.m.
Sunday, May 4 2:00 p.m.  “InSight Series” post-show discussion
Sunday, May 4 7:30 p.m.  Pay-What-You-Can performance
Tuesday, May 6 7:30 p.m.  Pay-What-You-Can performance
Wednesday, May 7 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, May 8 7:30 p.m.  “PostScript” post-show discussion with the cast
Friday, May 9 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, May 10 8:00 p.m.
Sunday, May 11 2:00 p.m.
Sunday, May 11 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, May 13 7:30 p.m.  Sign-interpreted performance
Wednesday, May 14 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, May 15 7:30 p.m.  
Friday, May 16 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, May 17 8:00 p.m.
Sunday, May 18 2:00 p.m.  Closing performance