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Critically acclaimed “Millworker” to
visit Charlotte metro area
 Mt.
Holly, NC –The critically acclaimed production, “Millworker” that
chronicles the lives of southern mill workers during
the Great Depression comes to the Charlotte area for
performances
Sunday, April 25, in the Mount Holly Mill at 2:00 and
7:00 p.m. and Sunday, May 2, in Byron Hall at the Design
Center
of the Carolinas at 3:00 p.m.
Named by the Raleigh News and Observer as one of the ten best theatre events
in the triangle area during 2003, “Millworker” is a production of
Central Carolina Community College (CCCC). The play was revived due to
popular demand and just completed three sold out performances in Pittsboro at
the Chatham Mills building. The tour was prompted after inquiries from historical
societies across the state.
News and Observer Reporter Orla Swift called the performance, “a theatrical
documentary that pierced hearts one minute and drew laughs the next.”
The play was written and is directed by CCCC Instructor Ellen Bland with help
from former student Drew Lasater. Experiences of mill workers are related
through the setting of an old time radio show.
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| The cast of “Millworker” during a recent show in
Pittsboro. The Central Carolina Community College production chronicles
the lives of depression-era mill workers in the rural south. |
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| Central Carolina Community College (CCCC) students Heather Henderson,
Karmesia Richardson and Charity Sommersette reflect on mill life during
a scene in “Millworker.” |
Bland was inspired to write “Millworker” after reading “Like
a Family: The Making of a Southern Cotton Mill World” by Jacquelyn Dowd
Hall, et. al. The book contains narratives compiled during a southern oral
history project at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Originally a class project for Bland’s readers’ theatre class, “Millworker” quickly
grew into a community theatre event. She assigned “Like a Family” as
a reading assignment and allowed the students to choose the narratives they’d
like to relate before weaving a framework around the stories.
“
I identified with some characters more than others. I eventually chose
to portray Mozelle Graham, who spent her childhood growing up in the mill village,” explains
Lawren Moore. “Reading about her experiences and how little she had
made me thankful for my childhood.”
Under the direction of Alice Zincone, musicians perform original and famous songs
that reflect life during the depression as part of the radio program. The
musical numbers give levity to some of the narratives. One of the songs, “Mill
Mother’s Lament,” was written by Gastonia Union Leader Ella May Wiggins
while “Cotton Mill Colic” was written by Gaston County native Dave
McCarn during the 1930’s.
In many ways, “Millworker” is as much a living history lesson as
it is theatre. In addition to relating the workers’ experiences,
the play teaches about mill culture. It documents how the mill owned everything
in the lives of mill workers from homes and schools to stores and even the local
church.
“As we were shaping the narratives, we were careful to include all aspects
of mill life,” says Heather Henderson, who plays Ila Burlington, a wife
who becomes frustrated with the rigors of mill life. “We didn’t
want to focus on just the hard times. We wanted to give the complete story of
their lives.”
Performances are scheduled at the Mount Holly Mill, 250 North Main Street, Mount
Holly, on Sunday, April 25, 2004 at 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. Both performances
are free, but ticket reservations are required.
Another performance is scheduled for Byron Hall at the Design Center of the Carolinas,
101 W. Worthington Ave., Charlotte, on Sunday, May 2, 2004, at 3:00 p.m. Tickets
for this performance are $10 with all proceeds benefiting the Pillowtex Carolina
Cares Fund.
For more information and ticket information for the Mount Holly performances
call (704) 827-7248. For information and ticket information for the Charlotte
performance, call (704) 333-1887.
Media Contact:
Andrew Sawyer
Central Carolina Community College
(919) 718-7265
asawyer@cccc.edu
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