Dar He
Chronicles the
Mississippi Murder
in 1955 of Chicago Teenager Emmett Till
Not knowing the cruel customs ofthe Jim Crow South, while visiting his uncle down south, Emmett Till
whistled ata white woman named Carolyn Bryant at a grocery store in Money,
Mississippi.Bryant’s
husband, Roy, and hishalf-brother, J.W. Milam, dragged Till out of
his bed in the middle of the night; brutally beat him; shot him in thehead; and
then dumped his horribly mangled body in the Tallahatchie River,horrifying the
nation, inspiring a biting ballad by Bob Dylan (The
Death of Emmett Till), and providing a spark for the nascent Civil
Rights
Movement in the Deep South.
Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam were
tried and acquitted in 67 minutes by an all-white, all-male jury, but
later
confessed to the murder during a paid interview with Look
Magazine. Both
men are now dead, and recent efforts to reopen the case and prove that
Bryant
and Milam had help in murdering Till and disposing of his body have yet
to
generate any indictments.
Apex actress/director Serena
Ebhardt recalls, "Mike Wiley brought this play to me in December of
2005. He
had written it to perform himself. Mike asked me if I would consider
directing
it. We had collaborated on a production before, and we work very well
together."
Ebhardt says, "Actor Mike Wiley
plays all the characters as we experience the lead-up [to the murder],
different
versions of the event from witnesses and the accused, the trial, and
the
aftermath. The play presents the historical facts of the event as well
as
exploring the unsolved mysteries of the case that remain to this day.
She adds, "The play is a
challenge. It's a challenge to perform, a challenge to direct, and a
challenge
to audiences. Mike has written a cinematic piece that seems as if it
would only
be doable in the medium of film. We had to work together to discover
how to
stage this story with a single actor, to represent many different
voices and
locations, while keeping everything clear for the audience. I also like
all the
potential morals of the story. I wanted to direct the play primarily
because I
admire Mike Wiley-- his work ethic, his mission, his talent, and his
attitude.
He is a dream to direct. He's an invested actor who does his homework.
I knew
that we would inspire each other to discovery."
Ebhardt says, "Dar He
premiered in February 2006 in a single performance booked at Virginia
State
University in Petersburg, Virginia. The show was created to be part of
Mike
Wiley Productions repertoire. Mike has several other one-man
performances that
he tours throughout the United States. After mutual investment in the
production, Mike invited EbzB Productions (my production company) to
share
co-producer credit and continue to help develop and promote the show.
We were
honored!"
In addition to director Serena
Ebhardt, the show's production team includes multimedia designer Ben
Davis and
stage manager Ramona Traynor.
"We had to work very hard on
specific movement, transitions, and creating spaces on an empty stage"
recalls
Ebhardt, "In addition to tackling the cinematic quality of the script
in a
theatrical medium, the next biggest challenge was to create a show that
can tour
easily. This production will continue to be booked in different venues
across
the country. We even have a revised student version of the show that
can be
taken into schools to enhance civil rights studies.
"As we created the show,"
Ebhardt explains, "we kept in mind that every aspect of the set needed
to be
portable. We have solid production values, but they are minimalist and
fit
neatly into Mike's SUV. Additionally, Mike and I put the burden of
proof on
the actor. The success of this play does not depend on production
values at all.
It depends solely on Mike Wiley's performance ability."
Ebhardt says, the show's set is minimalist," with a [Microsoft]
Power Point
presentation on
screen, a single office chair, and a reel-to-reel recorder"; the
lighting is general lighting"; and the costumes are sepia toned."
"Dar He: The Lynching of
Emmett Till has a message that is important to revisit," claims
Serena
Ebhardt. In a time when race relations and hate crimes still occur,
this
play-- about an event that happened 50 years ago-- gives us some
distance and a
safe environment to think about and discuss issues that still confront
us today.
Additionally, the Emmett Till case was reopened by the FBI in 2004,
Till's
body was exhumed from the grave in 2005 to acquire DNA evidence.
Recently, the
FBI handed the case over to the D.A. in Mississippi to decide if the
surviving
remaining suspects in the case should be brought to trial. The result
of the
D.A.'s decision is pending this very day."
EbzB Productions and Mike Wiley
Productions present Dar He:
The Lynching of Emmett Till Thursday-Saturday,
June 8-10, 15-17, and 22-24, at 8 p.m. and Sunday, June 11, 18, and 25
at 3 p.m.
at the Deep Dish Theater in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. $15
($10 students and $13 seniors). 919/968-1515.
