TOURING PERFORMANCES

Breach of Peace

On May 24,1961, 19-year-old Jean Thompson boarded a Trailways bus in Montgomery, AL with 11 other young Freedom Riders bound for New Orleans – and history. Within three months, approximately 300 other riders took up the mantle to desegregate busses, following the path of the first brave few. Mobs bloodily assaulted many. Others were arrested. Wiley’s drama Breach of Peace is based on true accounts of surviving participants of the Freedom Riders and others involved in the early struggle for African-American equality. This solo play is a living monument to those remarkable men and women of various races, religions and backgrounds who rose to face dangers of fighting for just and equal treatment for all.

Notes:
• Touring production currently available, featuring Mike Wiley
• Independent production rights not currently offered
• 50-minute student version available (Student version recommended for grade 3+.)
• 105-120 minute full-length public version available
• Study guide provided
• Post-performance audience talkback included
• May be included as component of extended residency

| Fee Schedule |

Tired Souls:

The Montgomery Bus Boycott

December 1, 1955 in Montgomery, AL: Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat to a white man on a city bus. this action inspires the black citizens of Montgomery to abandon all travel on city busses until they are no longer forced to stand when a white person boards. There were more who came before, brave visionaries who laid the groundwork for this pivotal moment. Tired Souls introduces audiences to fellow heroes and heroines including Jo Ann Robinson, Claudette Colvin and others instrumental in the Civil Rights Movement who changed the course of U.S. history.

Notes:
• Touring production currently available, featuring Mike Wiley
• Independent production rights not currently offered
• 50-minute student version available (Student version recommended for grade 3+.)
• 105-120 minute full-length public version available
• Study guide provided
• Post-performance audience talkback included
• May be included as component of extended residency

| Fee Schedule |

Brown VS. Board of Education:

Over Sixty Years Later

In 1952, the Supreme Court heard a number of school-segregation cases, including Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas. It ruled unanimously in 1954 that segregation’s unconstitutional, overthrowing Plessy vs. Ferguson. (1896) that had set the “separate but equal” precedent. this play recounts the effects of the decision on the families who participated inhale original court case, the impact of the ruling on school systems at the time and the challenges still being made today.

Notes:
• Touring production currently available, featuring Mike Wiley
• Independent production rights not currently offered
• 50-minute student version available (Student version recommended for grade 5+.)
• 105-120 minute full-length public version available
• Study guide provided
• Post-performance audience talkback included
• May be included as component of extended residency

| Fee Schedule |

Jackie Robinson: A Game Apart

Glimpse into the baseball legend’s life during a bygone era of separate and unequal locker rooms, whites-only hotels and restaurant back doors. Witness the humiliation of a star player showered with adulation on the field —but a second-hand citizen outside the stadium. Meet compatriots fighting the same battles between end zones, inside the ring, around the track. Jackie Robinson: A Game Apart is a powerful lesson in courage through dedication, perseverance and leadership.

Notes:
• Touring production currently available, featuring Mike Wiley
• Independent production rights not currently offered
• 50-minute student version available (Student version recommended for grade 3+.)
• 105-120 minute full-length public version available
• Study guide provided
• Post-performance audience talkback included
• May be included as component of extended residency

| Fee Schedule |

One Noble Journey:

A Box Marked Freedom

A true story of three slaves who overcome seemingly insurmountable odds to gain a life of freedom. Wiley becomes Henry “Box” Brown, a black slave who sees no alternative but to mail himself to freedom in a small crate. Brown’s life unfolds like a Mark Twain adventure, perilous and somber at times while humorous and heroic throughout. Audience members join Wiley on stage, quickly becoming characters helping propel the historic action.

Notes:
• Touring production currently available, featuring Mike Wiley
• Independent production rights not currently offered
• 50-minute student version available (Student version recommended for grade 3+.)
• 105-120 minute full-length public version available
• Study guide provided
• Post-performance audience talkback included
• May be included as component of extended residency

| Fee Schedule |

The Fire Of Freedom

Abraham H. Galloway (1837-1870) was a fiery young slave rebel, radical abolitionist and Union spy who rose out of bondage to become one of the most significant and stirring black leaders in the south during the Civil War. Risking his life behind enemy lines, he recruited black soldiers for the North and fought racism in the Union army’s ranks. He also stood at the forefront of an African American political movement and led a historic delegation of black southerners to the White House to meet with President Lincoln and demand full rights of citizenship. He later became one of the first black men elected to the North Carolina legislature. Long hidden from history, Galloway’s story reveals a war unfamiliar to most of us. this riveting portrait, adapted by playwright Howard Craft, illuminates Galloway’s life and deepens our insight into the Civil War and Reconstruction as experienced by African Americans in the south.

Notes:
• Touring production currently available, featuring Mike Wiley
• Independent production rights not currently offered
• 50-minute student version available (Student version recommended for grade 7+.)
• 105-120 minute full-length public version available
• Study guide provided
• Post-performance audience talkback included
• May be included as component of extended residency

| Fee Schedule |

Dar He:

The Story of Emmett Till

In 1955, a 14-year-old black Chicago youth traveled to the Mississippi Delta with country kinfolk and southern cooking on his mind. He walked off the train and stepped into a world he could never understand — a world of thick color lines, of hard-held class systems and unspeakable taboos. Young Emmett crossed that line and met his gruesome fate by whistling at a white woman. this riveting play chronicles the murder, trial and unbelievable confession of the men accused of Emmett Till’s lynching.

Notes:
• Touring production currently available, featuring Mike Wiley
• Independent production rights not currently offered
• 50-minute student version available (Student version recommended for grade 7+.)
• 105-120 minute full-length public version available
• Study guide provided
• Post-performance audience talkback included
• May be included as component of extended residency

| Fee Schedule |

Blood Done Sign My Name

In the spring of 1970, Henry “Dickie” Marrow, a 23-year-old U.S. Army veteran whose wife was pregnant with their third daughter, was beaten and shot to death by three with menthe were later acquitted of the crime by an all-white jury, despite testimony by two black eyewitnesses and one of the three accused confessing to shooting the gun. This hot-headed hate crime launched the small town of Oxford, NC into a season of violent reprisals. Based on Tim Tyson’s award winning memoir, Wiley’s compelling dramatization of the true-life account of the racial murder in Blood Done Sign My Name feels frighteningly familiar and all too current.

Notes:
• Touring production currently available, featuring Mike Wiley
• Independent production rights not currently offered
• 50-minute student version available (Student version recommended for grade 7+.)
• 105-120 minute full-length public version available
• Study guide provided
• Post-performance audience talkback included
• May be included as component of extended residency

| Fee Schedule |

We Could Be Heroes

Mike Wiley’s call to action, education & the arts

A motivational commentary by actor/playwright Mike Wiley that speaks to his experiences and influences as a boy growing up in Virginia, a young man finding his inner voice, and his journey to becoming a professional touring artist in America. It is a statement of gratitude to those who incite greatness, and a call to action to those who inspire to… It’s a personal sharing about a long-planted seed. Originally written for Arts North Carolina as a message to arts advocates and legislators, the speech has been presented as a commencement address, and at education and arts conferences. The address runs approximately 25 minutes in length, and may be followed by audience Q&A if desired.

Notes:
• Touring production currently available, featuring Mike Wiley
• Independent production rights not currently offered
• 25-minute student version available
• Study guide provided
• Post-performance audience talkback included
• May be included as component of extended residency

| Fee Schedule |