Synopsis/Playwright Notes
Mr. Eugene Remy, a school teacher, comes up with the brilliant idea to teach during Black History Month. Remy's mother would tell him folk tales when he was a child. Through this method of storytelling, he wanted to share with his class the stories of Br'er Rabbit! He divides his class into groups of three and assigns each group a story to act out and perform. The children's imagination comes to life as Br'er Rabbit and his crew jumps off the page and onto the stage! The show includes the stories "Br'er Rabbit Earns A Dollar A Minute", "Br'er Rabbit Fools Sis Cow", "Br'er Rabbit Falls Down A Well", "Br'er Rabbit and the Tar Baby", "Br'er Fox Catches Old Man Tarrypin", and "Br'er Bear's House".
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In the Spring of 2018, I was challenged to write the a children's play that would be featured in The College of Southern Maryland's Theater 2018/2019 season. The original idea was to just put several of Br'er Rabbit's stories on the stage. But I wanted to create a story around the stories. The idea of making it a classroom project came when I wanted to have a large cast of characters. The students gave their roles their own personalities, which made the storytelling for each story fresh and interesting. I wanted the characters of Br'er Rabbit, Br'er Fox, Br'er Bear, Sis Cow, and Old Man Tarrypin to be people the students knew in their life. Its the twist at the ending. Each story has blocking that fits with the group of students that is presenting the tale. Its like a actual group project, each one will be slightly different and each group will bring something different to the table. My assistant Director, Christian Price, came up with the brilliant idea to have his character MR. REMY be incorporated into all the stories, since the stories are from his childhood memories. Adding this extra piece of detail, we were able to come up with some fun and hilarious blocking for his character that added to the story and to the overall feel of the production.
The production went up February 2019 at The College of Southern Maryland. A sequel was planned for the 2020 season, but life changes halted the process (I got a job in Clarksville, Tennessee) and the sequel has been postponed indefinitely.... or until I just sit down and write it!
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In the Spring of 2018, I was challenged to write the a children's play that would be featured in The College of Southern Maryland's Theater 2018/2019 season. The original idea was to just put several of Br'er Rabbit's stories on the stage. But I wanted to create a story around the stories. The idea of making it a classroom project came when I wanted to have a large cast of characters. The students gave their roles their own personalities, which made the storytelling for each story fresh and interesting. I wanted the characters of Br'er Rabbit, Br'er Fox, Br'er Bear, Sis Cow, and Old Man Tarrypin to be people the students knew in their life. Its the twist at the ending. Each story has blocking that fits with the group of students that is presenting the tale. Its like a actual group project, each one will be slightly different and each group will bring something different to the table. My assistant Director, Christian Price, came up with the brilliant idea to have his character MR. REMY be incorporated into all the stories, since the stories are from his childhood memories. Adding this extra piece of detail, we were able to come up with some fun and hilarious blocking for his character that added to the story and to the overall feel of the production.
The production went up February 2019 at The College of Southern Maryland. A sequel was planned for the 2020 season, but life changes halted the process (I got a job in Clarksville, Tennessee) and the sequel has been postponed indefinitely.... or until I just sit down and write it!
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For More Information Please Contact Me!
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SAMPLE OF THE SCRIPT
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"This was a really fun children’s show – staged to capture a child’s imagination. I loved how Waters sought to inspire children to connect stories, like “The Tails of Br’er Rabbit,” to their personal lives. He added little modern connections to these historical folktales, making them relevant to the younger generation. I was worried by this decision, as I often find that it takes away from the historical context. However, I will say that this choice seemed to connect well with the children in the audience. In all, I think the show is a great success."
- Kaylin Beach of The MD Theatre Guide |
CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL REVIEW
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Opening Night Credits
CAST
The Cast of African American Folktales: The Tails of Br'er Rabbit.
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Br'er Rabbit
Br'er Fox Br'er Bear Sis Cow Old Man Tarrypin Br'er Bullfrog/Br'er Skunk Mr. Eugene Remy Marse Henry Xavier Ursa Isaac Rena |
Evan Simon
Olivia Burgess Levi Shaw Elaina Dixon Kenneth L. Waters, Jr. Barrett Sullivan Christian Price Michaela Stewart Patrick Dolan Demetrius Hunter |
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The Students
Andrew Geier Annie Sullivan Caleb Smith Elizabeth Campbell Emma Ansell Gabriel Klien Josh Michaud Kendall Simms Logan Patton Nathan Belleveau-Butler Sarah Slack Tiarra Johnson |
From Left to Right
Demetrius Hunter, Annie Sullivan, Elaina Dixon, Sarah Slack, Levi Shaw, Logan Patton, Emma Ansell, Barrett Sullivan, Evan Simon, Caleb Smith, Olivia Burgess, Josh Michaud, Elizabeth Campbell, Christian Price, Michaela Stewart, Tiarra Johnson, and Patrick Dolan. Photo Taken By Val Nyce.
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From Left to Right
Evan Simon, Olivia Burgess, Levi Shaw, and Christian Price. Photo Taken by Val Nyce.
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The Production Team
Director - Kenneth L. Waters, Jr. Assistant Director - Christian Price Stage Manager - Gabriel Huffman Assistant Stage Manager - Ceala Pinckney Costume Designer - Shemika Demouchet Berry Set Designer - Erik Braun Sound Designer - Kenneth L. Waters, Jr. Projection Designer - Gayle Howe Light Designer - Erik Braun Board Operator - Dylan Wojciechowski |
THE FULL SHOW
*Please Note, the projections for this performance froze on the first cue! Instead of holding the show
we just went along the performance.
we just went along the performance.
Total Runtime - 60 Minutes
Thank you, Keith Hight for challenging me to write this script.
