The Neighborhood Play Program is a community play-making program that will explore the stories of a neighborhood and collaboratively create a play with and about the community. The Orpheum Theatre Group (OTG) will facilitate a series of free interactive story-based workshops between neighborhood residents and artists, create a fictional play inspired by the stories, and invite community members to audition and participate in the production alongside professional OTG teaching artists. The program culminates in a free public performance.
Upcoming Events
FREE COMMUNITY ARTS EVENTS
Hey, Binghampton! Join us for two free community events to hear excerpts from the play in-progress, enjoy food, and build community together. All ages welcome.
Saturday May 4 | 12:00-1:30pm
The Commons on Merton
258 North Merton
Saturday May 4 | 3:00-4:30pm
Inspire Cafe
510 Tillman Street
Program Timeline
October-December 2023 - Story Circle Events with Community Partners
January 2024 - Interactive Theatre Workshops with Community Partners
Spring 2024 - Readings of the Play for Community Feedback
Fall 2024 - Rehearse and Perform the Play in Binghampton
Meet the Playwright
Ann Perry Wallace is the 2023 winner of the Ostrander Award for Outstanding Original Script for her play Live Rich Die Poor, based on the life of Zora Neale Hurston the famed folklorist, anthropologist and Harlem Renaissance writer.
Ann is an actor and writer from Memphis, Tennessee. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Theatre from UT Chattanooga and worked in theatre in Chicago for 15 years. She is a writer of fiction, plays, children’s stories and has just started the torture of writing her first screenplay. She is currently gearing up to tour Live Rich Die Poor, where she plays 18 characters. Besides her own one woman show, Ann was last seen on a Memphis Stage in Tennessee Shakespeare’s To Kill A Mockingbird, also playing multiple roles in Tennessee Shakespeare’s Educational Tour of Romeo and Juliet. She is also a 14 year practitioner, both actor and conductor, of Playback Theatre, founded by drama therapist Jonathon Fox. Ann can also be seen in the independent films 100 Lives, The Romance of Loneliness and The Department of Signs and Magical Intervention. Ann is truly invigorated to work with the Orpheum on the Neighborhood Play Program and once again let her artistic imagination come alive.
Share Your Story and Get Involved
If you are an individual or organization that would like to collaborate on the project by sharing your story or connecting with us, please contact Taylor St. John, Director of Education and Engagement at stjohn@orpheum-memphis.com or (901) 529-4282.
Meet Our Partners
In 2023-2024, we are excited to be partnering with the Binghampton neighborhood to create a Binghampton play made in collaboration with the following partner organizations: Refugee Empowerment Program, Carpenter Art Garden, First Baptist Broad Church, Brewster Elementary, Inspire Community Café, Collage Dance Collective, Cornerstone Lester Prep, Binghampton Development Corporation, Lester Community Center, Compass Community Schools Binghampton and more.
The Neighborhood Play Program is made possible by:
