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‘Down in Mississippi’ examines the real-life incidents of 1964

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Staff Report 7:07 PM Monday, September 28, 2009

“Down in Mississippi: A Gospel Play with Music ” explores the real-life events of Freedom Summer 1964, when more than 1,000 volunteers gathered for training in Oxford, at Western College for Women (now a part of Miami University) before traveling to Mississippi to register African-American voters and organize freedom schools.

This new play delves into the heart of the Civil Rights Movement as three college students journey to the dangerous world of Mississippi in 1964. Through their struggles, the volunteers learn they have to change themselves in order to change the world.

Performances are at 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, Oct. 1-3, and Oct. 8-10 and at 3 p.m. Oct. 4. Tickets are available at Miami’s box office at Shriver Center by calling (513) 529-3200 or going online at www.tickets.muohio.edu. Group discounts and curricular discounts are available. Tickets are $7 for students/youth, $13 for senior citizens and $14 for adults.

Miami’s department of theatre and the Center for American and World Cultures commissioned the play from nationally recognized playwright Carlyle Brown, a writer/performer and artistic director of Carlyle Brown and Company in Minneapolis.

Presented by the department of theatre and the Performing Arts Series, this world premiere production features freedom songs with musical direction by Tammy L. Kernodle, associate professor of music at Miami. The cast includes Miami students, Oxford community members and professional actors.

Audience members are encouraged to come 30 minutes beforehand to explore the Civil Rights Movement in an interactive preshow exhibit created by Miami students. Attendees can register to vote, sing a freedom song and learn about local history and the 1964 movement.

The play is a part of Miami University’s “Finding Freedom Summer in Oxford, Ohio” project, an ongoing interdisciplinary program that recently won funding and support from the National Endowment for the Humanities for interpreting the site of Western College campus with future programs about this history.

“Our connection to the site of Western College helps us create a living memorial to the Mississippi Summer Project, allowing us to walk in the shoes of those from 1964,” said Ann Elizabeth Armstrong, director of “Down in Mississippi.”

“By continuing different kinds of cultural events, we hope to bring this history to life and speak effectively to a wide community,” said Armstrong.

Other Freedom Summer programs include:

The Freedom Summer National Conference and Reunion: Oct. 9-11, which will feature participants who formerly served as Freedom Summer activists, area residents, Miami and local high school students and educators from other universities.

Walk with Me: Freedom Summer Interactive History Tour: through Oct. 31, a 45-minute tour on the Western College campus drawing upon the oral histories, letters and diaries of 1964 Freedom Summer student activists. Schedule a tour by contacting Karen Gotter at (513) 529- 5819 or freedomsummerwalk@muohio.edu. Drop-in tours (no reservation required) will take place at 12:30 p.m. Tuesdays and at 3 p.m. Fridays through Oct. 16. Tours are free.

Finding Freedom Summer: A Retrospective”: Oct. 1-31, exhibition of images and materials from the Mississippi Freedom Summer Collection on Miami’s Oxford campus at the Western College Memorial Archives.

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