DOCUMENTARY
WHAT: A documentary film about the rise and fall of the Beacon Blanket Mill in Swannanoa, NC, it’s influence on the people who worked there, and it’s national and global context.
WHO: The community of employees, owners, and beneficiaries of Beacon, including those who were raised in the mill village and those who live there now.
WHERE: East of Asheville North Carolina, Swannanoa is a small town in Buncombe County, and the home of the Beacon Blanket Factory, at one time the largest manufacturer of blankets in the world, which burned down in 2003.
WHEN: The project started in February 2008, and is projected to be completed in 2009.
WHY: The story of the mill is an essential part of North Carolina’s story, and the story of Beacon is the story of the Appalachian experience. From independent subsistence farmer to factory hand, the Mountaineer’s evolution was always based on work, survival, pride, and family. The frame story puts Beacon in the context of the migration of the textile industry from New England to the American South and, with the advent of globalization, overseas.
The community of Swannanoa is poised on the verge of tremendous change. Development has begun on a high-end, gated community on the mountain that overlooks the mill village. The Beacon site is up for sale for millions of dollars. There is interest in revitalizing the old downtown area. But rebuilding the community today requires an understanding and appreciation of the strong community it once was.
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"Camino Real" Virginia Wesleyan College, Norfolk, Virginia
"Straight Plays"
Plays with scripts by other writers
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The Beacon Mill fire, the biggest fire in NC history.
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TYPICAL MAINSTAGE PROJECTS
" A Tempestade," A bilingual production of Shakespeare’s The Tempest with an international cast. Virginia International Waterfront Festival
"Harlequin, Homeless," An original play about Race and Class done in the style of commedia dell’arte. Norfolk, Virginia
"The Liar," Carlo Goldoni’s classic story set in Ollie North’s El Salvador. Norfolk, VA
"Medea's Children," A children’s play about divorce using Euripides’ “Medea” as its basis. Generic Theater, Norfolk, VA.
"Moon Forest," A new telling of an old myth for families. "A beautiful and evocative piece of theater that...will appeal to all ages....Moon Forest, with its inspired use of mask, movement, and melody, is an example of the heights to which children's theater can aspire." Franki Little Hardin, Program Director, Childsplay at the Generic Theater, Norfolk, Virginia
"Animal Tales," Highly theatrical story telling for children. Song of the Sun, A new children’s play utilizing masks, dance, and puppets. Childsplay at the Generic Theater.
"Camino Real," The Portuguese premier of Tennessee Williams’ meditation on alienation and the meaning of home. Lisbon, Portugal, and Norfolk, Virginia.
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Downtown Swannanoa in the Glory Days.
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"The Liar" Generic Theater, Norfolk, Virginia
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Rebecca as the Fool in "King Lear" at Virginian Wesleyan College
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