Press Release Contact: Sommer Schoch, [email protected] or (859) 322-2739
AND THE TIDE TO EXPLORE OUR PAST
Flashback Theater Co. (FbTC) reminds the Lake Cumberland regional community of its past this August with the upcoming production of And the Tide Shall Cover the Earth by Norma Cole. Set in 1948, the play gives insight to the struggle of a family who have to leave before the “final tide” creates Lake Cumberland and covers their property.
The play has been produced in the area by Somerset Community College and Barn Lot Theater. FbTC’s Producing Artistic Director, Sommer Schoch, believes it keeps getting produced because it is so relevant and felt it was a perfect fit with Flashback’s mission statement to “Explore the world, our past, and theater.”
FbTC’s production of Tide is unique because it is not being staged in the traditional proscenium set up. Produced blackbox style in adjoining ballrooms at the Center for Rural Development, audience members will be seated on opposite sides of the stage space, giving them a new experience of inclusion.
Director Sommer Schoch believes the new staging will refresh the community’s perception of the piece, since many people have seen it before. “This isn’t a lights up, lights down staging. It will really flow from one scene to the next and that really emphasizes the fact that this story is told from the perspective of the granddaughter, Geneva.”
This staging concept creates several challenges for the artistic team. Stage Manager Erin Hughes comments “Being a stage manager for a black box show is definitely different. Many of the main aspects of theater that I have known for years has changed. It’s worth adapting to though, because the intimate experience between actor and audience is captivating.” Actor Amber Frangos (Granny) adds, “The audience will gain their perspective by angles instead of face on. I think it makes the story more nostalgic and the audience experience richer, deeper.”
And Amanda Balltrip (Mattie) points out the challenges the actors face. “The unique stage set-up challenges us to perform with our entire bodies. To really engage our audience we have to be keenly aware of our physical presence in 360 degrees. It’s a great setup for the story because it adds a sense of urgency, as if the audience were the rising water surrounding us.”
Balltrip, who plays the mother in the production, reflects how exploration of our past plays into her role as an actor. “Though I’m not from the Lake Cumberland area originally, I feel a strong connection to the characters. Tide is written in a beautiful, traditional Appalachian dialect that beckons me to use my voice in a way that is rooted in my personal heritage. For me, its an artistic opportunity to explore that heritage.”
Exploration of the play will go even further on the first Sunday afternoon in the run (August 9), with a talkback planned after the show to give the audience a chance to share their own experiences and memories about when the dam was built and how the lake has affected our community since.
Talkbacks are informal question and answer sessions held immediately following a show. For this talkback, the focus will be on the very real effects the dam had on the families who lived in the river basin. People interested in the topic, especially those who have family members that were a part of the construction or displacement, are encouraged to join the discussion panel and should contact Sommer Schoch at (859) 322-2739.
FbTC is thankful for the financial support of funders and would like to recognize 2015-16 Season Sponsors: ABA, LLC and Lee’s Ford Marina for their support of FbTC’s production of theater that speaks to the soul, and the Cornelia Dozier Cooper Endowment fund for a grant given to support And the Tide Shall Cover the Earth specifically.
AND THE TIDE SHALL COVER THE EARTH
by Norma Cole
August 7 – 16, 2015 (Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30, Sundays at 2:00)
The conclusion of FbTC’s inaugural season is Norma Cole’s unforgettably warm and true story of a remarkable grandmother and her granddaughter confronted by inexorable nature and change. The setting is within in the world of the lakes and dams of the Tennessee Valley Authority. The hydroelectric dam at Wolf Creek is finished and closed, and heavy rains lift the levels of the new lake. Soon water will cover the lands and farms long-since purchased, and people must move to new towns. Granny is determined to keep her promise to her man in the graveyard. Her granddaughter, Geneva, is just as certain they will leave. The two are locked in a contest of “the stubborns.”
ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT
Norma Cole is best known for her play And the Tide Shall Cover the Earth based on her novel, Final Tide. Born in South Dakota in 1925, she moved to Michigan and taught school for many years while she raised a family. Once her children were grown, Cole decided to run away from home to pursue her lifelong dream of writing a novel and having it published. She settled in Kentucky, moving a log cabin from its original site in the Ohio River Valley to a wooded and solitary mountain outside of Monticello where she lived and worked for many years. Cole accomplished her goal, finishing and, after a great deal of work, publishing Final Tide not too many years after moving. Not content with one novel, she went on to write other books and plays before she passed away in July 1999.
HOW TO PURCHASE TICKETS
Tickets for the 2015 fall shows can now be purchased online by going to: https://www.artful.ly/fbtc. Reservations may also be made in person at Carnegie Community Arts Center or by phone at (859) 322-2739. You may download and send in your ticket form with payment by check made payable to Flashback Theater Co. by going online to www.flashbacktheater.co and clicking “Shows & Events”.
Tickets not paid for in advance will be held at will call. Tickets held at will call will be released 10 minutes prior to curtain if not picked up. Exchanges may be made anytime prior to the date of the original ticket with no fee by calling (859) 322-2739.