Download 2016 jewell mainstage play guide

2016 JEWELL MAINSTAGE
PLAY GUIDE
WELCOME
Welcome to Cotton Patch Gospel — the first revival in our 2016 40th Anniversary Jewell Mainstage
Season! This bluegrass gem was last seen at TTC in 2001, and before that, in 1994. We have a long
-standing history with this piece and its creator, Tom Key. You can read more about our relationship
with Key in the Cotton Patch Gospel program.
As we reflect on the past 40 years (and look forward to the next 40!) we’re extremely grateful for
the themes of family, hope, forgiveness and joy that can be found in our productions. And Cotton
Patch Gospel is no exception.
Perhaps one of the most important themes in this piece is “treat others the way that you want
to be treated.” Look for this theme, and the other themes of family, hope, forgiveness and joy in
the play guide and the show.
Isaiah Custer
Communications & Group Sales Manager
P.S. We would love to hear from you! Tag us on any of the social media platforms listed below.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
JEWELL MAINSTAGE
204 N 85th St
Seattle, WA 98103
THE ORIGIN
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ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICES
212 N 85th St
Seattle, WA 98103
206.781.9707 Box Office
206.781.9708 Group Sales
206.781.9705 Administrative Office
WWW.TAPROOTTHEATRE.ORG
A Play Guide published by
Taproot Theatre Company
RESEARCHER: Sonja Lowe
EDITOR: Isaiah Custer
PRODUCTION PHOTOS: John Ulman & Erik
Stuhaug
Clarence Jordan & the “Cotton Patch
Gospels”
THE PLAY
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Setting/Place - Cotton Patch Vernacular
Setting/Place - Jesus’ Georgia
Setting/Place - Koinonia Farms
Setting/Place - Costumes
Setting/Place - The Set
CULTURAL CONTEXT
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Cotton Patch Gospel: The Music
TED Talks
TED Talk Examples
QUESTIONS
All rights reserved. With the exception of classroom use by
13
teachers and individual personal use, no part of this Play Guide
may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or
mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by an
TAPROOT THEATRE COMPANY
information storage and retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publishers. Some materials published herein are
written especially for our Guide. Others are reprinted by
permission of their publishers.
Play Guides are produced by the Marketing Department at
Taproot Theatre Company.
Inquiries about reproducing materials may be directed to the
member of the Marketing Department listed as the editor for
that Play Guide.
This play guide may be updated periodically with
new information. Last update 3.30.2016
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Post-Show Reflection Questions
About Us
What’s Next
THE ORIGIN
Clarence Jordan & the
“Cotton Patch Gospels”
Clarence Jordan (July 29, 1912 – October 29, 1969), a farmer and New Testament Greek scholar, was the founder of Koinonia Farm, a small but influential religious community in southwest Georgia. He is also the author of the “Cotton
Patch” paraphrase of the New Testament. (The Cotton Patch Version of Matthew
and John, The Cotton Patch Version of Luke and Acts, The Cotton Patch Version of
Paul’s Epistles and The Cotton Patch Version of Hebrews and the General Epistles.)
The aim of the Cotton Patch works was to give the modern reader the same sense
of participation the early Christians would have had, to make the Good News feel
like fast breaking news. Clarence started preaching in the southern vernacular with
the hope of making the Gospels more relevant to his listeners. He found that this
was met with great enthusiasm.
The sometimes antiquated language of English translations of the Bible can be difficult to understand and can leave the reader feeling greatly distanced from the action. The Cotton Patch Sermons (and later the translations) sought to bring the Bible
into not only the 20th Century but directly into the lives of the common people. Clarence held a degree in New Testament Greek and he translated all his sermons and
writings directly from the Greek. He sought to preserve and express not just the
words but the events and ideas of the original writings.
For Jordan translating the context of the text was just as important. He explained
the dangers of mere word for word translation using the example of someone two
thousand years in the future reading “We had hot dogs and coke for lunch…then sat
around shooting the bull until midnight” but only translating the words and coming up
with “We had steaming canines (possibly a small variety such as the Chihuahua and
processed coal (the coke was probably not eaten but used to heat the dogs)…
followed by passively engaging until midnight in the brutish sport of bull-shooting)”
The translated words aren’t wrong, but the what was actually being said has been
lost.
Jordan admits in the preface to his gospel translations that his attempt to
capture cultural relevance led him to take some liberties with the original Biblical text. For example, there is no real translation of “crucifixion” in modern day English so he chose “lynching” as it conveys the brutal nature of Jesus’ death.
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THE PLAY
SETTING/PLACE
CLARENCE JORDAN’S COTTON PATCH VERNACULAR
From the script of Cotton Patch Gospel
“The person who started all this commotion in Gainesville was actually a young woman from Clayton. Her
name was Mary Hagler. While Mary was engaged to Joe Davidson, and before they had sexual relations, she became pregnant. Joe was upset by this because he thought Mary was a nice church-going lady from a nice churchgoing family.
After all, her father was the deacon at First Baptist
Church in Opp, Alabama and that’s where most of
her people came from before they moved to Clayton.
And her mother cooked meals for Wednesday Night
Prayer Meetings and the bedridden in the church as
well as taught elementary Sunday School for twentytwo years, producing from her classes four young
people who went to the mission field, and one young
person who made it to the national finals of the Bible
Sword Drill Competition. Mary’s mother’s parents
were Onnie May and Irby Lee Dawson, the fifth generation of a big family lumbering business near Pineapple, Mississippi.
They were the fifth, because Onnie May Dawson’s
parents were Leona and Mack Spivey, and Mack’s
daddy was Horace Tate who married Loquetta
Slaughter, and Horace’s daddy was Rutherford Tate
who married Mazzie Burgess, and Rutherford’s
daddy was Dewitt who married Yvonne McMillan,
and that’s four generations—see?
To verify this, I refer you to the Arendall family Bible
which states that the daughter and son-in-law of
Tommy Lee and Ida Lyles Munford was Yvonne and
Dewitt!
Mrs. Munford was the twenty-ninth child of an Episcopalian family out of Virginia. Her brothers’ and sisters’ names were Oscar, Virgil, Allie May, Dute, Geneva, Alton, Dauphin, Samford, Lula, Sarah Elizabeth, Gilmer Wayne, Beverly Sue, Ottie, Lenny, John
D., Mawdell, Theodore, Baxter, Luther, Julian,
Homer, Sylvanus, Bird, Pearl, Mearle, Earl, Myrtle,
and the baby, Bubba.
Randy Scholz as Matthew in Cotton Patch Gospel at Taproot Theatre Company. Photo by Erik Stuhaug.
So, Joe was wondering how he would get his football jacket back from Mary, when he fell into a deep sleep. While he was dreaming he saw an angel…”
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THE PLAY
SETTING/PLACE
JESUS’ GEORGIA
Jordan translated the ancient cities into their modern Georgian equivalents. For example, the small town of Gainesville = Nazareth, Georgia’s capital city of Atlanta = Jerusalem, and Washington D.C. = Rome.
Gainesville = Bethlehem | Atlanta = Jerusalem | Valdosta = Nazareth | Mexico = Egypt |
Chattanooga = River Jordan | Ogeechee = Sea of Galilee | Unadilla = Mount where Jesus
gathered the 12 apostles | Capernaum = Savannah Leesburg* = Golgotha/Calvary
*Based on Bible to script translation more than geographical likelihood
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THE PLAY
SETTING/PLACE
CLARENCE JORDAN AND KOINONIA FARMS
Clarence Jordan heartily believed in the Sermon on the Mount as the primary example of how to live the Christian life. Many of his sermons and writings were based on or heavily influenced by the scripture. He found a kindred
spirit in Martin England who also believed in living according to the Sermon on the Mount as well and also, like Jordan,
had a deep concern about the failings and consequences of the Great Depression. Together they founded Koinonia
Farm in 1941. This “demonstration plot for the kingdom of God” was, and still is, a community of believers, sharing
their lives and resources and living in according to the example of the first Christian communities. And, of course, by
the guidelines of the Sermon on Mount.
Although Clarence had a degree in agriculture, he and Martin had no prior farming experience and adopted the strategy of “watch what the neighbors do, then do it too”. So when the neighbors planted, they planted, and when the
neighbors harvested, they harvested. After awhile they had successful crops, a high yielding orchard, an egg co-op
and a cow library where families could “check” out a cow for milking.
The community was not met with warmth from their neighbors. Their all accepting and all sharing community unsettled those around them and chaffed against the environment perpetuated by the Ku Klux Klan. Before long, things like
hiring and eating with black neighbors and a policy of pacifism leading to giving sanctuary to several conscientious
WWII objectors would be met with acts of terrorism, including sugared gas tanks, major crop damage, boycotting both
buying from and selling to the farm, dynamite hitting the road side stands, and gunfire. The local government did nothing to assist them and in fact often worked against including suspecting Koinonia of communism and arresting a member who had been attacked for ”beating himself up to get attention”. They were also banned from their local church for
“disrupting Rehoboth’s spiritual unity and creating disturbances during services” after a student from India attended
service with them.
Through it all the community stood firm. Clarence was quoted saying “We have too many enemies to leave them. The
redemptive love of God must somehow break through. If it costs us our lives, if we must be hung on a cross to redeem
our brothers and sisters in the flesh, so let it be. It will be well worth it. To move away would be to deny the redemptive
processes of God”. This is the policy that attracted attorney and businessman Millard Fuller, who came to visit for a
day and stayed for two months. He and Clarence would start the Fund for Humanity to provide a way for low-income
families to purchase land and build homes. This fund eventually became Habitat for Humanity and helps hundreds of
people world-wide every year. Their operating headquarters is still in Americus, GA.
In October of 1969 Clarence Jordan was in the shed where he always did his writing. He was working on The Cotton
Patch Version of Matthew and John and had successfully translated through John 8:54. Unfortunately, that is where
the book would end. Clarence suffered from a sudden heart attack and died at age 57. His wife had to drive his body
into town in the farm station wagon, as the coroner refused to come to the farm.
Have you helped someone else directly or participated in an aide effort? What was that experience
like?
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THE PLAY
CHARACTERS/COSTUMES
Authors of novels or short stories will often include character descriptions as part of the story. In a play, the costume designer is responsible for creating the first impression of a character. As soon as an actor walks out on
stage you can guess something about their character. Are they old or young? Are they rich or poor? Are they from
another time period or dressed in modern clothes?
Randy Scholz…….….…….Matthew
Theresa Holmes….…...…….Guitar
Benjamin Hunter….…….…..Fiddle
Edd Key…...Banjo/Guitar/Mandolin
Sam Vance……..…….…………..Bass
Costume
designs by
Mark Lund.
Theresa Holmes, Sam Vance, Randy Scholz, Brandon Vance & Edd Key in Cotton
Patch Gospel at Taproot Theatre Company. Photo by Erik Stuhaug.
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THE PLAY
SETTING/PLACE
In a novel or a short story the setting is usually established by the author’s description indicating time and place. At most
theatrical productions the program will briefly list the setting and time period of the play, but after that it’s up to the set designer
to create a visual representation of the location that the story is set. A good set designer will create a set that gives the audience
clues about the story even before the actors come on stage.
What can you guess about the setting (location and/or time period) of this play by
looking at the set design below?
Set design by
Mark Lund.
Theresa Holmes, Sam Vance, Randy Scholz & Brandon
Vance in Cotton Patch Gospel. Photo by Erik Stuhaug.
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CULTURAL CONTEXT
COTTON PATCH GOSPEL THE MUSICAL
THE MUSIC
The musical, Cotton Patch Gospel was created by the combined talents of actor/playwright Tom Key, director/
playwright Russell Treyz and musician Harry Chapin. Tom Key and Russell Treyz were both prominent figures in the
regional theatre scene of the South, specifically Georgia and Alabama, although both had had success (Key in acting,
Treyz in directing) in New York as well. Harry Chapin had gained national recognition with his hit songs “Taxi”, “Cat’s
in the Cradle” and “I Wanna To Learn A Love Song”. In addition to these hits he wrote and starred on Broadway in his
musical The Night That Made America Famous.
Tom Key was looking for a way to create a play that would bring the story of Jesus into 20th century America. Russell
Treyz introduced him to Clarence Jordan’s Cotton Patch works and together they built upon The Cotton Patch Version
of Matthew and John, taking the Southern vernacular even further than Jordan’s original translations until they had
their one man show.
In his keynote speech to the Southeastern Theatre Conference, Tom Key talks about his highest theatre moments,
including this Cotton Patch moment: “We had tried three times to get Harry Chapin to see if he would come see the
one-man show I had done about fifty performances of around the country, Cotton Patch Gospel, to see if maybe he
would write a few songs to begin and end each act. On the final day, right
before a three month European tour, in December of 1980, we finally worked
out a date. The day before, I was diagnosed with chronic bronchitis, and
when I woke up that morning, I literally couldn’t say two sentences without
coughing… and I remembered what I had learned at Actor’s Theatre of Birmingham, that the character’s not sick. So at thirty years old, with a lot of
lines, I decided I was going to go for it, and that afternoon performing for
Harry Chapin in a room full of about twenty people in the Minskoff Building in
New York City, I coughed twice. Afterward, he said, “I was born to write the
music for this show,” and he had an idea for the opening song immediately.
Eight months later he was killed on the Long Island Expressway, a month
after we opened in Boston as our pre-New York tryout. Valuable lesson to
learn: that the character’s not sick.”
In the same keynote speech Key shares about his lowest theatre moments.
Unfortunately the members of the Koinonia Farm weren’t the only ones associated with the “Cotton Patch” works to feel the heat from the Klan. Key
remembers “Getting a phone call from a stage manager of a touring production of Cotton Patch Gospel that was performing the next afternoon at an
outdoor theatre in Montgomery [Alabama], saying, “We understand that the
Ku Klux Klan is implicated in the lynching of Jesus, and if the actor states
this, we will have members of the brotherhood stationed in the forest around
the theatre and they will shoot the actor.” And the stage manager wanted to
know if I could delete the words. I’ll skip ahead to a high point: The next day
it rained, so the performance was cancelled.”
Ultimately, despite threats and Chapin’s tragic death, the show was a success and earned two Dramalogue Awards for Outstanding Achievement in
Theater, a nomination for Key as Best Actor by the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle, and is still being produced 30 years later.
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CULTURAL CONTEXT
TED Talks
TED Talks
The goal of Clarence Jordan’s Cotton Patch translations in the 1960’s was to bring the stories of the gospel
into the 20th Century with language that felt “modern” to the reader. The goal of the Tom Key, Russell Treyz
and Harry Chapin was to do the same thing with their musical, Cotton Patch Gospel in the 1980’s.
As she prepared for Taproot’s production of Cotton Patch Gospel, director Karen Lund wanted to capture that same
modern feel for a 2016 audience. In a recent interview, Lund said, “Taproot has produced this show twice, once in
1994 and again in 2001. This time around we want to make sure the play is as fresh as ever. The setting will feel as
familiar as watching one of your favorite TED talks on YouTube, but with the energy and immediacy of a live concert.”
What are TED Talks?
TED Talks started as a one-off TED Conference on technology, entertainment and
design in 1984. The line up included a demo of the compact disc, the ebook, and cutting edge 3D graphics from Lucasfilm and a demonstration from mathematician Benoit
Mandelbrot on how to map coastlines using his developing theory of fractal geometry.
Despite the innovative content, the event was not financially successful. The TED
Conference was attempted again in 1990 and this time was a success. It became a
yearly convention in Monterey, CA. The presentation content broadened and started
including presentations in sciences, philosophy, music, business, and religion, to
name a few.
In 2001 the TED Conference was acquired by the nonprofit Sapling Foundation and
started to grow into the TED Organization as it is today. That growth started with
TEDGlobal, a sister conference held in locations around the world. Then followed TED
Prize, which grants the winner one wish to change the world. By 2006 TED Talks, a
free audio and video podcast of TED content, was born.
“Taproot has produced
this show twice, once in
1994 and again in 2001.
This time around we
want to make sure the
play is as fresh as ever.
The setting will feel as
familiar as watching one
of your favorite TED
talks on YouTube, but
with the energy and
immediacy of a live
concert.”
Director Karen Lund
Since then TED has continued to develop and evolve. One of the most significant of
these developments is TEDx, which opened the TED format to local, independently organized events. Around the
same time TEDx was launched the Open Translation Project began creating the infrastructure for TED Talks to be
translated into 100+languages.
TED Mission Statement “Our Mission: Spread ideas.”
TED is a global community, welcoming people from every discipline and culture who seek a deeper understanding of
the world. We believe passionately in the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives and, ultimately, the world. On
TED.com, we're building a clearinghouse of free knowledge from the world's most inspired thinkers — and a community of curious souls to engage with ideas and each other, both online and at TED and TEDx events around the world,
all year long. In fact, everything we do — from our Conferences to our TED Talks to the projects sparked by the TED
Prize, from the global TEDx community to the TED-Ed lesson series — is driven by this goal: How can we best spread
great ideas? TED is owned by a nonprofit, nonpartisan foundation. Our agenda is to make great ideas accessible and
spark conversation.”
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CULTURAL CONTEXT
TED Talks
Check out these TEDx videos:
Check out cast member Benjamin Hunter’s
TEDxRainier talk:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjcPSAIQuEE
“The Power of Music” | Umi Garrett
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmF_HbP-jd0
Theresa Holmes, Benjamin Hunter & Randy Scholz in Cotton
Patch Gospel. Photo by John Ulman.
“The Storyteller in All of Us” | Zach King
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMIpxqeoI1c
If you could give a TEDx talk,
what would it be about?
Sarah Kay | Poetess/Storyteller
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Iv2nZnZOrM
“Be Great!” | Juliet Doherty
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShswlNMaUSA
“What is Theatre Capable of?” | Simon Stone
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6VFfGvAVZI
And there are so many more!
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QUESTIONS
POST-SHOW REFLECTION QUESTIONS
The Question: Clarence Jordan’s goal for the Cotton Patch translations of the Gospels was to make
the story of Jesus seem familiar and modern to the reader. How was the story told on stage different
from the stories that you know about Jesus? How was it the same?
1. The musical Cotton Patch Gospel is written to be one man (the disciple Matthew) telling the audience a
story of what he saw/experienced during Jesus’ life. How does the format for this show compare to the
TED Talks that you listened to? How is the style the same? How is it different?
2. Pick one of the Gospel stories told in the book of Matthew or a book from classical literature or a play.
How could you change this story to set it in a modern town with modern characters using modern language?
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TAPROOT THEATRE COMPANY
MISSON STATEMENT
Taproot Theatre Company creates theatre experiences to brighten the spirit,
engage the mind and deepen the understanding of the world around us
while inspiring imagination, conversation and hope.
ABOUT US
EDUCATION PROGRAMS
Taproot Theatre Company was founded in 1976 by
six friends, five of them graduates from Seattle
Pacific University. From its humble beginnings as a
touring group, the company is now Seattle’s largest
mid-size theatre company. Today Taproot Theatre
serves over 150,000 people annually throughout
the Pacific Northwest with its Jewell Mainstage
season, Isaac Studio Theatre season, Touring
programs and Acting Studio.
In-School Residencies & Workshops

From drama games to acting classes to putting
on a production, Taproot Theatre’s residencies
can range from several weeks to months, or an
entire school year. Whether during the school
day or after school as an enrichment program,
let Taproot’s trained teaching artists introduce a
whole new world to your students.

Our theatre arts professional will visit your classroom for a workshop that will inspire and excite
your students. They will develop basic acting
skills and explore non-theatre curriculum using
theater as a medium.
STAFF CONTACTS
In-School Residencies & Workshops
Nathan Jeffrey, Director of Education & Outreach
206.529.3669
[email protected]
Touring Productions
Shelby Parsons, Associate Director of Education
& Outreach
206.529.3668
[email protected]
Midweek Matinees
Isaiah Custer, Group Sales Manager
206.529.3666
[email protected]
General
Box Office: 206.781.9707
Administrative Office: 206.781.9705
Fax: 206.297.6882
Taproot Theatre Company
P.O. Box 30946
Seattle, WA 98113
www.taproottheatre.org
TAPROOT THEATRE COMPANY: PLAY GUIDE
Touring Productions


The Road Company – performing plays for
elementary and secondary schools focusing on
issues such as bullying prevention, substance
abuse, and friendship skills.
Family oriented productions and improv comedy
for churches, clubs, office parties and other
groups.
Camps & Classes

Taproot Theatre Company’s Acting Studio is a
year-round instructional program for theatre
artists of all ages and experience levels. We are
devoted to the wholeness of the artist with the
goal of creating a nurturing environment to help
each student develop his or her unique gifts.
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NEXT ON THE JEWELL MAINSTAGE:
The Realization of
Emily Linder
Emily Linder knows she is going to die. As her
two daughters rush to make their mother
happy, an outsider questions Emily’s intentions.
This comic-drama examines identity, relationships, love and secrets in one eccentric family.
May 25, 2016 at 10:00am
Age Recommendation: 14+ for some dark
humor & mature themes
For group pricing*: 206.781.9708 or
[email protected].
Starting the 2016/17 school year!
Joyful Noise
George Fredrick Handel is in crisis. His patron
is dead, his operas are unpopular, and he’s
suffered public humiliation of his own making.
From this ruin a joyous masterpiece is born.
Witty, scandalous and based on the true story
of the creation of Handel’s Messiah, this is a
tale to inspire.
October 5, 2016 at 10:00am
For group pricing*: 206.781.9708 or
[email protected].
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