Written and Directed by
Music composed by
Choreography &Direction by Gregg Bielemeier
Directing consultants:
Cast:
Paige Jones, with Susan Banyas
Dancer-writer Susan Banyas’ new performance work, The Hillsboro Story, is a warmhearted, hard-hitting narrative, set in the writer’s Ohio hometown, near the Mason Dixon Line, during one of America’s most powerful turning points.
On July 5, 1954, the "colored" elementary school went up in flames and the sweet sleepy segregated mid-west town was suddenly awake. The fire sparked a "school fight" led by five “Negro” mothers, which lasted two years and became the first test case for the Brown v. Board of Education decision (May, 1954) in the North. Ms. Banyas was in the third grade, and the memory of the marching mothers outside Mrs. Mallory’s window, sparked this cultural detective story. Based on extensive interviews over several years—key players in the story as well as national figures in the Civil Rights Movement-- the work is a lively mix of voices, movement images, and narration, backed by an evocative musical score.
on-line press release, photos, bios, excerpts, music clips http://www.susanbanyas.com
Funding has been made possible with grants from the
Pacific Power Foundation www.pacificorp.com
Regional Arts and Culture Council http://www.racc.org
The Puffin Foundation http://www.puffinfoundation.org
Saint Mary’s College of California Faculty Development http://www.stmarys-
The Kennedy Center http://www.kennedy-
