Mike Wiley returns to the NC Stage Company in September to present Blood Done Sign My Name via Zoom September 10 through September 27. The show begins at 7:30 p.m. on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, and at 2 p.m. on Sundays.
Based on the memoir by Tim Tyson, “Blood Done Sign My Name” is the story of Henry “Dickie” Marrow, a 23-year-old U.S. Army veteran who was beaten and shot to death in the street by Robert Teel, Teel’s 18-year-old son Larry, and Roger Oakley, Teel’s 21-year-old stepson, for allegedly making a remark to Larry Teel’s wife. Despite testimony by two black eyewitnesses, the men were acquitted of the crime by an all-white jury. Roger Oakley, Teel’s stepson, actually confessed to shooting the gun, but was never indicted. It was the Teels’ acquittal for their hotheaded hate crime that launched the city of Oxford, NC, into a season of violent reprisals.
For this performance, NC Stage, along with The Clayton Center in Clayton, NC, will create a new type of theatrical experience alongside current health concerns. Instead of socially distanced seating or a typical live stream, viewers will be projected in Zoom’s “gallery view” setting onto large projector screens set up in the Clayton Center, allowing Wiley a “live” audience.
Mike Wiley is a NC-based playwright, actor and director whose original works in documentary theatre, film, educational residencies and student performances have met with high acclaim across the country and abroad. His previous performances at NC Stage include “Dar He: The Story of Emmett Till” and “The Fire of Freedom.” The performance will be accompanied live by vocalist Mary D. Williams of Raleigh.
Tickets for Blood Done Sign My Name are on sale now. All tickets are pay-what-you-wish starting at $20 and are sold per Zoom viewer. Tickets can be bought online at NCStage.org by calling 828-239-0263.
