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MY SOUL IS A WITNESS
Photos from the 2005 First National Tour
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The Civil Rights Movement…
It was a war fought with prayer and song. And bodies put in the way of danger.
Live on stage, MY SOUL IS A WITNESS is a vivid retelling of this time.
From tragic assassinations to explosive debates over non-violent protest, from the great public gatherings to narrow escapes from vigilantes—the events come to life through reenactments so real it’s as though they’re happening now.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, President John F Kennedy—all the great names are here—in their crucial moments, both public and private. There are unsung heroes too, like the young people who faced down firehoses and police during Dr. King's march for Freedom in Birmingham, Alabama. MY SOUL IS A WITNESS testifies to the passion, courage and sacrifices of all these people and many more.
This extraordinary new play also celebrates the power of theatre as a storytelling medium. Great music—from soaring gospel to pulsating protest songs—is used as it was then, to soothe the heart and raise the spirit. Then there are the scenes themselves. Wrought with clarity and deep emotion, their strength and immediacy cannot be denied.
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Voices From Our Past...Dreams For The Future...A Battle That Still Rages...
MY SOUL IS A WITNESS is a rousing look at people and events that still resound today. And its message will always be universal...
If we don’t know, if we ignore, if we forget our history—we’ll be condemned to repeat it.
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About the Playwright David Barr III
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David Barr III is the author of My Soul Is A Witness, a documentary play about the key people and events of the Civil Rights Movement, 1955-1968. Produced by The JENA Company of New York, My Soul has played over 60 cities coast to coast in two recent National Tours.
David's playwriting career began ten years ago with his first full length work, The Death of the Black Jesus. The production was the recipient of numerous awards, and earned him a 1995 Illinois Arts Council Fellowship. Produced at the Chicago Theatre Company, it was subsequently published by Dramatic Publishing Company. His two-act drama Black Caesar became the first play published for the New Plays Series in PerformInk, Chicago’s foremost entertainment paper, in 1999.
That same year he received a second Illinois Arts Council Fellowship for Playwriting/Screenwriting and won the Unicorn Theatre Company’s National Award for Ev’ry Time I Feel the Spirit, a musical about the legendary American contralto Marian Anderson.
The State of Mississippi vs. Emmett Till, was written with Mamie Till Mobley and based on the life and tragic death of her son Emmett Till. Working again with Pegasus Players, its world premiere in 1999 won wide-ranging acclaim both regionally and nationally, and productions were mounted on both coasts. In September 2003, The State of Mississippi vs. Emmett Till was staged once again to commemorate the 25th Anniversary Season of Pegasus Players.
His musical The House That Rock Built!, based on the musical legacies of Fats Domino, Chuck Berry, and Little Richard, premiered at Chicago’s Black Ensemble Theatre in late Spring 2004. His most recent piece, The Upper Room, won the Joseph Jefferson Award for Best New Play in 2005.
Written with Chris Benson, David's screenplay adaptation, The Death of Innocence, has been purchased by Fox Searchlight as a major feature film property.
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The JENA Company
1650 Broadway Suite 1107
New York, NY 10019
Phone: 212 765-9610 Fax: 212 765-6315
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Jackie, Vi, and Lena