NC Deep Dive

Episode 38 - Angie Staheli, Creator/Mastermind of "Finding Patience"

May 26, 2020 Karen Shore/Angie Staheli Season 1 Episode 38
NC Deep Dive
Episode 38 - Angie Staheli, Creator/Mastermind of "Finding Patience"
Show Notes Transcript

This week, hear the BIG NEWS from "Finding Patience" creator and writer Angie Staheli about her long-planned update for the play. It's a big reveal that I'm so proud she chose to reveal on this podcast.

Thanks so much to Angie for taking the time to chat about this important piece of our community and its past, present, and future.

For updates on the play, information about auditions and more, join this Facebook Group

Watch Angie's TEDx talk about local history theater and why it's important.

Solace Theatre

Local Legacy Productions

Credits for song clip/demo within episode:
Title: Ain't Nobody Sees Them
Lyrics: Angie Staheli
Music: Jeremy Phillips
Vocals: Alina Gannon

Production dates: June 2022
Auditions: January 2022

Interested in sponsorship options for YOUR Holly Springs business when this is all over? Email me at hollyspringspodcast@gmail.com.

Support the show

As always, if you are interested in being on or sponsoring the podcast or if you have any particular issues, thoughts, or questions you'd like explored on the podcast, please email NCDeepDive@gmail.com. Your contributions would be greatly appreciated.

Now, let's dive in!

Unknown Speaker :

Welcome to Episode 38 of the Holly Springs deep dive podcast. I hope that you and your families and friends are well. This week we look back and forward somehow at the same time, I talked to Angie Staheli, the mastermind and creative and purchase behind the phenomenon from a few years ago of Finding Patience. The play about the history of Holly Springs. Hear her big news about the long planned update of the play that's coming before you know it. This episode was again made possible without sponsor breaks by an anonymous patron. Thank you for allowing me to continue the work of this podcast. Okay, let's dive in. I have been wanting for so long to sit down and talk to Angie Staley about her plans for the next iteration of her Finding Patience creation. Thank you for being with me, Angie,

Unknown Speaker :

thank you so much for having me. I love hearing Show I love all that you're doing. And thank you for connecting people in Holly Springs with the latest things going on. So super honored to be here.

Unknown Speaker :

Well, thank you You started it just just saying because you you kind of made it cool to love Holly Springs.

Unknown Speaker :

That is very generous of you. But um, thank you I I'm still learning but um, but yeah,

Unknown Speaker :

yeah, I think that like, grown up sort of love is you know how I feel about Holly Springs you you take the you know, the good and the bad and you figure out a way to live with it. We're not you know, like, like a little kid loves a toy. You know, loving everything about it with rose colored glasses on every place has its problems, but we figure out a way to deal with it and you know, it is what it is. It's a great place. It's a great place. So So for people who don't may not have lived here long enough to have seen your play. You did a play back in was it? 2017? Yes. 2017 called finding patience. And it was kind of a historical. It was based on real people, but the the narrator the speaker was a woman named patience. And Did she really exist?

Unknown Speaker :

Ooh, that's a good question. So, um, as you probably know, in a lot of census records that date back to before 1865 if enslaved people were living within a residence, it was usually just like mark that they were there, what color their skin was if they were female or male and their age and heartbreakingly it didn't list their names often. And that has always bothered me. Um, and so me too. Yes, yes. Like I mean, obviously The

Unknown Speaker :

whole thing bothers us. Right? Right. There's there's a lot to unpack that bothers us about

Unknown Speaker :

all that. Oh, yes, yes, yes, absolutely. 100%. And I feel like it was important to kind of address the fact that, that slavery happened in Holly Springs, and without the contributions of so many people who went through that, you know, terrible treatment, and it was absolutely wrong and evil, but we, you know, we owe a lot to them. And I feel like, it's important to honor what they did for us in the town. So, um, you know, I looked at the census records, and I saw that there was a female, and I believe she was like, 20, and it didn't list her name. And I just kind of started thinking and I thought, Hmm, I wonder about this person, what was it like for her, and I tried to understand as much as I could, and there wasn't tons of information out there. Of course. That I could even find. But there are a couple of stories about when the troops actually came from the Union Army before the surrender of the Civil War in April 1865. And so I knew that I knew certain things happened on that property. This I'm speaking of the Leslie Alford Mims home in downtown Holly Springs. So I knew that certain things happen there. Where, where the Leslie family, Archibald and Isabel Leslie did hadn't have enslaved people that live there, or at least on that property somewhere. And so because of some of those records that were kept very few about Isabel Leslie, who asked her enslaved women to hide all of the family treasures that they had and to go like bury them in the backyard. Because that was there that I knew that Okay, there was there are some female enslaved people there. What was that like? I tried to just understand and and to be honest A big motivator behind the whole thing was to pay tribute to those people who had no choice who were enslaved in Holly Springs. So I felt like it's important to recognize them and their contributions.

Unknown Speaker :

Well, that I really love that you did that. But the play kind of talked about the origins of Holly Springs, through her eyes and under her narration, and you covered a lot of ground, and I can only imagine how many hours it took you to research all of that. The young woman who played Patience, could not have been cast any better. Oh, she's amazing. She like embodies the whole idea of patience.

Unknown Speaker :

Yes, I'm so glad you said that. Makita Evans is the one who played patience and she is just a gift just as a person as an actress, and she lived that character. It was beauty. beautiful to watch her on stage. Honestly, I literally have like goosebumps as I'm talking about it, because it felt like she portrayed the heart of the town. And I feel like everybody could relate with her in some way. And she was just she portrayed the character in such a way that was, was so down to earth at the same time where you felt like you knew her. And so that was really important. She did so well and I'd love to have her audition for this next one. She's like, She's like a celebrity in my book.

Unknown Speaker :

Me too. And it was it was not lost on me that I sat in the audience and watched it from the Holly Springs Cultural Center. And that was just a few I'm horrible with distances. A few hundred yards away from the Holly Springs cemetery. Mm hmm. From the Leslie Alford Mims house where a lot of the action took place. It was just very moving to. And just it felt important to be sitting so close to where all of that stuff was happening.

Unknown Speaker :

Whoo, I love that you thought about that, that makes me so happy. And I hope other people thought about that as well, because I'm hopeful that it sparked some interest from people where they wanted to go find out okay, where is that thing? Where is that house? Where is that place? And that was, and you know, I've mentioned this in interviews in the past, but I'll say it again, because I feel like it's really important. That was one of the amazing parts of being able to also direct it, because working with actors and you know, most of the time, because I'm also an actress, but like when I've portrayed characters in the past, even if they're historical characters, you can't go down the street and go find out where they lived. You can't go to their grave. You can't go and walk where you know, they walked before. And there's something truly magical and beautiful about being able to connect in a different way. And some of the stories that Some of the cast members had from before. Like, they're unbelievable. Like one of our cast members did a bunch of genealogy she found out she was actually related to, to the person that she was portraying. And she's not even from here. So I mean, like crazy stuff where it was like, and she could explain it better. I can't remember the particulars, but crazy stuff. What was like, This just doesn't feel totally by chance. Some of this, you know, right. It's it's very serendipitous

Unknown Speaker :

for sure. So your original plan, if I remember correctly, was to almost update the play every few years. Mm hmm. Is that right? For a couple of times? I don't want to say every few years but a couple of times to incorporate more history and more recent things. Is that right? Yeah, you're

Unknown Speaker :

exactly right. Because one thing that I knew First of all, let me just before I go any further I have to pay tribute to to Barb Koblich who has been a huge resource through all of this, that I mean, she has done the, you know, the, like boots on the ground work in Holly Springs and she and there's always more to do and that's that's what we all know is that it can never feel like it's done. But she she did an amazing job she wrote a book about Holly Springs and I really utilize that a ton that she has been a tremendous, tremendous resource in this that without the work that she did, there's no way this play would even be possible. So I have to say that

Unknown Speaker :

she's she's kind of like, if a town had a memory she is it? Yes, she is Holly Springs memory

Unknown Speaker :

because she's

Unknown Speaker :

researched all of this stuff and knows all of these things. And this building used to be that and so and so used to have a store there she she is like the embodiment of a memory for the

Unknown Speaker :

lenders who put yes and I keep telling her I need to download your brain Barb, like can you please like make that Technology happened because that would really be helpful. So, so yeah, so she, um, she did so much of that work. So, to answer your question, I mean, and I still, you know, researched a ton as well, but she was like all that she had already done made it so much easier. And, and the thing that I knew when I wrote it the first time was that it was impossible for it to be perfect. It unless I wanted to spend 150 years of my life which you know, would be really long life, studying the last 150 years of the town. Like it would honestly take that much time to really understand and to really get everything and and i know you know, some people who write biographies or histories, you know, or documentaries, they they have to spend sometimes decades studying a subject and I realized that I was not going to have decades to study the subject I spent

Unknown Speaker :

on the play itself would be 14 hours long.

Unknown Speaker :

camp out, play everybody, come camp out.

Unknown Speaker :

Whoo, I like it. No.

Unknown Speaker :

Sorry. That's

Unknown Speaker :

great. Everybody bring your treat Well, okay, so, um, so yeah, that brings a big bag, sleeping bag and smores. Um, but yeah, so I knew that it wasn't going to be perfect. And I resigned myself to that fact, I put a little disclaimer in the program like, Listen, number one, this is historical fiction. I don't know if Patience exactly wore that kind of dress, you know what I mean? There's certain things that you just have to run with. There are a lot of things I'm in the car. Some of the conversations I did as is as much as I humanly could to make it as accurate as possible, but there's definitely interpretation in there of the characters for sure. You know, and and some of the dialogue that they had, but I used it based on the given circumstances that I could find in their own lives that showed me kind of who they might have been. So um, so you know, it like definitely creative liberties. But you know, after I had done that, for time I thought it was, first of all, it was really hard to get people to share history other than Barb. And I definitely interviewed a bunch of people too. But like, I put it out there a lot like, hey, I'd love to learn anything I can for the black community, the white community, I need to know, I need to know everything that there is to know. But it was really hard to get people to talk, um, surprisingly, and I feel like after the first production, they want to talk more now. And I'm really glad about that. And so one thing that I've just kind of said is listen, every couple years, I'm going to improve upon it. And then you know, also things happen. We just, we're in the middle of a pandemic, right now, that's some pretty important information that could not I can't leave that out of Finding Patience 2022 By the way, it's going to be june of 2022. Um, but I'm like, I can't leave that out. And so it allows me to include some other things that that go hand in hand with the current pandemic, that are from the past that can really help us understand The history of it really a little bit more.

Unknown Speaker :

So yeah 1918 are you getting glued that panda to? Yeah, yeah.

Unknown Speaker :

So So yeah, so I'm just gonna try to make it better every single time.

Unknown Speaker :

Yeah, I remember. Katherine Loflin did such a good job. She played Texanna. Uh huh.

Unknown Speaker :

Last name? Collins. But then Alford,

Unknown Speaker :

Alford. I could I didn't know if it was Leslie Alford or

Unknown Speaker :

Mims? I know. It's confusing.

Unknown Speaker :

It is. and Bruce Ackerman played her husband, right? Yes, he's great.

Unknown Speaker :

Uh huh.

Unknown Speaker :

Yeah. I wonder if they'll be back? I don't know. We'll

Unknown Speaker :

have to see. We'll have to see. So

Unknown Speaker :

I didn't know that this play was in the works. And that's why I've been wanting to talk to you for so long ever since I started this podcast. But the super exciting news is what is special about this new version? So we've already covered what it isn't it's not 14 hours long, and you don't have to bring a sleeping bag

Unknown Speaker :

and kind of like

Unknown Speaker :

me over my readers fell off my head. Okay. So what's special about it? Are you okay?

Unknown Speaker :

Let's say I'm totally ready. Okay, ready? Okay, um, so, let me just give you a little background before I say it. Um, uh, you know, just because I have to do that with everything. Um, but like, you know, in January Yeah, that's me. In January I so I'm, uh, one of the instructors at Carolina Academy of Performing Arts, which is an amazing theatre company that my friend Melanie who is also in the play melody prints, she played Marian Holland. Anyway, she's created it. She's done this fabulous job as a Youth Theatre. And so we went to this really great like workshop in Georgia in January, and it kind of like hit me like a ton of bricks that this needed to happen. This announcement And I actually came home from that conference really sick, like, really sick to where I'm kind of wondering if, you know a lot of people are like, did I already have Coronavirus, but I was like I was super sick. And it took me like two weeks to really get back to normal but I spent a lot of time in my room and you know, that sick feeling we're in between awake and asleep, but can't quite do either. And so you can't even watch TV. So I was in that state for a long time, just kind of thinking these thoughts that kind of turn into dreams and back into thoughts again. And eventually, as I started to kind of recover, I got to work and, and started to actually do what I was thinking about and that is, that finding patience is perfectly set up to be a musical and

Unknown Speaker :

like, a good musical.

Unknown Speaker :

Good and and I want to emphasize is going to be you know, on traditional type of musical because you know, it's not going to be Rodgers and Hammerstein. You know, it's gonna be it's gonna be its own thing. But there's not going to be a song like every five seconds. So you know, like, it's because I'm very, very I feel like the story and the characters are so important that I only want to sound when I feel like it's going to move the story forward or help give like almost like an inner monologue to a character, or it's like an emotional high point. So I feel like they're going to be in there. There's plenty of them. But I've so I've been writing the lyrics, and I auditioned a bunch of composers. And I'm so excited because I'm partnering with a really, really talented composer. And he's also a playwright, and he's, he actually is local, his name is Jeremy Phillips, and he and his wife Aaron own solace Theatre Company in Garner. So they've been doing musicals like crazy, they're cranking these things out and they're super high quality, amazing music and if anybody's interested in Please, please like or check out their Facebook page and their Instagram. It's solace theater and theater is spelled th e A tr E. And I'll put

Unknown Speaker :

it in a link in the show notes or something. So thank you

Unknown Speaker :

and I pretty easily Thank you, thank you. And they have solace theater. org If you want to hear some of his music, but he's like, gifted, and I don't even think he realizes how gifted he is. He and his wife are pretty young. I mean, I think they're like, in their 20s. And I mean, I'm telling you, he knows what he's doing. And so I was so excited that he even wanted to be part of it. And he has kind of developed this, this amazing machine of this theater that he's started where a lot of people actually who've been in Finding Patience have also auditioned for his shows. And so we both know kind of same actors, but his his solace is like a nonprofit faith faith based community theater. So it's a little bit different but Anyway, so we've been we've been working together and I've been sending lyrics and he's been sending me back. The songs and what's been so cool is that he's like, enlisted the help of some of the vocalists that he knows to actually sing the lyrics to some of the music that he's written. And it's just been blowing me away. Like I can't even tell you how exciting it is it is put Finding Patience on a whole nother level. Hmm.

Unknown Speaker :

You are a pretty captivating person to talk to just about mundane things. But when you talk about this, I can feel I can hear the excitement in your voice. It's a whole new level. And I know that you have really high standards, so you're not going to be impressed with the ordinary. So this must be just crazy. Good. I'm excited.

Unknown Speaker :

Do you mind if I share a little clip? Please? Okay, I'm trying to figure out how to do Can I just like share it offline. My computer or do I need to like hold my earbuds up or anything?

Unknown Speaker :

tech? Who knows? We'll figure it we'll figure it out. Okay. I'll let you know if I can't hear it.

Unknown Speaker :

Okay, so let me just say just super quick. Thank you for that. Thank you for hearing the excitement in my voice and for feeling it with me. It makes me so happy because I feel like this play isn't about me. It's not about a production even. It's about like, coming together as members of a town and realizing what came before us so that we can appreciate what we have today. And I feel like it's it's almost a form of gratitude.

Unknown Speaker :

That makes sense.

Unknown Speaker :

Oh, I remember that kind of a tagline from Finding Patience was sometimes you don't choose a town. The town chooses you. Oh,

Unknown Speaker :

you remembered and that's kind

Unknown Speaker :

of I just got chills just thinking about it. That's kind of like that serendipitous thing. I mean, didn't didn't the real life granddaughter or daughter of tech Wanna come to one of the showings?

Unknown Speaker :

Yes, and that was a crazy thing to

Unknown Speaker :

Yes, Captain like, come from very far away. Yeah, from California, Norway. Mm hmm.

Unknown Speaker :

And it was, I mean, there's so much more to that story, they'll have to tell you some time, but it was so like crazy impossible how that all happened. And it happened. So I feel like and this sounds a little like, spooky, I guess. But I feel like people want their stories to be told. I mean, I'm going to die someday. And dying, right? I'm going to want someone to remember me. And I think that's really all we all we want us to be remembered, you know, in our daily lives and and after this life I had imagined, but um, but yeah, so the vocalist who's singing this demo, let me just say this is a demo. It's gonna sound it's actually super like polished for a demo, but because we haven't I haven't asked for any edits from this one yet. So it's not exactly how it's going to be but it's pretty darn amazing. Her name is Alina Gannon. And and I don't want anyone to I think she's gonna be cast as patience. I'm not saying that at all. She just sing the song. I haven't even met her before. So I just want

Unknown Speaker :

to get that out of my work. If it doesn't work in this format. I'll, I'll drop. I'll drop the music clip in here. So,

Unknown Speaker :

okay, that sounds good. Okay, well, maybe I'll just try it really quick. And you can tell me if you can, can hear it. Alright. Okay, so this is only part of it because I don't want to give it all away. Okay,

Unknown Speaker :

right. I don't blame you.

Unknown Speaker :

Okay, let me just

Unknown Speaker :

get this going.

Unknown Speaker :

But um, yeah, okay.

Unknown Speaker :

Can you hear it?

Unknown Speaker :

No, no, okay. Hands. This is compelling listening.

Unknown Speaker :

That's okay. This is gonna work. This is gonna work. I got this. Okay.

Unknown Speaker :

<<<music clip>>>

Unknown Speaker :

Okay, can you hear me again?

Unknown Speaker :

I can that was crazy. I can't believe people who can Do that live here. Why aren't they in New York writing for Broadway? Yes, thinking on Broadway That's crazy. reacted

Unknown Speaker :

and that was only half the song. So I don't know if you could understand the lyrics from the way that I was recording it but she's just basically it's in the beginning of the play talking about how after people die they she sees them and she kind of talks with them and then they see the light and they leave kind of thing. But yeah,

Unknown Speaker :

oh Isn't he good? Oh so good. I can't believe that's local theater. Yeah, people. That's crazy.

Unknown Speaker :

Yeah. So that

Unknown Speaker :

for so we are going to be working on a more polished version of that and if people want to also if you don't mind adding this in the links Karen but just the Finding Patience 2022 Facebook page and Instagram. We're going to be putting lots of updates on there. I just this interview your amazing skills sister had just made me think you know what this is like kind of a thing that started us off again, and then we'll kind of pick back up all those pages that I've sort of let collected dust for the last, like six

Unknown Speaker :

months. So well and I would love for more people to give you stories. Yeah, family stories. Mm hmm.

Unknown Speaker :

That's really what it's about. And I, I have interviewed quite a few people in the last like year, but I want more and especially from the black community.

Unknown Speaker :

It's like I said, it's really important to me, because,

Unknown Speaker :

okay, sorry, let me just say one thing. Um, I know some people who have lived in Holly Springs their whole life, it could easily be a really uncomfortable thing to think of some girl coming from Seattle, and some transplant trying to write a story about the town. I can understand that. However, I feel like it's actually a good thing, because it really allows me to be objective in a lot of it. And I can hear both sides, you know, in some cases, is many sides to a story and, and put it together where I think if you're living in one place the whole time, it's kind of harder to see outside of your own experiences. Does that make sense? It does well, and it and it

Unknown Speaker :

gives some extra

Unknown Speaker :

context maybe to it to have you coming into it.

Unknown Speaker :

And I mean, I think that everybody thinks their hometown is special for one reason or another. But it lends a lot more gravity to it when somebody from so far away who's been here, so little time, when you are that committed to honoring this town. I mean, I think that that adds some weight to it. You know, it's more than just just you know, somebody who loves their hometown. It's, it's somebody who loves this new town to you. You know, new to you? And I don't know and I'm so pleased that you are honoring all of the people who's, who are who are the history of Holly Springs.

Unknown Speaker :

So thank you. That's so good.

Unknown Speaker :

Thank you and I can't take all the credit because I feel like so many people made of course made Finding Patience what it was and you know, Christina Miller, assistant director was amazing through the whole thing. The whole entire cast the whole entire crew. People put their souls and heart into it and and luckily, Kristen is going to be on board for next time. We're Ria Campos, my friend is going to be on board Sarah meter is going to be on board. So some of the people from before and hopefully a lot of people new as well. But last time, we had over 80 people in the cast and this time because of fire codes and not the cultural centers, you know, pretty dang smart about what we need to do and they want us to only have at the most. So it will be a different experience. But I think it will be really cool because actors will be playing multiple parts, except for Patience. And so it will almost look like hey, I remember that person from earlier and it kind of almost feel like a town really does feel where where it's like, descendants kind of looked like. Yeah, you know what I mean? Like, it's like the same family cycle. So. So it could be kind of kind of interesting. And Kathleen Hebert from the Cultural Center has been a huge support with this, too. I feel really bad because I was supposed to I don't know if we've talked about this yet. I don't think we have but I was actually supposed to do Finding Patience right now. Um, and it was set for 2020. And so something did not feel right about it, Karen, and like, for the longest time, it just didn't feel right. But I had kind of committed to it. I even had met several times with Kathleen at the Cultural Center. The budget was approved by the town Council. I mean, we went through everything. And it was right before I was supposed to sign the contract. And it just did not feel right. Probably like September of last year. I think. I felt like Angie, you cannot do this play in 2020. And, and also, I was really busy anyway. And I thought maybe that was the reason. But I had to go to Kathleen and say, I am so sorry, but I'm going to have to postpone finding patience. And this before I knew it was going to be musical. Um, and she said, okay, and she was so nice about it. I mean, I would have been so annoyed if I were her but she was like, so nice. And I said, Can I do it like in 2022. And then we're like, in the middle of the pandemic right now, the entire show would have been canceled had I had done it.

Unknown Speaker :

Well, and if anybody in your company had had it, everybody in your company would have because of how many hours you spent together. I remember the practices for that. Just knowing people who are in the cast, it was like every day Yeah, just hours on hours. I mean, there were some real commitment there. And and even you had some kids in the play too. There were kids in the cast. So you just you assembled a group of people who were so dedicated. And I hope listening. I hope that Rachel Atkin can come back in and reprise her role somehow, because she was such a funny little

Unknown Speaker :

addition. I love her so much. Oh, my gosh. Oh, me too. Yes, yes. I she better be auditioning. Do you hear me Rachel? No, just kidding. But yeah, she I think I hopefully she will. But yeah, I and you know, hey, Karen, if you feel like hopping on stage, you just let me know. Feel free to audition. Yeah, and I you know, what's funny is I don't sing. And so I'm going to have a really good music director. I'm hoping that that will be the same person who's composing the music, but I don't know if that if he's able to do that. Jeremy Phillips but we'll see. But yeah, I don't I don't think either seeing either but some of the parts are going to be more like, more like choir, like you're going to you don't have to be a soloist, you know what I'm saying? But yeah, just putting it out there. But I'd love for as many people who wants to audition to to audition kids and teens. And I mean, it's gonna be a little bit fierce competition this time. And, and I guess it kind of was last time, but I'm excited. It's gonna be

Unknown Speaker :

it's gonna be great last time

Unknown Speaker :

was your proof of concept. So this time is when it's really going to kick in.

Unknown Speaker :

Whoo, I hope so. I'm planning to pay stipends to to the actors and the crew as well.

Unknown Speaker :

So Well, I know you have been, I can't imagine that you stopped researching for like, even a week of your life since the play closed. So I know you have found out so many things about our little town. Tell me one or two things. that surprised you that you learned?

Unknown Speaker :

Okay, um, it's a good question.

Unknown Speaker :

Or just cool little fun facts that works too.

Unknown Speaker :

Okay, so I've spent a lot of time going through the Cape Fear enterprise news, which was a newspaper that George Benton Alford GB Alford. He put out this paper, it was like the only paper from Holly Springs, you know, he was really trying to make Holly Springs be like a big time town. This was in the like 1899 to 1901. And so in the past, it was hard to kind of get to that stuff unless you had to go like research at some kind of library or, you know, town offices or something. But it's so great because I'm able to do it online now because they have all of his online, but you have to pay a subscription. So I've just been like, reading through it. And honestly, it's been hilarious in some parts because I've had my boys with me So, my son Lincoln and I crack up at the advertisements like they are hilarious. So So much so that I'm definitely going to include some of them in the play because it's just it is, it is so funny. But it's so dramatic. Some of the things that they talk about, like you know, some of the afflictions or even there's this whole, this whole blurb, I mean really long blurb about how the way a man wears his hat determines like, what kind of person he is and what his like. character is like. So if you put your hat down too far, then that means you're sneaky and conniving, like easy. So some of those kind of things. Were just like a good little window into life back then. That also sad things because just the inherent, you know, sexism and racism that were still there in the late 1800s, early 1900s. And

Unknown Speaker :

well, it's 2020 and it still happens. Yeah, absolutely imagine how bad it was back then.

Unknown Speaker :

Yes, you're totally right. And I mean, it's clear as you read through it, this is this is quote unquote, a white person's paper. It does not feel like a like it's, you know, friendly

Unknown Speaker :

of the population.

Unknown Speaker :

Yes, not at all. And the only thing I could find in there that was reflective at all was an ad for Needham Rogers blacksmith shop, and I know he was African American. And that was the only thing I could find. So, um, so you know, that kind of stuff is heartbreaking, but the story still needs to be told, you know, I, and a lot of it was the sentiment of everybody back then, which does not make it right at all. But it's the truth, you know, unfortunately. So it's, it's sad, and it needs to be said that it's not right. And I'm going to make that very clear. But well,

Unknown Speaker :

you know, what that kind of tried saying is if you don't know history, you're destined to repeat it. So I mean, it's not fun. It's not Happy it's not covered in flowers. People need to know.

Unknown Speaker :

Mm hmm yeah. Yeah. So I would say that's that was probably the the big thing is just going through that really tells you I mean like in they're out and about section it's like so like Mr. Burt visited Raleigh today you know like that kind of stuff so it's like the big news of the town is like, and even some of them are like Mr. Anderson came through

Unknown Speaker :

on his way to say

Unknown Speaker :

it was pretty but but you see kind of how they are trying so hard to be this relevant town. And it was it's just kind of fascinating to go through it. But yeah, so I think that's that's been the fun thing. I've also been learning more about Holland's crossroads, which is just down past at the very very end of event fairy, but that was really considered Holly Springs to and some of the history of Solomon's Crossroads is crazy. I didn't realize that that Union armies also encamped right there. So do you know what I'm talking about? is like, yeah, yeah. So I thought it would be just you know, in Holly Springs, we're just at the the Holland house. But it turns out they were also at Solomon's crossroads. And some of the interesting stuff about, you know, the people, the families who lived there. Yeah, it's been really fun, huh.

Unknown Speaker :

I just love how you can figure all of these things out. I mean, I love that there is there are so many resources that you can consult to see these things. Yeah, learn these things. It's really neat.

Unknown Speaker :

Yeah.

Unknown Speaker :

All right. Well, I'm super excited. I can't wait. I'm glad that you had your gut feeling and listen to your gut. Because it's always better to put out something that you're proud of on a different timetable than to you know, phone it in to leave to, you know, get it done on a on an artificial timeline. So good. I'm really proud of you. Thank you. Thank you. Oh, all right. So 2022 June, right? I said June. So that's just

Unknown Speaker :

two years and one month away.

Unknown Speaker :

Yes. But But you know, the, the auditions will be in January of that year. And so really, we're going to be cranking things out next year, a lot. Like there's so much time for pre production with, you know, a play that's like, what we're trying to get the standard of, you know, like, we want it to be really high quality. And I know that a lot of people can crank out a show a lot faster. But it's also because I'm a mom with three kids at home. I can't necessarily do that. So my pre production timeline and rehearsal timeline, maybe longer than some other people's buttons.

Unknown Speaker :

Quality knows how long you're going to be an involuntary

Unknown Speaker :

homeschooler it Exactly, exactly. I do want to just say really quick that I want to one thing I want to do is include ham Womble in in the newest version and his contributions to the town. So if anybody out there wants to be interviewed about ham Womble parish ham Womble, I would really love that.

Unknown Speaker :

Yeah. Yeah. losing him was big.

Unknown Speaker :

Yeah.

Unknown Speaker :

Yes. But I'm glad that Nancy still can tell their story.

Unknown Speaker :

Yeah, they're they've done a lot for the town and, huh. And I think I think I'm still learning what they've done. And it's pretty exciting to see.

Unknown Speaker :

Yeah. Yeah, for sure. I'm glad he has a park named after him.

Unknown Speaker :

Yes.

Unknown Speaker :

Right. Well, thank you so much for chatting with me. Thank you. This is exciting. I love this news from you. I'm so pleased that you chose to reveal it on my little podcast, so All right, get ready measure.

Unknown Speaker :

Thank you my dear friend, thank you for everything I sure appreciate you. Alright, thanks for it later by.

Unknown Speaker :

Links mentioned are available in this episode's show notes. This episode was written, recorded and produced by me Karen Shore with music by Doug Maxwell and Media Right Productions. Stay well, friends. Until next time. Transcribed by https://otter.ai