Jacksonville...Works
2012 · Three church sanctuaries in Jacksonville, IL: Grace Methodist Church (Mar 18, 7 p.m.), First Presbyterian Church (Mar 19, 7 p.m.), and Faith Lutheran Church (Mar 20, 2 p.m. matinee)
"Jacksonville...Works" is an original two-act documentary-theatre piece built from the actual words of Jacksonville, Illinois residents — "from undertakers to authors...from politicians to exotic dancers...from CEOs to inmates...sculptors to mechanics" — a broad spectrum of the people who make the town work. Ken Bradbury's Lincoln Land Community College theatre class interviewed over sixty people who live and work in Jacksonville, taped the interviews, and Bradbury edited roughly 300 pages of transcript down to a two-act play with original music. Eleven student actors read the townspeople's own stories — a lake diver returning lost wallets, a homeless man called "Bob," the mayor, a doctor who delivered 4,500 babies, an 88-year-old missionary called at 65 — building to the refrain "It works! It really works!"
The show was presented free of charge as a benefit, with the offering plate passed to support the Salvation Army of Jacksonville and the Western Illinois Youth Camp; the run raised $4,500 for the Army and the camp. It played three Jacksonville church sanctuaries over a March weekend.
Performances
- March 18 — Grace Methodist Church, Jacksonville, 7 p.m.
- March 19 — First Presbyterian Church, Jacksonville, 7 p.m.
- March 20 — Faith Lutheran Church, Jacksonville, 2 p.m. matinee
Songs
Ken assigned students John Love and Ryan Harris to write the original music, asking them for songs general enough to cover the themes of many interviews at once. The named theme candidates were:
- Come with Me, I'll Help You See / See the World Through My Eyes — drawn from radio announcer Gary Scott's interview about the blind boy at the Waverly Tournament ("I just wanted him to be able to watch the game through you guys.")
- Thank You for Taking Me as I Am / Thanks for Giving Me Your Hand — from Luke's interviews: the ex-inmate welcomed back, the diver recovering wallets, the doctor who delivered 4,500 babies.
- I'll Never Quit / There's Something Burning in My Heart — from the 88-year-old missionary: "I became a missionary at age 65. God called me...Now I'm 88 and still going."
- It's Good to Be Who I Am / Take My Hand and I'll Lead You to a Better Place — from Marcy Patterson, editor of The Source newspaper: "even though I make less, I'm happier because I'm serving other people."
Cast
- Wes Burton
- Jessica Clinton
- Ryan Harris
- Zack Pickens
- John Love
- Tim Phillips
- Annie Schone
- Billie Smith
- Brandon Smith
- Phillip Whited
- Erin Washington
Production Notes
The piece grew directly out of the students' fieldwork: the LLCC theatre class taped interviews with more than sixty Jacksonville citizens, then edited some 300 pages of transcript into a two-act play with original music meant to capture the common themes across many lives rather than any single story. The original songs were written by cast members John Love and Ryan Harris under Ken's guidance. On Friday night John Love led the pre-show prayer, ending "Thanks God, for letting us do good things."
The 60 interviewees thanked in the program include Dr. Chet Bone, former Congressman Paul Findley, Bob Chipman, Mayor Andy Ezard, Steve and Tiffany Warmowski, and a homeless man listed as "A guy named Bob." Production thank-yous went to Jan Terry and MaryJane Million of LLCC, Bob Large of the Western Illinois Youth Camp, and Captain Amos Shiels of the Jacksonville Salvation Army. The same student company toured 17 area elementary schools that year with their children's play "Now That's Different!"
Distinctive interview material woven into the script included a diver recovering wallets from the lake, the homeless "Ronnie/Bob," the mayor putting out fires on Mondays, a doctor who delivered 4,500 babies (a Murrayville mother with 14), and the Hamiltons restaurant memory.
Photos