SHILOH RULES Comes to The Alpharetta Arts Center

Arcadia Theater, in partnership with ACT1 Theater, will present Shiloh Rules, a comedy by Doris Baizley, running from February 7-16, 2025, at the Alpharetta Arts Center's Black Box Theater. Directed by the brilliant Hailee Zuniga, this play is a hilarious, thought-provoking ride through the wreckage of history and the endless absurdity of human conflict.

Shiloh Rules pokes fun at everything from historical reenactments to the idea that we can ever really make peace with the past. Through sharp humor and biting satire, Baizley invites audiences to laugh at the absurdity of trying to "relive" one of America's bloodiest battles. If you think a Civil War reenactment is just a harmless historical hobby, think again. It's a powder keg waiting to explode into a farce about history, power, and what happens when you really get into character.

In Shiloh Rules, six women find themselves locked in an epic (and completely absurd) skirmish during a reenactment of the Battle of Shiloh. Two Union nurses and two Confederate refugees are trying to reenact history, but they're struggling to hold their ground when the real war-fought between egos, frustrations, and clashing ideals-becomes a bit too real. Enter Ranger Wilson, a Black woman park ranger who is so over the Civil War, she'd rather do literally anything else than wade into this historical drama.

But just when you think things can't get crazier, along comes a supply stand operator who convinces Ranger Wilson that the only way to restore order is for her to throw on a Union uniform and join the chaos. What follows is a perfect storm of ridiculousness, where history is a costume, violence is a game, and nobody, except the ever-unbothered Widow Beckwith, emerges from the field unchanged-or unscathed.

Director Hailee Zuniga brings this chaos to life in the Black Box Theater, where the audience will feel every awkward moment, every misplaced musket shot, and every painfully humorous clash of egos up close. Expect an evening that will have you laughing, cringing, and perhaps questioning the validity of every reenactment you've ever seen.

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