Theatre Raleigh to Present BLOOD DONE SIGN MY NAME, 5/28-6/8

The best selling novel by Timothy B. Tyson, is brought to life by celebrated actor/writer, Michael Wiley in Blood Done Sign My Name May 28th-June 8th at Kennedy Theatre. Blood Done Sign My Name is a dramatization of the true story of a racially-motivated murder committed in Oxford, NC in 1970. The crime and its aftermath still resonate today, as we grapple with Stand Your Ground laws and our personal responses to racism nearly half a century later. Appropriate for ages 16+ (due to subject matter and language).

Single tickets are $22-$30 and are available at http://www.theatreraleigh.com.

"We are honored to bring this poignant production to Raleigh. Dramatizing real events is a way to not only learn history, but feel it, and develop a personal connection to it," said Lauren Kennedy, Artistic Director for Theatre Raleigh.

In Blood Done Sign My Name, Mike Wiley brings to life the recollections of author Timothy B.Tyson surrounding the 1970 murder of Henry "Dickie" Marrow in Oxford, NC and the events that followed. Marrow, who was black, was chased from a local store by three white men after reportedly making a crude remark to one of the men's wives. They brutally beat Marrow then killed him with a bullet to the head in view of multiple witnesses. Despite the eyewitness reports, an all-white jury acquitted the men. The town's black community responded to the events with an uprising that destroyed downtown businesses and several tobacco warehouses holding at least a million dollars in harvested crops. Tyson, who was 10 at the time, recounts how the conflagration of events shaped his life and offers all of us an opportunity to examine our own roles in the complex and often confusing racial fabric of America.

Actor and playwright Mike Wiley spent the first decade of his professional career fulfilling a focused mission to bring educational theatre to young audiences. His acclaimed work has now expanded to performing arts centers and universities nationwide and to film screens and festivals around the world. Wiley holds a Masters of Fine Arts from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and has appeared on the Discovery Channel, The Learning Channel and the National Geographic Channel, profiled in Our State and American Theatre magazines, and was named an Indy Artist of the Year in 2012. He is a former Lehman Brady Visiting Professor at Duke University's Center for Documentary Studies. Since 2010, Wiley has been awarded multiple "Best Actor" awards at film festivals in the US and Europe for the impressive Rob Underhill short films EMPTY SPACE and WOLF CALL.

Blood Done Sign My Name has twice been performed by invitation from the city to standing-room-only audiences in Oxford, NC -- where its own horrendous 1970 murder took place.

Serena Ebhardt (Director) weaves a complex tale flawlessly. Acclaimed gospel scholar and singer, Mrs. Mary D. Williams (Vocalist) reinforces the action on stage with powerful and moving renditions of spirituals such as Oh, Freedom, Swing Low Sweet Chariot and Soon I Will Be Done. Tracy Francis (Production Manager), Michael Goolsby (Stage Manager/Projections), Lauren Kennedy (Artistic Director), and Michele Weathers (Managing Director) complete the crew.

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