<< Back 9/18/02 Carden plays to be staged SMN Presentations of two short plays authored by Sylva playwright Gary Carden are among activities centered on Mountain Heritage Day, Western Carolina University’s annual mountain-style festival Sept. 28. A Mountain Heritage Day matinee performance of dramatic monologues “Coy” and “Birdell” will be presented at 2:30 p.m. on Sept. 28 at WCU’s Niggli Theatre. The monologues also will be staged at Niggli Theatre at 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, Sept. 26-28. “Coy,” originally part of a full-length play penned by Carden titled “Land’s End,” concerns a mythical overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway called Land’s End. Coy is a young mountain man who has visited Land’s End with his grandfather, and now the grandfather has cancer and is suffering in a local hospital. Although “Coy” touches on many aspects of mountain life, the primary emphasis is on death and dying in Appalachia, and the right to depart life with dignity. “Coy” will be performed by Milton Higgins III, an actor who has performed in numerous roles at the Parkway Playhouse in Burnsville, including the character Jody Lee in Carden’s “The Raindrop Waltz.” “Birdell,” which is being performed for the public for the first time, is the story of Birdell Tolly, an 86-year-old mountain woman who is surprised to find a host of visitors (the audience) in her front yard. Birdell recounts her life, beginning with her marriage at the age of 16 and progressing through life on Hazel Creek in Swain County, and the aftermath of the family’s move in 1942 to make way for the Fontana Lake project. “Birdell” will feature Elizabeth Westall, a retired English and drama teacher who has performed in Carden’s “Nance Dude.” Carden, a Western Carolina alumnus, taught English and theatre in public schools and colleges for 15 years and is a veteran theatre director and storyteller. He received the Appalachian Writer’s Association’s best book award in 2000 for Mason Jars in the Flood and his video, “Blow the Tannery Whistle,” has been broadcast on public television. He is currently at work on a play about Horace Kephart, author of Our Southern Highlanders. Tickets may be purchased at the Niggli Theatre box office, located in WCU’s Stillwell Building, beginning 30 minutes before each production. Admission is $3 for WCU students and $5 for all others. For more information, call Jim Manning at 828.227.3803.