For individuals interested in seeing both parts, there is special ticket pricing. Tickets for both Part 1 and Part 2, for whatever dates the patron chooses, must be purchased in advance on the same trip to the box office in 123 Stillwell. Adult tickets are $20, WCU faculty, staff, and senior adults $15, and students $10. Single performance ticket prices are adults $12.50, WCU faculty, staff, and senior adults $10, and students $6. For additional information, call the box office at 828.227.7491.



It’s all about the land and the people who are obsessed with owning it and who will do anything to gain possession of it. Beginning in the 1700s and spanning 200 years, “The Kentucky Cycle” follows three families intricately bound by blood, deceit, and ownership of the land.

This unique theatrical offering of Western Carolina University and the University Players is told in a series of nine one-act plays presented in two parts, beginning Nov. 16, in Hoey Auditorium. Robert Schenkkan wrote the 1992 Pulitzer Prize-winning play.

“This is an ensemble piece with a lot of symbolism. Schenkkan has a sense of ritual that is carried throughout the play,” said Steve Ayers, associate professor of communications and theatre arts and director of the play.

The Play

In Part 1 we meet the first pivotal character, Michael Rowan, who uses blankets tainted with smallpox to buy the land from the Cherokee. He marries the lone survivor, Morning Star. With blood spilled for the sake of the land, the saga continues when a neighbor slyly buys the land. The Civil War divides the family, but through deceit and manipulation, the land comes back to the Rowan clan.

Greed intensifies with the opening of Part 2. Outsiders find their way to that part of Kentucky, looking for the black gold hidden in the hills — coal. With coal comes miners, unsafe working conditions, and the rise of unions with ensuing labor disputes. The fighting and blood continues to flow for the sake of the land.

“Many critics have said this play is really a discussion between man and God,” said Ayers. “It talks about greed and evil, the unpredictability of evil as well as the unpredictability of good.” Ayers sees it as a demonstration of the illusiveness of fate and destiny.

The Production

Telling this story, which covers two centuries, requires 25 actors portraying 95 characters. Except for two small but critical roles, students become the fathers and sons, girlfriends and wives, and neighbors and friends. Steve Carlisle and Claire Eye, visiting lecturers in communication and theater arts, lend their professional experience to enhance the students’ performances, according to Ayers. Some actors appear in several roles throughout the two nights of the play, as young and older version of the same character.

In addition to the story line, this production features several unique elements. The setting is very minimal but versatile and functional. A giant, ancient oak tree provides the backdrop. What makes this so unusual is that the tree is the stage and does not completely fill the permanent stage. The audience will see silhouettes of actors as they prepare for entrance to the oak tree stage. This enables the audience to see a transformation from a person, to a person as an actor, to the character on stage. Prior to coming onto the stage, the actor will make some psychological gesture to get into the character-for example, a certain stance or movement.

“In most plays the audience is drawn completely into the play. However, in this piece, with the darkened areas around the stage, the audience keeps a distance and is asked to think about what is going on and to make a judgment regarding the characters and their behavior,” said Ayers.



Authenticity

The first scene has Michael Rowan, the main character, dealing with the Cherokee Indians in the 1700s. The script calls for actors to speak Cherokee. To get the pronunciation correct, the three actors playing the Cherokee requested help from students at Cherokee High School. Laura Pinnix, instructor at Cherokee High School, and several students worked five hours teaching the actors the proper pronunciation.

“When we first started working with the script we found the text was in the western Cherokee dialect because the playwright was working in the western United States and was familiar with members of that tribe. Since the story takes place in the East, the Cherokee students went for authenticity and translated the script into the eastern dialect and then taught the actors,” said Ayers.

Realism also is incorporated into the Civil War scene at the end of Part 1. Ayers received special permission from Gene McAbee, director of University Police, to use real period weapons that are named in the play, like the 1775 Brown Bess musket. Carol Insley, a Civil War re-enactor, served as consultant for this portion.

Susan Brown-Strauss, associate professor of theatre, designed costumes. Richard Beam, professor of theatre arts, is in charge of lighting, and Luther Jones, visiting assistant professor of theatre, designed the set.