Open-Door Playhouse Debuts WHITESVILLE On February 13

Open-Door Playhouse continues to present plays in podcast form. Its upcoming play Whitesville is a full-length, three-act play. Each act will be presented in a separate podcast episode online. Act One will debut on February 13, 2024, Act Two on February 14, and Act Three on February 15 at http://opendoorplayhouse.org All three acts will continue subsequently to be available on the website.

A white police captain, his white wife, and their two adopted Black teen children try to keep their family from being torn apart as their town and the nation become engulfed in protests in the immediate aftermath of the murder of George Floyd.

The Clayton family has always closed ranks when it comes to emotional challenges, including facing off with those who would confront their mixed-race family. This time they are struggling to see eye-to-eye in real time to the news of a Black man who died under the knee of a white cop while also coming to grips with the family secret of how Isabelle and Jason ended up being adopted by Max and Meredith Clayton.

Winesville, or "Whitesville" as it's known across rural Indiana, quickly becomes a powder keg as the town's small population of Black residents, including Jason and Isabelle, can remain silent no longer. They begin marching for reform in opposition of Max and the town's mostly-white police force creating a scenario none of them ever thought possible -- children facing off with their police officer father during violent protests while their mother is caught in the middle.

When a curfew and other measures only lead to growing unrest, outside protestors and state police converge on Whitesville for one final, massive protest that most fear will turn deadly, leaving the Clayton family with a night of personal choices that will change each of them forever.

Rachel Berney Needleman directs a cast that includes David Purdam, Goreti da Silva, Justice Davis, Maria Katre, Gilbert Glenn Brown, and Omari Williams.

Eric Mansfield is the playwright. The Akron, Ohio-based writer's many plays include Trial By Fire, Cemetery Calling, Baron of Brown Street, Home Movie, Love in Reserve, Lockdown, and much more.

Whitesville is one of several plays specifically curated by Open-Door Playhouse for presentation during Black History Month (February).

Founded by playwright and filmmaker Bernadette Armstrong, Open-Door Playhouse is a Theater Podcast- like the radio dramas of the 1940s and 1950s. The Playhouse launched on September 15, 2020. At the time, Open-Door Playhouse provided Playwrights, Actors and Directors a creative outlet during the shutdown. Since its inception. Open-Door Playhouse has presented Short and One-Act plays from Playwrights across the country and internationally. In 2021 Open-Door Playhouse received a Communicator Award for Content for the Play Custody and in 2023 the play What's Prison Like was nominated for a Webby Award in the Crime & Justice Category.

Plays are produced by Bernadette Armstrong, Sound Engineer is David Peters, sound effects are provided by Audio Jungle, and music from Karaoke Version. All plays are recorded at The Oak House Studio in Altadena, CA.

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