THEATERS OF THE AMERICAN SOUTH: Since its inception, Theater of the American South productions have been presented at the Boykin Cultural Center, a showpiece vaudeville theater built in 1919 and beautifully restored in the late 1990s. This 640-seat venue offers a first-rate theatergoing experience. The Boykin Center has hosted world-class performing artists, including the St. Petersburg Ballet Theatre of Russia and the Alvin Ailey Repertory Ensemble. This arcaded building features unusually ornate architectural details such as classical cornices and plasters and intricate circular medallions. The Boykin Center is located at 108 West Nash Street in downtown Wilson.

Theater of the American South is pleased to announce that in 2010, the festival will expand to a second performance space. The Lauren Kennedy and Alan Campbell Theatre is a delightful, intimate venue on the campus of Barton College that was just completed in the summer of 2009

Theater of the American South presents top-quality plays featuring professional directors, actors, and designers. Plays in the festival's 2010 season are:

  

THE MEMBER OF THE WEDDING by Carson McCullers

This touching, endearing play is a classic portrayal of youthful awakening. Twelve-year old tomboy Frankie Adams dreams of leaving her motherless home in a small Southern town to join her soon-to-be married brother and his fiancé. Her adolescent flights of fancy are grounded by the hard-earned wisdom of her father’s African American housekeeper, Berenice, whose kitchen is a refuge for Frankie and her young cousin. Carson McCullers, one of the South’s most acclaimed writers, adapted the play from her novel. Other works by McCullers include The Heart is a Lonely Hunter and The Ballad of the Sad Café. The Member of the Wedding was made into an Academy Award-nominated film.

Performances (Boykin Cultural Center): May 13, 8 pm Opening Performance; May 15, 2pm; May 16, 2pm; May 21, 8pm; May 22, 2pm; .May 23, 2pm; May 27, 8pm; May 29, 8pm; May 30, 2pm

CONCORD, VIRGINIA by Peter Neofotis

Exciting young writer-performer Peter Neofotis executes a tour de force in Concord, Virginia: he presents two of his own richly textured short stories from memory. Drawn from a collection published in 2009 by St. Martin’s Press, Concord, Virginia tells the story of the author’s hometown through the history of its characters. Neofotis, dubbed the “seeming lovechild of Truman Capote and Eudora Welty,” veers from the madcap horseback odyssey of the town heiress to the heroic defense mounted by two of the town’s elders against a government takeover of their land. The tales are by turns whimsical, Gothic, hilarious, savage, and poetic. Neofotis refined his stories through many performances at a New York theater. Concord, Virginia is Southern storytelling at its finest.

Performances (Lauren Kennedy and Alan Campbell Theatre): May 14, 8pm Opening Performance; May 15, 8pm; May 16, 7:30pm; May 20, 8pm; May 22, 8pm; May 23, 7:30pm; May 28, 8pm; May 29, 2pm; May 30, 7:30pm

Special Late Night Performance of The Botanist: May 21, 11pm. The Botanist is intended for a mature audience and will only be presented at this late night performance.

Tickets for Theater of the American South events are available online, www.theateroftheamericansouth.org, by phone at (252) 291-4329 x10, or in person at the Arts Council of Wilson box office located at 124 Nash Street SW.

Tickets for Theater of the American South plays are $20, $18 for seniors (age 60 and above) and students.

Passport Tickets covering a combination of events are also available for purchase. Tickets purchased other than in person will be held at the theater box office, in the case of a play; or at the site of the demonstration or luncheon, in the case of a cooking demonstration or luncheon.

Tickets for the May 21 Special Late Night Performance of The Botanist are $10.