Auburn University Theatre closing season with 'Alabama Love Stories'

Auburn University Theatre is closing its 2019 spring season with "Alabama Love Stories," a story that spans 200 years of Alabama history. Conceived and directed by Tessa Carr, "Alabama Love Stories" incorporates poetry, song and physical theatre to tell the tales of ordinary Alabamians and love throughout the state’s history.

“This piece does not tell a clear linear story of love. We hope it portrays that fierce and compassionate emotion in its complex glory,” Carr said. 

“Alabama Love Stories” can be seen in Auburn University Theatre’s Black Box Theatre April 11-20.

Loosely following a chronological thread beginning with the Native American roots of Alabama history and moving through a variety of critical moments in the state’s story including the Civil War, the fight for Women’s suffrage, The Great Migration, World War II and Alabama’s Civil Rights legacy, “Alabama Love Stories” ends in the contemporary moment exploring celebrations of love through an examination of the evolution of marriage laws in Alabama to include interracial and same-sex marriage.

“It weaves through the love and connection to the earth, the longing for family, romantic love, agape love, the fickle passion of young love and a celebration of the legalization of loving who you want,” Carr said. 

Carr began this project with support from the Caroline Marshall Draughon Center for the Arts and her research incorporates archival pieces found in the Alabama State Archives, the Auburn Special Collections, the Birmingham Public Library Archives and New York Public Library’s Schomburg Center of Research in Black Culture.

“This past summer and fall semester were spent culling through multiple collections of documents within the state archive” Carr stated. “About 70 percent of what we have reviewed did not even make the first cut.”

Auburn University Theatre will also be presenting “Alabama Love Stories” with accessible and sensory friendly performance dates. The accessibility team is working to ensure that the Black Box Theatre is welcoming to all patrons through these enhanced performances. An accessible performance is scheduled for Saturday, April 13, at 7:30 p.m. and a sensory friendly/relaxed performance is set for Tuesday, April 16, at 7:30 p.m.

The theatre's accessibility team is working with American Sign Language interpreters, creating 3D models of the set and tactile lobby displays, designing open captioning, scripting audio description and facilitating tactile tours as part of these productions. Please visit the Access Services Page for more details about these performances and how to request access services. 

For additional information or if you have questions, need assistance or an accommodation not mentioned above, contact the accessibility coordinator, Elena SV Flys, at elena.sv.flys@emich.edu.

The run time for ‘Alabama Love Stories’ is approximately 2 hours with one 10-minute intermission.

While there is nothing explicit in terms of language and content, this show may contain themes that challenge conventional understandings of Alabama and that some may consider offensive. This piece strives to open up conversation about the many communities that inhabit this state and focuses on love as a language to encourage dialogue and discourse.

The artistic team for “Alabama Love Stories” includes direction by Tessa Carr, scenic and lighting design by Danielle Baisden Curtis, costume design by Tracy Oleinick, music direction by Logan Pace, sound design by student designer Grace Hamilton and movement and choreography by Auburn student Connor Dealy. The cast includes Emily Fayard, Hudson Hubbard, Matt Stephenson, Jessi Rogers, Jackson Whiting, Noël Dudley, Zac Moss, Ebony Strong, Nyala Hall, London Carlisle, Salem Gaddis, Falan Buie-Madden and Allison Dixon.

Buy Tickets

The Department of Theatre welcomes in a new ticketing system. Features include the ability to choose seats online (for mainstage productions) and a season subscription package, along with a larger range of purchasing options. For more information, go to Department of Theatre’s Ticketing Page.

Talkback Thursdays

To engage in discussion around the performance or learn more about the production, make plans to attend “Talkback Thursday” after the show for a conversation with the director and company members.

Showtimes:

• Thursday, April 11, 7:30 p.m. – Opening
• Friday, April 12, 7:30 p.m.
• Saturday, April 13, 7:30 p.m. – Accessibility Performance
• Sunday, April 14, 2:30 p.m.
• Tuesday, April 16, 7:30 p.m. – Sensory-Friendly Performance
• Wednesday, April 17, 7:30 p.m.
• *Thursday, April 18, 7:30 p.m.
• Friday, April 19, 7:30 p.m.
• Saturday, April 20, 7:30 p.m. – Closing

*Talkback Thursday

Ticket Prices:

• General: $16
• Senior Citizen: $12
• Faculty and Staff: $12
• AU student with ID: Free
• Non-Auburn University Student: $12

Find more information online at https://theatretickets.auburn.edu

Box Office Hours:

• Monday–Friday: 8 a.m.–4:45 p.m.
• On Saturday evening performances: 6–8 p.m.
• On Sunday matinees: 1–3 p.m.

Call the box office 334-844-4154.