2024-25 season Breach of Peace: Freedom Riders of 1961
Mar 22-30 | Wells Fargo Playhouse For ages 7+
MEET CREATOR MIKE WILEY
NEXT UP! DR. SEUSS’S THE CAT IN THE HAT
STAFF AND BOARD OF DIRECTORS
OUR SUPPORTERS
VOLUNTEER WITH US
ImaginOn (photo courtesy of Charlotte Mecklenburg Library)
Written
and performed by Mike
Wiley
Lighting assistance by Sage Espinosa
RUN TIME 60 MINUTES
Videotaping, photography and other recording of this production is prohibited.
LANGUAGE ADVISORY
Mike Wiley’s documentary theatre productions are dramatically rendered stories based on historical fact. See page 8 for complete language advisory.
The 2024-25 Season
The 2024-25 Season
Children’s Theatre of Charlotte is supported, in part, by the City of Charlotte and its generous donors.
This performance is funded in part by a grant from South Arts in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and the North Carolina Arts Council. Additional support is provided by the Shubert Foundation.
I
I NEW! SUMMER STAGE - Experiences for students ages 3 to 18 led by Professional Teaching ArtistsCamps are grouped by age and offered at ImaginOn, with select satellite camps offered at at CPCC’s Levine Campus (Matthews) & Gaston Day School.
About the Show
May 24, 1961 was the day 19-year-old Jean Thompson’s father had prepared her for her entire life. “My parents always talked about the injustice of segregation, but they were optimistic; they didn’t feel like it was going to last forever,” Thompson recalled. “They raised us to be ready. I remember my dad saying the day will come, and when it does, you should be ready.”
On that day, she boarded a Trailways bus in Montgomery, Alabama with 11 other young Freedom Riders bound for New Orleans – and history. Within three months, approximately 300 other riders took up the mantle to desegregate buses, following the path of the first brave few. Mobs bloodily assaulted many. Others were arrested shining a light on a brutal, segregated South. Breach of Peace is based on true accounts of surviving participants of the Freedom Rides as well as many other individuals involved in the early struggle for African-American equality.
This solo-play is a living monument to those remarkable young men and women of various races, religions and backgrounds who rose to face the dangers of fighting for just and equal treatment for all.
Language Advisory
Mike Wiley’s documentary theatre productions are dramatically rendered stories based on historical fact. The dramas are presented with intention that they help to shine light and open dialogue by sharing stories of individuals and events of human and civil rights struggles, strength, hope, failure, and accomplishment. These stories are part of the American historical narrative. Occasional use of language or terminology accurate to an event’s period or setting may be viewed by some as offensive or inappropriate — but by avoiding such language, the historical truth of the portrayal becomes less authentic. Thank you for your understanding.
Breach of Peace: The Freedom Riders of 1961 uses the “n-word” once in a direct quote from John Lewis.
Meet Mike Wiley
Virginia-born Mike Wiley is a North Carolina-based actor, playwright and director of multiple works in documentary theatre, including THE PARCHMAN HOUR, DOWNRANGE: STORIES FROM THE HOMEFRONT, DAR HE: THE STORY OF EMMETT TILL, the theatrical adaptation of BLOOD DONE SIGN MY NAME, THE FIRE OF FREEDOM and more. Wiley has more than twenty years of credits in documentary theatre for young audiences plus film, television and regional theatre. An Upward Bound alum and Trio Achiever Award recipient, he is an M.F.A. graduate of the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, former Lehman-Brady Visiting Joint Chair Professor at Duke University’s Center for Documentary Studies, and current Artist in Residence for the Kenan Institute for Ethics and The Stephen and Janet Bear Assistant Research Professor of Arts, Ethics, and Education in the Program in Education at Duke University. He is recipient of the UNC- Chapel Hill Distinguished Alumni Award and has conducted numerous teaching/ educational residencies funded through grant programs of the North Carolina Arts Council. His plays have been jury-selected for showcasing by arts industry conferences including Arts Midwest, Arts Northwest, OAPN, Performing Arts Exchange, ArtsMarket, IPAY, plus Contact East & Contact Ontario in Canada. His ensemble-cast productions have been produced by major regional theatres including Guthrie The-
- photo by Chris Charles for Creative Silence -
Meet Mike Wiley
atre, Playmakers Repertory Company, Cape Fear Regional Theatre, Hattiloo Theatre, Virginia Stage & others.
A gifted and visionary artist and communicator, Wiley’s overriding goal is expanding cultural awareness for audiences of all ages through dynamic portrayals based on pivotal moments in African-American history. On every stage or screen in whatever form, this remarkably gifted playwright/actor continues to peel away distrust and misinformation to dramatically and powerfully share true stories giving honor and tribute to heroic, iconic legends and change-making unsung heroes from the African- American history book of the United States of America. Black History Matters.
In 2020, Mike Wiley received the Ann Atwater Award presented by Manbites Dog Theater Fund to recognize Triangle theater artists and companies whose body of work reflects and honors Durham activist Ann Atwater’s lifelong commitment to social justice. He is also recipient of the NC Theatre Conference Constance Welsh Award for Theatre for Youth. Wiley founded the online series "Higher Ground Conversations" with national civil rights and social justice leaders. Mike Wiley currently tours eight solo-actor original plays, performing and conducting workshops and residencies across the US for student and adult audiences.
