03/06-03/16 Near Vicksburg: A Civil War Play About the Siege of Vicksburg
Incubator Arts Project
St. Mark’s Church in-the-Bowery
131 East 10th Street
(at 2nd Avenue)
New York, NY 10003
A 2013-2014 NEW PERFORMANCE Series
Near Vicksburg is set in the Civil War during Siege of Vicksburg. On May 18th, 1863 Union troops (or “Feds”) fell upon the river city of Vicksburg, MS and fought for it until July 4th, a total of 47 days. To escape the relentless artillery fire, mortar attacks and bombardments, the citizens of Vicksburg, mostly women, children and soon-to-be-former slaves, dug and hid in a series of 500 caves in the hills and bluffs of the city. The play about three completely powerless people hiding in one of these caves: Jane, a middle class Southern woman, her husband’s slave, George, and Jane’s teenaged daughter. As the war rages only inches away from them, Jane and George create their own version of society in the claustrophobic cave, with its own set of rules, boundaries, language and physicality.
Playwright/Director: Sara Farrington in consultation with General and Civil War historian Parker Mills.
Set/Lighting Designer: Cecilia Durbin
Sound Designer: Juan Aboites
Stage Manager: Stacy Arnaiz
Performers: Megan Emery Gaffney, Ugo Chukwu, Zoe Van Tieghem
