Summer 2007

Aunt Lilian's Deed, the story of how Dr. Lilian Johnson donated her property to Myles Horton and Don West to establish what became the Highlander Folk School. Dr. Johnson, a well-educated and relatively wealthy woman from west Tennessee came to Monteagle, built a home and opened it to the community. She worked in organizing for community development and started a cooperative (Kinco). Although Kinco failed she perservered and taught at Summerfield Elementary and raised funds for this public school. She served on the Grundy County Board of Education.  She recruited author and educator May Justus who taught at the school. As she neared retirement age, she looked for someone who would continue the work of community organizing for economic development.

Performances: September 14, 15, 16, 21, 22, 28, 29, October 4,5,6. Friday and Saturday evening performances are at 7:30. Sunday matinees are at 2:30

Tickets: $10 adults, $8 students, $5 children 12 and under.

Venue: Cowan Center for the Arts, Cowan Tennessee

Summer 2006

Lost, our premier summer production, will be reprised this summer to the delight of people who saw our original production, and to the relief of those who missed it. Written by local talent, Mark Edens, Lost is based on a true story and is a comic battle of wits between the last inhabitants of an isolated mountain couple and a pair of fast-talking Washington businessmen out to make a fast buck off their land. Performances are in Cowan at the Franklin County Arts Center.

Summer 2005

The First Mrs. Crockett - Margaret Stephens' award-winning play has been selected for the 2005 production. Mrs. Stephens' weaves humor and compassion in her story about how Polly Crockett, Wilma Rudolph, and Dinah Shore all help a young woman make tough decisions about her future. A unique view of Davy Crockett from the family-at-home perspective. The play will be presented weekends in July beginning July 8 through August 6. Check the homepage and the First Mrs. Crockett pages for more information.

Winter 2004

Dinner Theatre -  Coal Camp Madonna, a heartwarming play by Daniel S. Kehde.  It's winter in a poor coal mining town in the early 1900's.  A foundling baby girl appears on the doorstep of the company store.  This profound, beautiful story goes to the heart of what Christmas is all about - generosity of spirit and redemption through love with a Christmas theme performed November and December of 2004.

Summer 2004

Cast a Long Shadow by Kennesaw Williams and directed by John Wright. This SCCS production was performed at St. Andrew's-Sewanee School from July 9 to August 7. This full-length play is about one of the Mountain's most renowned, beloved, and controversial characters, Father James Harold Flye.

It portrays Fr. James Flye--the renegade educator-priest, his wildly eccentric wife Grace, the "bad boys" of St. Andrew's whom Flye formatively influenced by "outlandish" teaching methods from 1918 to 1954, and his star-crossed assault on the unenlightened school policies of the day.  But how does Marilyn Monroe fit into the story?

Playwright Competition - Occasional regional competition encourages the development of local talent. Winners provide new and original scripts for SCCS productions. The 2004 winners were:
First Place - The First Mrs. Crockett by Margaret Stephens,
Second Place - The Wilson Family Reunion by Lydia C. Bushfield,
Third Place - Romanowski and Juliano by David Malcolm Rose

Highlights of past years

Summer 2002

Round Forest by Mark Edens is set in the post-Civil War era and early 20th century and based on the life and stories of Mary Noailles Murfree. Romance, comedy, music, and life-and-death drama all come together on a moonlit night in the mountains.

Summer 2001

Lost based on a true story, is a comic battle of wits between the last inhabitants of an isolated mountain couple and a pair of fast-talking Washington businessmen out to make a fast buck off their land. This should be simple...the sophisticated city-slickers vs. the "backwoods" mountain folk. Guess who gets the last laugh.

Round Forest Cast