Staff Reports
FISHERS — A play that deals with a dark chapter in Pendleton’s history is scheduled for for a five-day run at Conner Prairie Interactive History Park beginning July 27.
“More Light: Douglass Returns” is written by Indiana playwright Celeste Williams and inspired by the 1880 return to Indiana by prominent American abolitionist, writer and speaker Frederick Douglass.
Williams wrote the play after writing a non-fiction piece in 2014 about Frederick Douglass for an arts journal, according to a Conner Prairie press release.
That article recounted an appearance by Douglass in Pendleton, in 1843, when he was severely beaten as he attempted to give a speech against slavery. That incident contrasted with the reception Douglass received in 1880 at a political rally in Noblesville.
“By then, the Civil War had been fought. Douglass gained his freedom and became one of the most famous orators of his time,” Williams wrote in the press release. “Race relations in the 19th century were still fraught with problems but by the time Douglass returned to Indiana for a speech in 1880, he was welcomed with enthusiastic crowds of people who lauded his position as a statesman.”
The play is the result of a collaboration between Conner Prairie and Asante Children’s Theatre. “More Light: Douglass Returns,” is in association with the Roberts Settlement, and is directed by Catherine Hughes, director of interpretation and evaluation at Conner Prairie
The play is supported by the Christel DeHaan Family Foundation and is part of the Giving Voice Initiative, which focuses on the African-American presence in Indiana history.
Performances are scheduled for: 7 p.m. July 27; 3 p.m. July 29; 7 p.m. July 30; 3 p.m. Aug. 5; and 7 p.m. Aug. 6 in Lilly Theater inside the Welcome Center at Conner Prairie, 13400 Allisonville Road, Fishers.
Tickets cost $5 and can be purchased the night of the show, in advance online at connerprairie.org or by calling 317-776-6000.
As Indiana’s first Smithsonian Institute affiliate, Conner Prairie offers various outdoor, historically themed destinations and indoor experiential learning spaces that combine history and art with science, technology, engineering and math to offer an authentic look into history that shapes society today.