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Echoes Across the PrairieBook and Lyrics by Ann E. Eskridge, Music by Alton JamesContact Email: annesk@ameritech.net and contact@altonjamesmedia.com |
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Discover the untold story in Echoes Across the Prairie, where history and drama unfold. Henni, an African American and Creek Indian widow, creates Drummond, an all-black town in Indian Territory from her land allotment. As conflicts arise, secrets are revealed, and Henni faces a crisis over her land that leads to a death. The musical explores love, sacrifice, and the fight for justice. Join the journey of a community building its own destiny against all odds. Echoes Across the Prairie – where every note echoes the resilience of a forgotten chapter in history. Echoes touches upon a crucial aspect of American history. Our goal is to create a musical that vividly portrays the historical significance of the all-black towns in turn-of-the-20th-century Oklahoma. These towns, born out of the collective determination to break free from the tyranny of the South, offer a powerful narrative that deserves to be shared with a wider audience. In writing the musical book first, Ann leaned heavily on her former research and then the skill of a former instructor to structure the book to begin developing the musical. Theatre Now New York International Musical Theater teams worked with Alton and Ann to shape the book and the music. They are particularly interested in refining the two key elements of the musical: The Book: we are dedicated to ensuring that the book of the musical effectively captures the risks and courage that migrants to the black towns had to confront in their quest for freedom, and to understand the obstacles they had to overcome in order to create a “town”. It is essential that the narrative resonates with the audience, emphasizing the incredible challenges and sacrifices these individuals faced. We are open to feedback and guidance on character development, plot structure, and thematic elements that can enhance the storytelling. The Music: Music plays a pivotal role in conveying the complex relationships between the black freemen, Creek Indians, and migrating southern blacks. We aim to create a musical score that weaves together the diverse cultural influences and experiences of these communities. We want to ensure that each character represents his/her cultural influence. Additionally, we envision incorporating historical footage from 1925, showcasing these all-black towns at their zenith. This visual component will serve as a compelling backdrop, emphasizing the self-sufficiency and vitality of these communities during a time when they thrived. Few people today are aware of these towns, and we believe that this historical footage will be a powerful tool to educate and engage audiences about this often-overlooked chapter in American history. Our outcome is simple, we are looking for developmental opportunities, demos of all the songs and eventually workshop possibilities. Ann Eskridge and Alton James Bios
Ann E. Eskridge is a 2021 Kresge Fellow in playwriting. She has a passion for African American history and culture. She writes cross genres. One screenplay became a PBS Wonderworks movie, Brother Future, which won several awards. Her book and play, The Sanctuary, Cobblehill, 1994, was optioned by Producer Bill Blinn (Fame), and Sundance. Two monologues from the play are included in Childsplay; an anthology of children’s play monologues. The Sanctuary was also the basis for a children’s grief and bereavement program in Detroit. She is a founding member of Extra Mile Playwrights Theatre, a community of playwrights dedicated to creating transformative stories for the community. She is developing two musicals: Satin Doll, a re-interpretation of Pygmalion from a black perspective and Echoes Across the Prairie is about the founding of a fictional all-black town in Oklahoma. Her play with music: If Pekin is a Duck, Why am I in Chicago? had its World Premiere at Playhouse on the Square in Memphis January of 2023. Her Christmas Play, A Home for Christmas, debuted at the Mountain Community Theater in Ben Lomond, California, November 2023.
Alton James, Ph.D. has dedicated his career to the education and liberation of disenfranchised and underrepresented peoples. Particularly, Alton has focused his efforts through the medium of storytelling through both words and music. Having earned his BA in English with minors in African American Studies and Music from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, Alton followed with an MA in Educational Leadership and Policy at U of M as well. Upon graduation, Alton taught English and Music for both middle and high school students in Detroit. While still honing his music composition abilities, Alton served as a director of a nursing retention program and manager of the graduate office at Wayne State University while earning his Ed.S. and Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Policy. Along the way, Alton founded the company Alton James Media, which provides music and audio services for visual media.
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https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zh_lMneLML4lCJH5fxrrG618D7Rd9RCI/view?usp=sharing |
Echoes Across the Prairie
Book and Lyrics by Ann E. Eskridge, Music by Alton James
Contact Email: annesk@ameritech.net and contact@altonjamesmedia.com
Discover the untold story in Echoes Across the Prairie, where history and drama unfold. Henni, an African American and Creek Indian widow, creates Drummond, an all-black town in Indian Territory from her land allotment. As conflicts arise, secrets are revealed, and Henni faces a crisis over her land that leads to a death. The musical explores love, sacrifice, and the fight for justice. Join the journey of a community building its own destiny against all odds. Echoes Across the Prairie – where every note echoes the resilience of a forgotten chapter in history.
Echoes touches upon a crucial aspect of American history. Our goal is to create a musical that vividly portrays the historical significance of the all-black towns in turn-of-the-20th-century Oklahoma. These towns, born out of the collective determination to break free from the tyranny of the South, offer a powerful narrative that deserves to be shared with a wider audience.
In writing the musical book first, Ann leaned heavily on her former research and then the skill of a former instructor to structure the book to begin developing the musical. Theatre Now New York International Musical Theater teams worked with Alton and Ann to shape the book and the music. They are particularly interested in refining the two key elements of the musical:
The Book: we are dedicated to ensuring that the book of the musical effectively captures the risks and courage that migrants to the black towns had to confront in their quest for freedom, and to understand the obstacles they had to overcome in order to create a “town”. It is essential that the narrative resonates with the audience, emphasizing the incredible challenges and sacrifices these individuals faced. We are open to feedback and guidance on character development, plot structure, and thematic elements that can enhance the storytelling.
The Music: Music plays a pivotal role in conveying the complex relationships between the black freemen, Creek Indians, and migrating southern blacks. We aim to create a musical score that weaves together the diverse cultural influences and experiences of these communities. We want to ensure that each character represents his/her cultural influence.
Additionally, we envision incorporating historical footage from 1925, showcasing these all-black towns at their zenith. This visual component will serve as a compelling backdrop, emphasizing the self-sufficiency and vitality of these communities during a time when they thrived. Few people today are aware of these towns, and we believe that this historical footage will be a powerful tool to educate and engage audiences about this often-overlooked chapter in American history.
Our outcome is simple, we are looking for developmental opportunities, demos of all the songs and eventually workshop possibilities.
Ann Eskridge and Alton James Bios
Ann E. Eskridge is a 2021 Kresge Fellow in playwriting. She has a passion for African American history and culture. She writes cross genres. One screenplay became a PBS Wonderworks movie, Brother Future, which won several awards. Her book and play, The Sanctuary, Cobblehill, 1994, was optioned by Producer Bill Blinn (Fame), and Sundance. Two monologues from the play are included in Childsplay; an anthology of children’s play monologues. The Sanctuary was also the basis for a children’s grief and bereavement program in Detroit. She is a founding member of Extra Mile Playwrights Theatre, a community of playwrights dedicated to creating transformative stories for the community. She is developing two musicals: Satin Doll, a re-interpretation of Pygmalion from a black perspective and Echoes Across the Prairie is about the founding of a fictional all-black town in Oklahoma. Her play with music: If Pekin is a Duck, Why am I in Chicago? had its World Premiere at Playhouse on the Square in Memphis January of 2023. Her Christmas Play, A Home for Christmas, debuted at the Mountain Community Theater in Ben Lomond, California, November 2023.
Alton James, Ph.D. has dedicated his career to the education and liberation of disenfranchised and underrepresented peoples. Particularly, Alton has focused his efforts through the medium of storytelling through both words and music. Having earned his BA in English with minors in African American Studies and Music from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, Alton followed with an MA in Educational Leadership and Policy at U of M as well. Upon graduation, Alton taught English and Music for both middle and high school students in Detroit. While still honing his music composition abilities, Alton served as a director of a nursing retention program and manager of the graduate office at Wayne State University while earning his Ed.S. and Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Policy. Along the way, Alton founded the company Alton James Media, which provides music and audio services for visual media.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zh_lMneLML4lCJH5fxrrG618D7Rd9RCI/view?usp=sharing