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Tennessee Tech alumni, students help shape groundbreaking local tribute to Black history
Tennessee Tech alumnus and Sports Hall of Fame member Morris Irby rehearses for his
role in “I Am My Ancestors’ Wildest Dream” while cast members look on. Photo by Abby
Weeden.
When the curtain rises Feb. 9 for opening night of “I Am My Ancestors’ Wildest Dream,”
the Cookeville Theatre Company’s original production celebrating the struggles and
triumphs of Black history, audiences will see dazzling performances of spoken word,
song, dancing and art.
What they may not immediately recognize, however, is the hand of Tennessee Tech University
students, alumni and staff in bringing the groundbreaking production to life.
Director Lori Strode, a three-time Tech graduate and former adjunct instructor at
the university, says the production is a “labor of love” intended to educate, inspire
and entertain. The show premiered to sold-out audiences last year and is back for
a revamped and expanded reprisal in 2024.
“I would argue that you don’t have American history without Black history, or the
history of the Black experience in America,” said Strode, who now serves as a counselor
at Cookeville High School. “Those are tied together. You cannot pull them apart.”
While the production of “Dream” does not shy away from hard truths of racism and injustice,
Strode says she still wants audiences to leave with a sense of joy.
“The overarching themes are resilience, faith, perseverance and the strength to keep
pursuing and keep moving toward the ideals of freedom, liberty and justice for all,”
said Strode. “Black history is filled with joy, and we don’t always focus on that
enough. There is joy in the struggle. In every situation that we’ve been in, we have
been able to find joy, to start and keep traditions, able to love and to create, so
I don’t want that to be lost.”
To make her vision for the production a reality, Strode partnered with Kathleen Gilpatrick,
the president and founder of the Cookeville Theatre Company and public relations specialist
for Tech’s College of Fine Arts.
“I told her it has to be celebratory, and it can’t bring me down,” Strode added. “I
would tell Kathleen my vision, and she would come up with ideas for what we could
do to highlight that. She has that theater background to know what would be powerful.”
For her part, Gilpatrick recalls hopes of bringing a production like “Dream” to Cookeville
for years but found the task daunting – that is until she met Strode.
“She went to the churches, the community centers, called everyone she knew and said,
‘get down here, we’re doing a show,’” said Gilpatrick. Together, the pair assembled
an all-Black cast for the performance, something they say had not been done locally
since the 1970s until last year’s premiere.
Cast members come together for a table read of “I Am My Ancestors’ Wildest Dream.”
Cookeville Theatre Company president Kathleen Gilpatrick is pictured standing on the
left, while director Lori Strode stands at right. Photo by Shannon Terry.
Gilpatrick notes that the production is broken into two acts. Act one, “The Struggle,”
takes place before the Civil Rights movement and includes readings and scenes paying
homage to leaders like Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth. Act two, “The Strength,”
starts with Martin Luther King Jr. and includes elements of Langston Hughes and gospel
music.
Keeping in mind Strode’s desire to end the performance on a celebratory note, Gilpatrick
planned a lively finale featuring the 1972 hit “Love Train.”
“This is the highlight of my year, to do this show,” Gilpatrick explained.
Joining Strode and Gilpatrick in bringing “Dream” to life are current Tech students
like Aaron Ross, a junior engineering technology major from Memphis, and Jade Berry,
a senior graphic design major from rural Colorado.
Ross is handling lighting for the performance, while Berry designed the event program
and posters.
“I’ve just always had a love for the arts,” said Ross, who has served as the house
manager for nearly a half-dozen productions at Tech’s Backdoor Playhouse. “I’ve been
involved in theater since I came to Tech.”
“What’s special about this production specifically to me as I continue to watch the
rehearsals is just the abundant amount of talent that this cast has,” he continued.
“The amount of love and true care that we have really astonishes me … watching everyone’s
drive is just so beautiful.”
Likewise, Berry says she has relished the “firsthand experience of working with a
company to create something and being the person who sees it through – all the way
from the idea and design stage to actually picking it up from the printers.”
“I love getting to create things for a community like this one with people who are
really committed to what they do and to making it something great for everyone involved,”
Berry added.
As the show’s opening date draws near, Strode says she sees a beautiful lesson in
the sense of community woven among the production’s all-Black cast, mostly white crew
and the diverse crowd of expected attendees.
“We are better together,” Strode concluded. “There is more that unites us than divides
us and together we can create something beautiful.”
Performance dates are at 7 p.m. on Feb. 9, 10, 15, 16 and 17; and 2 p.m. on Feb. 11
at The Wesley Foundation Chapel Theatre at 271 E. 9th Street. Feb. 15 is a pay what
you can night.
Tickets are $15 for adults, $12 for seniors and $10 for students. They can be purchased
at www.cookevilletheatreco.org or by calling 931-688-0683.
