I have been running tech for many years, for a few theaters, currently the Mukund S. Kulkarni Theatre here on campus. I am well-versed in lights, sound, projection, anything you really need to make a spectacular production. I have had the privilege of running some amazing shows. Incredibly written, deep characterizations, lot of research and to put on stage just makes the story that much stronger. I did not expect this of Dr. Dorothy E. King and “Saving Ellis House.”
“Saving Ellis House” was written by Dr. Dorothy E. King, a retired assistant professor of sociology here at Penn State Harrisburg, and founder of PenOwl Productions. She has written all 21 productions that her company has put on. The play itself was about a fictional historical home in Central Pennsylvania, which is about to be auctioned away in favor of gentrifying the fictional city. A historical society then goes head to head with a construction company over the rights of the house. It is then revealed, through a prominent historian, that it belonged to a black man named Ellis, a former slave who was able to pass for white and was able to give passage to many escaped slaves seeking refuge. In the end, the house was saved as a local historical marker.
We had gotten the schedule later in the month, a mere three weeks after the semester had started. Everyone was settling back into the groove for school, and for us student production assistants, pre-emptively setting up for the spring production, the “25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.” I myself was sort of surprised to be getting a play before ours. We usually just have a slew of lectures and outside international groups until tech week. But we were prepared, and ready to receive the PenOwl Productions Theatre Company.
There were some technical challenges at the beginning. Some lighting issues, some sound issues. My friend, who was running crew down on the stage was informed that she had to perform a complete scene change in a minute, completely silent while a scene in front of the main stage curtain occurred. One of the actresses had dropped out the day before, and so the writer herself had to take over the role, reading from her script throughout the show. It was also a holiday, and no students would be on campus.
We were then pleasantly surprised.
A decent crowd of people came, maybe around 80-90 people. Many elderly folks, in their Sunday best, some families with young children, and some students. And then the show started. The performance was so much better than the previous rehearsals. The story flowed much smoother, the actors were into it much more than they were before, and the crowd really enjoyed it.
After the final special faded from the angel center stage, the lights come back, and the actors and Dr. King come back on stage for a talk-back. An elderly man, who talked slowly and carefully, asked Dr. King if the house was real, if any of these people were real. She said no. She made everything up. I was blown away. I’d understand if she had taken a historical place and dramatized it, but she came up with the entire story by herself. I’m sure it has plenty historical references, as the fictional Ellis is definitely not the only white-passing man that helped slaves. But she had come up with all of these twists and turns and drama from nothing. I was impressed.
Dr. King is an amazing writer, an amazing playwright, and I cannot believe she writes a play every single year for Dr. Martin Luther King. She is an amazing person. I’d like to suggest to her to do another performance, during common hour for students to witness her writing prowess. I look forward to do the next one.