Justin Smith
Staff Writer
Commons Photo by Justin Smith

At 3 years old, Allison Garren had her first performance in a play about the history of her hometown of Rutherfordton, N.C. Twenty years and many plays later, Garren is organizing a performance about the history of Chapel Hill and Carrboro’s black communities.

The project, “Because We’re Still Here (and Moving),” will focus on two historically black neighborhoods — Pine Knolls and Northside.

“I think that part of town is either unknown or people have a lot of assumptions about it,” said Garren.

Garren, an AmeriCorps member, will recruit volunteers and sponsors for the project, but she will not write the play. Local high school students with connections to Pine Knolls and Northside will partner with sociology students at UNC-Chapel Hill to document the oral histories that will become the basis for the performance.

“I think we’re providing bridges that otherwise would not exist between these two communities,” said Garren.

During the next few months on four Saturdays, 10 teams — each with two UNC-CH students and one high school student — will interview residents and business owners.

Team members will share the roles of photographer, oral historian and producer, Garren said.

Oral historian Ann Kaplan and photojournalist Ellen Ozier Hayes will provide guidance to the students throughout the process.

Additional students will conduct interviews this summer, and their work will be compiled in the fall. Students then will produce a stage performance based on the interviews and photographs.

The first public performance, slated for next February, will coincide with Black History Month.

Garren graduated from the UNC-CH in 2005 with a degree in political science. While at the University, she choreographed several shows and even played the part of a tub of Crisco in “The Goodbye Girl.”

When Garren directed “The Vagina Monologues” her senior year, it allowed her to combine two passions — political activism and theater.

After graduation, Garren worked with the Orange County Literacy Council where she helped organize a stage performance that featured adult learners telling their stories called “Respect Has Seven Letters.”

“These are people who aren’t necessarily asked their opinions,” Garren said. “But they have the answers to the problems because they face them every day.”

The performance generated by “Because We’re Still Here (and Moving)” will be presented next year at the ArtsCenter in Carrboro. In addition, Garren said she hopes to perform the play at a UNC-CH venue such as the Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History.

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