Read Dan Smith's review here!
See the original artwork here.

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 Twelve Stations
of the Cross

Bobby Pence, a man with a dark history, takes a small role in a passion play to begin his path to redemption. When that part becomes something else entirely, Bobby is forced to walk his own Via Dolorosa as he confronts his past -- and his future.

Written by Kenley Smith
Directed by Cheryl Snodgrass
October 27 - November 7, 2010

Characters / Cast

Bobby Pence ... Austin Alderman
Harleigh Pence ... Paul Stober
Delmar ... Barry Bedwell
Veronica ... Shonté Wilson
Mary ... Rae Norton West
Reverend Lively ... James Honaker

Credits

Producing Artistic Director: Kenley Smith
Resident Designer: Jason "Blue" Herbert
Scenic Construction: Jason "Blue" Herbert
Resident Stage Manager: Rachel Linkous
Production Stage Manager:  Will Coleman
Assistant Stage Managers:  Melanie Boyd, Shay Mullins, Patrick Lyster, Jen Bukovski
Fight Choreography:  Melora Kordos
Dramaturg: Maryke Barber

Special thanks to:  Catherine Leonard, John Ferguson, Audiotronics, Melora Kordos, Norman Washer, Todd Ristau, Playwrights Lab at Hollins University, Mill Mountain Theatre, Ginger Poole and all of our wonderful artists and volunteers.  

Thanks to our Corporate Sponsors: 101.5 The Music Place, Playwright's Lab at Hollins University, Roanoke Times/ Roanoke.com, Audiotronics, City Magazine, and New City Media

About the Playwright: 
    Kenley Smith served as the first president of Studio Roanoke’s Board of Directors and is currently Artistic Director.  Twelve Stations of the Cross  comprises the second installment in his Famous Bobby Pence  trilogy.  Devil Sedan  was produced at Studio Roanoke in June, and The New Testament  will finish the story in February.
    Devil Sedan  took first place at the Barter Theatre’s 2008 Appalachian Festival of Plays and Playwrights, and Kenley’s The Shade of the Trees  was a finalist there this year.  A native of Beckley, WV, Kenley now resides on Bent Mountain.  He earned an MA in Creative Writing and an MFA in Playwriting, both from Hollins University, and is a member of the Dramatist’s Guild.
    This play is for Millie.
 

About the Director: 
    Cheryl Snodgrass focuses on the production of new works.  She has worked extensively with playwright Jeff Goode as a director, actor and producer. She directed the premiere productions of Poona the Fuckdog and other plays for children  and The Eight: reindeer monologues, among others. She's directed and/or produced premier works by Rebecca Gilman, Brett Nevue, David Cerda and Todd Ristau. She has been Jeff Recommended for Die! Mommie, Die!  as director and Poseidon! An Upside Down Musical  as co-author.  Most of 2010 was spent developing Big Top JoJo & His Towering Show of Wonders presents The Phenomenal Phantasmagoria  as co-creator and director. (bigtopjojo.com)  Cheryl has been a guest artist at Lawrence University and a guest speaker at Hollins University.   She was a founding member of No Shame Theatre, The Unusual Cabaret and Les Enfants du Mais.  This is her third production at Studio Roanoke (Rosalee was Here & Donny and the Monsters)  and she is continuously impressed by the talent, dedication and inspiration she finds here.  She is looking forward to returning in the spring for Frogger  by Adam Hahn.   Congratulations to a fantastic cast and crew, and special thanks to Todd Ristau, the Playwrights Lab at Hollins University, Mill Mountain Theatre and Ginger Poole.

Notes from the Dramaturg:

    The inspiration for Twelve Stations was a drive-through staging of the passion in a church parking lot at Easter, complete with a chilled but determined young savior. While to some this may be far removed from how we imagine the original journey — the hot and dusty road, the crowds, the man — the idea of a parking-lot passion does make a point:  truly great stories are resilient. They can be re-told as many times, in as many ways, as there are pages, stages and parking lots.

     Kenley Smith's stations show an unlikely candidate who, in search of redemption, becomes something new. When asked about the challenges of writing for an audience who are each going to come with their own beliefs about how this story should go, Smith says he welcomes discussion. The theatre is a place where we can question the established structures of our society in a non-judgmental environment.

     While watching Twelve Stations, consider the challenges a playwright faces in addition to our expectations about the outcome. How much of the bible story should be used? How do modern words and actions fit this  known framework? With this re-telling, what are we supposed to learn? Whether in a parking lot or on a stage, many factors are at play in the art of adaptation. We hope you enjoy this telling of a story that is both old and new.

Questions to consider:

1. What role does the appearance of Bobby's brother Harleigh play?

2. Each of the characters in the play represents a different approach to faith. Which character's approach strikes you as the most unexpected?

3. From which character do you think Bobby learns the most? Why?

4. This play is part two of a trilogy. What do you think will happen next?

    Maryke Barber is Outreach and Arts Librarian at Hollins University, where she also moonlights as theatre adjunct faculty. Previously she worked as Literary Coordinator at Mill Mountain Theatre working on production dramaturgy, the New Play Competition and Norfolk Southern Festival of New Works. She served as dramaturg for Chicago's Next, Organic Touchstone and Circle theaters, along with dramaturgy and literary management internships at the Goodman. BFA (Music Theatre): Shenandoah Conservatory, MFA (Theatre): Virginia Commonwealth University, MS (Information Science): University of Tennessee, Knoxville.