Playwright Timothy Crawford brings OUTRAGED Terror in Springfield 1908 to the Hoogland

Jeff Williams:
Welcome to Community Voices, a production of NPR Illinois. I'm your co-host, Jeff Williams, in the studio with me today, Timothy Crawford. Tim, how's it going?
Timothy Crawford:
Hey, it's going great.
Jeff Williams:
I'm not even sure what, so local, or actually… I shouldn't even say local, but just a playwright.
Timothy Crawford:
Well, I'm cool with being a local playwright.
Jeff Williams:
Well, I was just, but it's not even necessarily local, you know what I mean? You are just playwright, author, writer, director, director. That's right, director too. So yeah, welcome to the studios. And just thought I'd have you talk about some of the projects it sounds like you have coming up.
Timothy Crawford:
Thank you so much. One of the things I'm doing right now is thinking about the Valdez Theatre Conference, which starts this week, which I'm not doing this year.
Jeff Williams:
Okay.
Timothy Crawford:
I did it last year and I did it two years ago with my play Outrage Terror in Springfield.
Jeff Williams:
Right.
Timothy Crawford:
And I'm thinking about them and they're in spirit, but I have to be here because I'm directing.
Jeff Williams:
Right.
Timothy Crawford:
Outrage Tour in Springfield, 1908 at the Hoogland.
Jeff Williams:
Yes.
Timothy Crawford:
In August. And I need to and I need to be here.
Jeff Williams:
Sure.
Timothy Crawford:
Oh, yeah, I can't be there.
Jeff Williams:
So are you, you're in rehearsals right now then?
Timothy Crawford:
We are starting our first rehearsal on Monday.
Jeff Williams:
Monday, it's right around the corner.
Timothy Crawford:
Yeah, I probably shouldn't be doing dates now, but there you go.
Jeff Williams:
Yeah, no, No, that's good. That's all right. That's all right. We didn't say which particular Monday. So, it's a Monday is coming up. (laughter)
Timothy Crawford:
It's a Monday.
Jeff Williams:
Right. Outraged.
Timothy Crawford:
Yeah, I really like this graphic. And I want to give a shout out to the graphic designer who created this. That would be you, Jeff.
Jeff Williams:
Oh, that's right. I did do that! (laughter) Well, basically, I just followed what you wanted to kind of told me what you wanted.
Timothy Crawford:
It was a great conversation, you know? Yeah, you brought it. You kind of dragged it out of me, really. I really appreciate it.
Jeff Williams:
But that was good because what you kind of wanted and I was able to research, find some old, like the old state journal register. And then you kind of told me about like the burn kind of around it and look at like shard sort of a look. Thank you for that opportunity and thanks for the shout out on that too.
Timothy Crawford:
Yeah, thank you. We're glad to be reusing this wonderful artwork.
Jeff Williams:
I love it. I saw it when I first saw it. I was like, nice, right on. It's still out there. Cool, Outraged. I remember going to see it when it was on campus here.
Timothy Crawford:
Yes, in the UIS Studio Theater.
Jeff Williams:
The Studio Theater, that's right. Was that the first time that you had run?
Timothy Crawford:
Yes. So, I was the 2023-2024 artist in residence for the RSHR Voices. program, which is a program of UIS Performing Arts Center. I culminated my residency with three performances of Outrage. So that was the first take. And the last performance was on my birthday in February 2024. We had done one reading of it in November. which was the first public display of it, which was in the studio theater. But it was a reading. It was a reading. They were on script. And one of the people who was a part of that was the great Tony Young. I was very thrilled to have him do that.
Jeff Williams:
And when did that happen?
Timothy Crawford:
That was November 2023. And then we I did a lot of work on it and we put it on as a production off book at the same venue, UIS Studio Theater, with a different group of actors, and we had those 3 performances, which all sold out.
Jeff Williams:
Yes, that's the one I was at then. Yep, gotcha, gotcha. Very, very nice. So, yeah, so do you want to talk about a little bit of the behind the scene, how that got up and running where you had it at the Hoogland?
Timothy Crawford:
Yeah, I had lunch with Gus Courtney. He was like, oh, so you're doing a lot of writing and stuff, but you know, you're not doing anything here at the Hoogland. We had a conversation about it. In the meantime, I was still working on the play. So, we had done the performances in February, 2024. I made changes to the play. It was performed as a reading with professional actors at the Valdez Theatre Conference in Alaska. And then a year later, it was done as a reading. Again, I've been working on it this whole time as a reading in Fairbanks for the Juneteenth celebration that they have in Fairbanks and Fairbanks for Juneteenth in that time frame, they're the land of the midnight sun. I mean, Fairbanks is at a latitude where you don't see the sunset for a few days up there, right around Juneteenth. So that was really cool to be there for the reading and to get the audience response and to have a talk back with the audience afterwards. That was very instructive. And now I've got the final version. I'm saying final, but that is going up in August at the Hoogland. Gus is producing.
Jeff Williams:
Oh, nice. Okay.
Timothy Crawford:
I'm directing and we've just cast it and we're ready to go. I'm very excited.
Jeff Williams:
What did the dates on that?
Timothy Crawford:
August 14, 15, 16. Here's an interesting footnote. So, the play is about the 1908 Springfield Race Riots. I don't like calling it a race riot, but it's a shorthand. And one of these days I'm going to write a play where I talk about why it's not a great idea. to call something like that a race riot because it muddies the water so like who was doing the rioting okay so the dates that we're doing the play, August 14, 15, 16, for the actual dates of that event in 1908, and also a Friday, Saturday, Sunday, which is what we're doing. So that's an interesting footnote. It's also part of the Three Hot Days in August commemoration, which started last year. This is the second annual commemoration of the 1908 race riot, and it includes the fact that there is a national monument called the 1908 Springfield Race Riot National Monument, which is administered by the U.S. Park Service.
Jeff Williams:
Right.
Timothy Crawford:
And they are part of this citywide commemoration, as is the NAACP, the Lincoln Library. But visit Springfield, the Illinois State Museum.
Jeff Williams:
Yeah, the State Museum. Now also, you've got a solo play.
Timothy Crawford:
Yes, One more thing on the... citywide commemoration. So that citywide event starts on the 13th. The first event for that is on August 13th.
Jeff Williams:
Gotcha.
Timothy Crawford:
That's A Thursday at the Lincoln Library, the (Springfield public) library.
Jeff Williams:
The library. Okay, gotcha.
Timothy Crawford:
So, your question was…?
Jeff Williams:
Oh, just with the One Amazing Week. Your solo show…?
Timothy Crawford:
So, I'm also part of History Comes Alive, which is a “Visit Springfield” event that has been taking place in the summer for quite a few years now. So, I did it last year, and I'm repeating my performance of my new short play, which is called One Amazing Week, John Jones and the Fight for Justice.
Jeff Williams:
Okay, yeah.
Timothy Crawford:
This is where I portray John Jones, who was an abolitionist black tailor in Chicago who has his own story to tell… but he really wants, as I portray him, he's telling the story of this one amazing week. And through that, we learned about him and about his accomplishments. And one of his accomplishments was he helped to get the Black Laws of Illinois repealed. And the Black Laws really restricted what black people could do in Illinois. And one of the things that the Black Laws did was that it made it so that a black person could not testify against or in favor of a white person. That meant that provision hurt everybody. Because if your only witness to your tort was that your black friend witnessed it, he couldn't testify on your behalf either. So that's just one sort of anomaly, weird anomaly in the laws that were repealed. Of course, the repeal of those laws doesn't necessarily mean that You changed people's minds, right?
Jeff Williams:
Sure. Yeah. So anyhow though, Tim.
Timothy Crawford:
So that thing I'm doing at the Old State Capitol. So that, let me just put it that has begun.
Jeff Williams:
It has begun. Okay.
Timothy Crawford:
History Comes Alive has begun. And then I'll be doing it every Wednesday at 2 o'clock at the Old State Capitol.
Jeff Williams:
And how late does that run?
Timothy Crawford:
History Comes Alive runs till August 1st.
Jeff Williams:
August 1st. Okay. So yeah. So, one way or the other, you'll be able to catch it up till August, August 1st.
Timothy Crawford:
Yes.
Jeff Williams:
I had Brian Fox Ellis.
Timothy Crawford:
Yeah.
Jeff Williams:
He works with History Comes Alive.
Timothy Crawford:
He does several characters.
Jeff Williams:
Yeah, that's what he mentioned… and he IS a character! I like it. I like it. No doubt about it. He's great. Once again, we're in the studio with Timothy Crawford. He has 3 performances coming up of ‘Outrage: Terror in Springfield 1908’, play that he has honed over the years now has it pretty much where he's feeling this might be the, do you think you might though in the future?
Timothy Crawford:
I'm very happy with it. So, I suppose I could get feedback that might change my mind. And we will be doing talk backs after every performance.
Jeff Williams:
Great to know. That's great to know. So, people in the audience will be involved.
Timothy Crawford:
Yes. So although not all of the talk back sessions are designed to give the playwright feedback, but we will have a talk back session council planning or hoping to have a talk-back session with Austin Randolph as the president of the local NAACP to talk about the fact that the NAACP really did arise from the ashes of the 1908 Springfield Race Riot.
Jeff Williams:
So then could you talk a little bit more about what the talk back is so people if they are, so that they know what that entails, kind of?
Timothy Crawford:
Yeah, very good. So, after the conclusion of the play, and this play is performed without intermission, we'll take a slight break after the play, and then people who want to stay for the talk back can come back into the auditorium or stay in the Peggy Rider theory. which is where the play is going to be performed, for example, then someone will be moderating the conversation between the audience and, in one instance, the cast members, and in another instance, the playwright, and in the third instance, the folks at the NAACP will be bringing into the mix. Because they're one of the sponsors of the play at the Hoagland, and they're also one of the partners and sponsors of the three hot days in August commemorative event.
Jeff Williams:
Oh, both of them. Yeah. Okay, very good to know.
Timothy Crawford:
Can I also mention my other sponsor?
Jeff Williams:
You absolutely can, for sure.
Timothy Crawford:
Well, I'm here. So, the Springfield Area Arts Council put out a request for grant proposals.
Jeff Williams:
Sure.
Timothy Crawford:
And I applied for that. And was successful. So, I'm supposed to say...
Jeff Williams:
Congratulations on that.
Timothy Crawford:
Thank you very much. So, I'm supposed to say that the program, the play, is partially supported by a grant from the Springfield Area Arts Council through city funds provided by the City of Springfield. I'm supposed to say that?
Jeff Williams:
No, that's good to say, though. That's good to know. And that's for ‘Outraged’ that you're talking about?
Timothy Crawford:
That's for ‘Outraged”, correct!
Jeff Williams:
Very cool. So, have you gone through casting for everybody? Can you talk about that process a little bit?
Timothy Crawford:
What we did was we set up a Google Doc online so folks could go to that site. I put out flyers that had a QR code so you could just scan that and take you to the site. We also put it up on, I know this is probably not what you're interested in, but I'm.
Jeff Williams:
No, it's good. I think it's good for people to hear stuff like this.
Timothy Crawford:
And then a notice of put up on Facebook and also for the Hoogland and also in the Springfield area theater community on Facebook spot. And folks responded by going to that Google Doc and selecting a time to audition. There's a form also to fill out, so I had some basic information. But we also accepted walk-ins. And we cast a couple of walk-ins that were not on the, that was not on my spreadsheet when I sat down that day. Folks came in and read cold reading from the script. I had copies for everybody and sometimes people were reading solo and sometimes we're reading with other people. And we got a chance to have people ask questions. And also, then sometimes after asking a question, read it again with a different take on it. Then we cast, I didn't cast everybody when they auditioned, the original audition dates were set. So, I had to schedule a couple of other auditions for people that were recommended to me. Actually, from the folks that are already cast. They said, you should try so-and-so. I had those people come in and we got people to fill in the missing spots. And I'm very happy to say we'll soon be listing that on, again, those same two areas, like on the Hoagland page and in the Springfield area theater community Facebook page.
Jeff Williams:
Very cool. So, well, I just, I think it's kind of nice for people to hear some of the process behind the scenes a little bit, you know, and talk about that. And, so if there's people out there in the future if they want to, spark something like, hey, I'd like to try, out for something in the future to see some of the things that they kind of navigate or how to get a hold of people to, about process. I know each time it can be a little different, but that spark is nice for people to, if they want to get involved or find out about something.
Timothy Crawford:
Yeah, and it's not a musical either, so you didn't have to, you didn't have to prepare a number.
Jeff Williams:
Right, that's true, that's true. So, wow. Once again, Timothy Crawford, local, right back to where I started. Right back to where I started. (laughter) Writer, playwright, director, author.
Timothy Crawford:
Also, the featured speaker at the Upcoming Citizens Club Springfield meeting. That's the policy forum that they do on Friday. Yeah, I think it's like the 4th Friday, something like that. I'm going to be the featured speaker. I'm going to be interviewed by my friend Curly Shank. And then after she talks to me, then she'll turn it over and let the audience ask some questions. The event is entitled ‘Outraged, Terror in Springfield, 1908, A Playwright's Journey’. Yeah, and I found out, and some people don't know this apparently, Citizens Club meetings, these policy forum meetings, They're open to the public.
Jeff Williams:
Yeah, they're absolutely, yeah. We sometimes air those as part of Community Voices. So, I'll watch for that to get that, to air that at some point later, too, on here. Well, once again, Timothy Crawford came in to talk about a couple of things he had going on. One was his three performances of ‘Outrage: Terror in Springfield 1908’, happening at the Hoagland, and the dates are August 4th.
Timothy Crawford:
August 14, 15, 16, on the 14th and 15th, which is Friday and Saturday at 7.30, and on the 16th, which is a Sunday, it's 3 o'clock, and you can get tickets at hcfta.org, or you can call the box office at 217-523-2787.
Jeff Williams:
Right on, right on. And then also you'll have the ‘One Amazing Week’ will be happening through till August.
Timothy Crawford:
Till August, yes, till August 1, Wednesdays at 2 P.m. at the Old State Capitol.
Jeff Williams:
Right on. Very, very nice. Well, Timothy, thanks a lot for coming in and talking to us, and congratulations.
Timothy Crawford:
It was an absolute pleasure. Thank you, Jeff.
Jeff Williams:
Right on. Very cool. Got everything, I think.
Timothy Crawford:
You got more than you need.
Jeff Williams:
I got plenty of time. Yeah, I got plenty here, so that's good. That's good for sure. So.
Timothy Crawford:
Oh man, that was fun.
Jeff Williams:
Community Voices is a production of NPR, Illinois.