Nellie Jackson, an African American women living in Natchez Miss. admist Jim Crow laws and racism, has her story come to life in the 2013 premier of the CSU East Bay play “Follow me to Nellies”

The play recently won the annual Premiere Stages Play Festival Competition in New Jersey and was produced by the festival to outstanding reviews. CSU East Bay’s theatre department will be performing the play in the University Theatre at 8 p.m.  Fridays and Saturdays on Nov. 15, 16, 22, and 23, as well as a 2 p.m. matinee on Nov. 24.

“The play takes a powerfully moving look at those who risked everything so that all Americans could be afforded the opportunity to vote,” said Darryl Jones, director of the play and associate professor of theatre and dance.

“With the 50th anniversary of the ‘March on Washington’ and Martin Luther King’s ‘I Have A Dream’ speech, along with the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation earlier this year, doing this play seemed like a great way to honor the sacrifices so many people made for racial justice,” Jones said in a press release.

Nellie’s story unfolds in her home in 1955; which also happens to be a brothel filled with prostitutes who are extremely popular amongst white men.  The brothel is particularly exclusive because it contains African American women but does not allow any African American men to come in.

Conflict arises inside the house when Nellie agrees to take in a voting rights activist from the north and the town finds out. While attempting to avoid the angry townspeople, the character is falling in love with a woman living inside the house, creating another controversial scenario.

“Aside from the struggle for blacks to gain voting rights, to fight against Jim Crow laws, it’s a little bit of a love story at the same time: between Nellie’s adopted daughter and the voting rights activist,” Rebecca Soltau, assistant stage and deck manager said.

The play captures the emotions of its characters through its blues music, which is used to represent the soul of the inner lives of what African Americans experienced during that time period.

“In the midst of all the tragedies that the African Americans experienced during the Jim Crow era, they were still able to celebrate,” Jones said. “They were still able to allow their spirits to not be crushed and that’s what kept moving them forward.”

Students who attend the play will not only experience Nellie’s life; they will also revisit a valuable piece of history and how a community changed a rigid way of thinking towards a flexible way of life.

“There are still people out there in our very modern world who are very inflexible in their ways of thinking and are trying to stop things from changing for no reason,” said Dimitri Woods, who is cast as ‘Rollo’ in the play.

Woods is a recent graduate of the theatre arts program at Santa Clara University. “I think that this is one of those kinds of shows that address those issues poetically,” he said.

Playwright and NAACP image award winner Dominique Morrisseau wrote the play based on her own family’s past. Dominique is a resident at the public theatre in New York and will join the cast after the performance on Nov. 23 to answer questions and give feedback about the process of writing the play. She will also present the personal experiences she faced while becoming a critically praised writer.

“She is one of the hottest young female playwrights on the scene today so we are really fortunate to produce one of her plays and to have her come visit us,” Jones said. “It’s also a great opportunity for young writers from our university to hear how this young writer got her start and what her journey has been like.”

Riddley, who stars as Nellie, is joining the cast as a special guest. She is a local actor who has performed throughout the Bay Area and featured in productions at TheatreWorks, ACT, Marin Theatre Company and more.

Tickets prices for the play are $15 general admission, $10 discount, and $5 for students.  Tickets may be purchased at the bookstore, online at www.cssueastbaytickets.com or at the door. For additional information call (510)-885-3118.