My name is Rachael, Rachael Chesnutt, but would you please call me Anne? For the first two weeks of March at least, for that is when I will have the privilege of portraying Anne Shirley in The WordPlayers’ upcoming production of Anne of Avonlea. I have always known and loved Anne ever since I was very [...]

You may not be able to tell by the weather, but it is February and that means The WordPlayers is on the road with its Black History Touring Show. The title of the show is Walk, Don’t Ride but we ride, of course, to places far and near in all kinds of weather. The old [...]

You’re 19 or 20 years old.  You’re a gifted college student.  You’re in the middle of final exams.  After exams, you have a great internship or job lined up for the summer. Would you be willing to risk leaving school or giving up that job on less than 24 hours’ notice to take a stand [...]

The WordPlayers is now touring the annual Black History play. This season it is Walk, Don’t Ride, which is about the Civil Rights Movement. Three major events are highlighted in the play, the most interesting to me being the Nashville Lunch Counter Sit-ins. I grew up in Nashville. My father worked downtown just a few [...]

We all know that Rosa Parks proudly refused to give up her seat on a bus because she was African American. However, less folks know of a not-so-documented instance twelve years before her arrest. One day in 1943, Ms. Parks boarded the front of the bus because there was standing room only in the back. [...]

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character … I have a dream today.” We all know these heroic words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., spoken on [...]

Sometimes a single name, a single date, a single event, or a particular song conjures up myriad images and emotions, creating an immediate shift in your breath.  Let’s try it.  What comes to your heart and mind? Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  Freedom rides. Rosa Parks. Amazing Grace. Lunch-counter sit-ins. Keep Your Eyes on the [...]

Call me a nerd, but for me, there’s just something special about a verse like: “And the light shineth in the darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.” (John 1:5, KJV). It’s also significant (to me, anyway) that in the King James Version, in John 3:15, it talks about those believing in Jesus will have [...]

Performing at the prison was an adventure. It all started as we checked in and had to run all of our props through a scanner – like the baggage scanners at the airport. That would normally not be a problem at all, but for Nativity on the Square, we have two full-size mannequins. I wish I [...]

This article, written by Jackie Lane, was originally published in The East Tennessee Foundation newsletter. The WordPlayers is a Knoxville-based faith-based nonprofit whose mission is to “impact theater artists and audiences by telling stories from a Christian world view,” according to Artistic Director Terry Weber. The theater company provides a “welcoming and encouraging environment for [...]