The document is a learning guide for a play called Gee's Bend by Elyzabeth Wilder. It provides background information and summaries of the play's plot which is told over three time periods - 1939, 1965, and 2002. The play focuses on the character of Sadie and her family in the isolated town of Gee's Bend, Alabama known for its quilting tradition. In 1939, 15 year old Sadie has a secret romance with Macon and gets pregnant, leaving school to marry him. In 1965, Macon physically abuses Sadie after she witnesses Dr. King in Selma. By 2002, Sadie's daughter Asia now lives in Gee's Bend as the town loses its

1. MELINDA MCCRARY
Director of Education and Community Programs
mccrarym@kcrep.org
816-235-5708
AMY TONYES
Education Associate
tonyesal@kcrep.org
816-235-2707
THE KANSAS CITY
REPERTORY
THEATRE
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
LETTER FROM THE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT
Dear Valued Educators,
Welcome to Kansas City Repertory’s Copaken Stage for
Gee’s Bend by Elyzabeth Wilder. We believe this will be a
moving and enlightening morning of theatre for your
students, signifying again that there is a great joy in arts
education. It is, as always, gratifying for us to partner
with you as you share these special experiences with
your students.
The history and culture of our complex country provides
playwrights with countless bright ideas for plays. This is
one of those bright ideas matched with a young and
compassionate storyteller to bring it to life. Gee’s Bend,
Alabama harbors a uniquely fascinating treasure chest of
history and culture. This play is particularly wonderful
for young audiences whose ownership of history,
community and tradition we all continually seek to
engage and enhance. The energy, creativity and love for
life of the characters in this play, and in the real life Gee’s
Bend that inspired it, are qualities for us to appreciate
and emulate. The use of quilts, as metaphors for our
experiences, is not new but continues to be valuable for
us to explore. The image of seemingly useless scraps or
bits put together to make a beautiful and necessary
whole resonates for anyone of any age or ethnicity,
anywhere. As one of the Gee’s Bend quilters pointed out
in an interview, “You didn’t have nothin’ to throw away.”
As William Arnett and Paul Arnett surmise in their
gorgeous book Gee’s Bend: The Women and Their
Quilts, “Now, in the dawn of the twenty-first century,
what is the outlook for Gee’s Bend? As developed
over the course of the twentieth century, the Gee’s
Bend art tradition embodies three great themes in
American quilts: quilts as formally sophisticate design,
quilts as vessels of cultural survival and continuity,
and quilts as portraits of women’s identities.” It is
with great pride that we contribute to the portraits of
these American women.
By sharing this specific and amazing story of personal
expression and exceptional visual art with your
students, we believe you are going above and beyond
in sharing the arts and history with them. That’s just a
fancy way to say, “Thanks for coming and enjoy.”
Melinda McCrary
Director of Education and Community Programs
A New Play Called Gee’s Bend P.2
The Characters P.3
The Action of the Play P.4
The Art of Necessity P.8
Interview with the Playwright P.11
The Women & The Quilts P.12
Quilting Terminology P.13
Images and Issues P.14
Literature Connections P.15
Quilts as Image P.16
Classroom Connections P.17
Further Research P.18
Reminders and Information P.20
Community Resources P.22
Sponsors P.24
IS S U E
A P R IL
20 08
03
SPRINT SERIES LEARNING GUIDE

2. A NEW PLAY CALLED
GEE’S BEND
Elyzabeth Gregory Wilder’s new
play explores a small town with
a history of struggle, strength
and beauty.
Gee's Bend is a U-shaped piece of land five
miles wide and eight miles long on the
Alabama River south of Selma. It has had
that name since the European settlement of
Alabama; what the wind and water call it or
how the native Americans referred to it is
lost to time. It is not a county seat; no
highway runs through it. In fact, until 1967
the road into Gee's Bend wasn't even paved.
But some remarkable
folk artists live and
work in Gee's Bend,
women whose quilts
have been exhibited in
museums across the
country. It's amazing
what can grow in a
small Alabama town
thanks to the
hardihood and spirit of
those who live there.
Of late, Gee's Bend—since 1949 known to
the U.S. Post Office as Boykin, Alabama—has
been in the news for two diverse issues, for
its quilts and quiltmakers and for its ferry.
Both items figure in Elyzabeth Wilder's new
play, Gee’s Bend. As Wilder herself says
about the play, “It's not about the quilts; it's
about the people." The quilts, the ferry, the
land all figure as powerful images in this
play which traces three generations of Gee’s
Bend women from 1939 to 2002.
Three actresses and one actor play all the
roles, one actress portraying Sadie in all
three acts while another portrays her
sister Nella. The third actress plays Alice,
the mother, in the first two acts and then
portrays Sadie's daughter Asia in the last
act. (Thus, when Alzheimer's-challenged
Nella enters in Act Three, sees Asia, and
says, "Ain't mama pretty?" her line is both
an indication of her
dementia and a meta-
theatrical reference to
the doubling.)
The actor plays Macon,
the man who woos and
weds Sadie. The lives
these actors portray give
us insight into the
changing issues of the
20th century—racial
issues, gender issues,
generational issues, economic issues—and
into the lives of some truly remarkable
Alabama women. It captures a world that
is disappearing, for today the young
people leave Gee's Bend for better
opportunities in big cities rather than stay
to farm and quilt.
Gee’s Bend Pg. 2
UP CLOSE:
About the Playwright
Playwright Elyzabeth Wilder
is an Alabama native. Her
first play, “Tales of an
Adolescent Fruit Fly,” was
produced by the Ergo
Theatre Company in New
York City and optioned for
film by Emotion Pictures.
Since then she has had plays
produced in both the U.S.
and London. Her work has
been workshopped at the
Alabama Shakespeare
Festival’s Southern Writer’s
Project, Collaborative Arts
Project 21, New Jersey Rep,
and the Sewanee Writer’s
Conference, where she was
awarded the Tennessee
Williams Playwriting
Scholarship.
Above: Elyzabeth Gregory Wilder. Right:
Gee’s Bend, 1937. Library of Congress,
Arthur Rothstein, photographer.

3. UP CLOSE:
A Playwright’s
Inspiration
Above: Mary Lee Bendolph. Above left:
Gee’s Bend, 1937. Library of Congress,
Arthur Rothstein, photographer.
THE CHARACTERS OF GEE’S BEND
Time: 1939, 1965, 2002
Place: Gee's Bend, Alabama
Characters:
Sadie Ages from 15-79. Alice’s daughter, Nella’s sister, Macon’s wife.
Ambitious, literate, intelligent, focused, an independent dreamer.
Macon Ages from 25-51. Sadie’s husband.
A dreamer and show-off who increasingly loses hope as
economic depression and ill health set in. Takes his frustrations
out on Sadie physically.
Nella Ages from 17-81. Alice’s daughter, Sadie’s sister.
Perpetually single, dreams big, but has little to show for it.
Relies on Sadie for many things, economically and socially.
Alice 30s to 50s. Sadie and Nella’s mother.
Independent, wise, grounded.
Asia Sadie’s daughter.
Practical, loving, and changing with a modern world.
Gee’s Bend Pg. 3
"Some people
have a good life.
But I had a rough
life. But I thank
God that he
helped me come
through, and I
ain't dead."
—MARY LEE BENDOLPH
Mary Lee Bendolph, on
whom the character of
Sadie is based. Read the
Pulitzer Prize winning
article about her life at
http://www.pulitzer.org/
year/2000/feature-
writing/works/.

4. THE ACTION OF THE
PLAY
"You know my soul looks
back and wonder/ How we
got over."
UP CLOSE:
Scenic Design
Gee's Bend is written in three parts, present-
ing three different times in the recent
history of the community and of one
woman's life in particular. Basing the play in
research and extensive interviews as well as
her own artistry, Elyzabeth Wilder creates an
evolving set of issues rooted in specific
experience. By anchoring the play in 1939,
1965, and 2002, Wilder explores key points
in the development of
the community and
several times when the
o u t s i d e w o r l d
r e c o g n i z e d a n d
impacted isolated Gee's
Bend and its residents.
Part One: 1939
The play opens with 15-
year-old Sadie near the
river. The river, and
getting across the river, provide a strong
image throughout the action, doubling the
Alabama River with the River Jordan in the
spiritual sense and the Atlantic Ocean in
terms of the Middle Passage of slavery: "You
know my soul looks back and wonder/ How
we got over."
Sadie's vision is personal, but visions were a
traditional part of worship in Gee's Bend,
signifying the conversion necessary prior to
church membership.
Sadie's vision is of being wrapped and
sewn in a quilt and put in the river to
float; today, she says, she just let herself
float, even though she's scared of the
river. Rivers are potent emblems of
change and development, natural cycles,
and journeys. All of these are relevant as
Sadie starts the play; after all, her life's
journey is just beginning.
The 1937 New York
Times article about
Gee's Bend lines the
walls of the old tenant
cabin that Sadie
Pettway lives in with
her family. Newspaper
serves as wallpaper and
insulation in these old
plank wall cabins. Sadie
reads the closing quote
of the article, "I got more confidence in
my land than I had in my own wife," a
quotation that highlights two crucial
aspects of the play: the value of the land
and marriage.
But the cabin will soon be replaced by a
new house, for Sadie's family is building
one of the "Roosevelt" houses. As the
sisters tease about the skills necessary to
be a wife, Macon's name is mentioned
and which girl he may be interested in,
although Alice says he's too old for them.
Gee’s Bend Pg. 4
Above: Set panel by Tim Jones. Right: Gee’s
Bend, 1937. Library of Congress, Arthur
Rothstein, photographer.
Scenic Designer Tim Jones,
who used watercolors for
his sketches, chose the
palette for the set from the
actual quilts of Gee’s Bend.
He wanted to create a
feeling that was both
‘homey and homely.’ The
actual panels will measure
approximately 4’ x 18’.

5. UP CLOSE:
The Music of Gee’s Bend
THE ACTION OF THE PLAY CONTINUED
Alice's concern is a bit late, however, since
Sadie is already having a secret romance
with Macon, a successful young farmer
who wants to marry her and build her a
house. As a promise of their future, he
gives her a key. Her mother does not
believe in keys, and Sadie adopts that view
of having an open house. The key becomes
another central image in the play.
It comes as no real surprise to us when
Sadie becomes pregnant, although she is
surprised and sad to have to leave school.
When she marries Macon and goes to their
new house, she takes a wedding quilt she
pieced. Macon's pride in the land is strong
and he explains what having it means to
him with a memory from his childhood, a
memory involving a beating. This is the
play's second mention of a beating, an
occurrence that takes a number of
different turns as the action develops.
Part Two: 1965
Nine scenes form the center of the play, with
Sadie now 41 and her sister still teasing about
finding a man. Sadie's dreams are now of
drowning, a disturbing suggestion. Macon
brings home bad news about the truck,
another expense now that the dam has put
his best land under water (another drowning
image).
In Camden the next day, Sadie sees Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. drink from the
“whites-only” water fountain, and as she
goes to take a drink, too, an angry Macon
appears to take her home: "What you doing
is dangerous." Macon's response takes the
form of violence; he beats Sadie:
SADIE. I just wanted a drink of water.
MACON. Hope it was worth it.
SADIE. It was worth the beating you gave me.
MACON. You earned that beating. You know I
ain't never raised a hand to you 'cept when
you be needing it.
Music is an important part of
the play Gee's Bend, and
Wilder scripts specific songs
into certain moments of the
action. The play opens to the
sound of women's voices
singing "How We Got Over"
as Sadie presents her baptis-
mal soliloquy by the river.
Part Two opens with
"Somebody's Knocking on
Yo' Door." The transition
into scene 5 of Part Two,
when Sadie returns home
after Bloody Sunday in
Selma, uses "Oh, Lord, I'm
on My Way." Scene 8 of Part
Two, the last scene with
Macon, ends with "You Can't
Hide [God's Got Your Num-
ber]." Scene 2 of Part Three
uses "If Anybody Asks You
Who I Am," and the last
scene uses "When All God's
Children Get Together"; the
last verse used in the play
begins, "When the white
folks/ And the colored folks/
Get together.…"
Pictured above: Sweet Honey in the
Rock. Left: Gee’s Bend, 1937. Library
of Congress, Arthur Rothstein,
photographer.
Gee’s Bend Pg. 5

6. THE ACTION OF THE
PLAY CONTINUED
"My life feel like it my own
again, Lord. Like I live for
me.” — SADIE
UP CLOSE:
Pre-Show Activity
Listen to Sweet Honey in
the Rock’s anniversary CD
called "Twenty-five" and
discuss the power of the
various types of song. The
first song is a repeated
line from a poem by June
Jordan, "we are the ones,
we've been waiting…/ we
are the ones we've been
waiting for." (Discuss
what difference the addi-
tion of the "for" makes in
the meaning of the line
and its implications.)
The second song is
adapted from a traditional
African (Ituri) chant—no
lyrics, but the syllables
when sung can "unite a
community and call down
spirits."
The third song is a modern
protest song "Battered
Earth," one that uses the
"running away" imagery
of traditional spirituals.
And the fourth song is a
traditional spiritual,
"Motherless Child," pow-
erfully performed by this
talented group of women.
Right: Gee’s Bend, 1937. Library of
Congress, Arthur Rothstein,
photographer.
Compare Macon's view
about Sadie's actions with
those that Nella reports
from the white sheriff
about stopping the ferry
to Gee's Bend: "The sheriff
say they didn't cut off the
ferry because we was
black. Say it's because we
forgot we was black."
There is an implicit "place"
for each race and each
gender, an assumption
about hierarchy and privilege, but in 1965,
"the times, they are a'changing."
The Macon and Sadie scenes shows a
complicated relationship developing over
time and the tensions that changing
traditions put on the couple. As Macon gets
sicker, Sadie must choose escape or
responsibility, and it is not an easy choice —
this man would keep her down, not, like
Dr. King, lift her up. But Macon changes,
too, from the man who in spite says of
Sadie's quilts, "Oughta burn 'em up, them
ugly things" to the ailing man who
celebrates that she didn't sell their
wedding quilt, "Glad you ain't sold 'em
all…You do good" and explains, "I put that
lock on to keep you safe. You don't know
that, but that's what I did." How to
protect versus how to fulfill is a crucial
issue in the play.
Macon's death sends Sadie back to the
swamp where we first
met her, the one place
where she can admit,
"My life feel like it my
own again, Lord. Like I
live for me. “
Part Three: 2002
The issue 37 years later
after the play's opening
is again one of locks and
keys, for Sadie's middle-
aged daughter Asia is
concerned that the
proposed return of the ferry will threaten
the safety of the community; they will
need to lock their doors. Sadie likes the
ferry-less life: "They left us alone all these
years. Us on one side and them on the
other." But she is worried about the
change, about the memories locks bring
back, about the fact that "the river can't
protect us no more."
Gee’s Bend Pg. 6
"We didn't close the
ferry because they were
black; we closed it
because they forgot
they were black."
—ATTRIBUTED TO CAMDEN
SHERIFF LUMMIE JENKINS
To Sadie, a voter registration card "means
that I count for something. That what I think
matters." Macon disagrees, feeling that her
actions make it seem that he can't control
his wife: "Well, just cause you got a vote out
there, don't mean you got a vote in here."
The two face off about her going to the
Selma march (now known as Bloody
Sunday), and Macon decrees, "You walk out
that door, don't you come back." Sadie
walks out—and into another beating in
Selma during the march over the bridge. The
bruised and battered Sadie returns home to
find the key turned in the lock.

7. Sadie will not bless such an action;
instead, she buys the land. If
disoriented Nella remembers only the
past, so, in a way, does Sadie, who
prefers to keep the community as it
has been; the ferry
is a symbol of
progress, of access
in both directions,
of less "safety." "I
don't think that
ferry ever coming,"
she says, "but if it
do, I be ready," and
she digs up the key
she buried years
before.
UP CLOSE:
Scenic Design
The isolation brings safety, but Gee's
Bend is not unreachable; she also has a
$2000 check from a white man who
came to her door buying quilts, saying
they were art. Sadie sold the green quilt
she made for herself
and Macon in 1965,
though Asia protests,
"I loved that quilt." She
and Nella pack for a
trip to the museum
exhibit of the Gee's
Bend quilts. Seeing the
quilts on the walls as
art only reminds Sadie
that the quilts are life,
"Our blood and our
tears melted into the
seams."
Asia, who cannot pass
the quilting tradition
on to her uninterested
daughter now tells her mother that she
wants to sell her land and move to
Selma where she works.
THE ACTION OF THE PLAY CONTINUED
Set panel by Tim Jones
for the Kansas City
Repertory Theatre’s
production of Gee’s
Bend. Mr. Jones
wanted the set panels
to reflect the central
themes and images of
the play.
Gee’s Bend Pg. 7
“She had a little quilt, not
a big quilt. And made it
out of red, green and
yellow...Everyday she
would spread that quilt
down and say, “ya’ll come
over here, and I’m going
to tell you my life, a story
about my life.”
-ARLONZIA PETTWAY, WHO LEARNED
HOW TO QUILT AT AGE 13, DISCUSSING
HER GREAT-GRANDMOTHER, WHO WAS
BROUGHT TO THIS COUNTRY AS A SLAVE.
Left : Gee’s Bend, 1937. Library of
Congress, Arthur Rothstein,
photographer.

8. THE ART OF NECESSITY
BY THOMAS CANFIELD
UP CLOSE:
Real Voices of Gee’s Bend
After the cotton market crashed during
the Great Depression, the widow of a
merchant who had extended credit to the
families of Gee’s Bend foreclosed on the
community in 1932. Arriving on horse-
back, armed collection agents took all the
Gee’s Benders’ possessions, including
food, livestock, farming tools and seeds.
Only emergency rations distributed by the
Red Cross alleviated the near-starvation
that families suffered that winter. In 1934-
35, supplementary aid followed when the
Federal Emergency Relief Administration
provided small farm loans as well as
seeds, implements and livestock. As part
of Roosevelt’s New Deal in the late 1930s
and 1940s, the government acquired
10,000 acres of the land and made no-
interest loans to Gee’s Bend residents,
allowing them to purchase their small
farms. Approximately 100 Roosevelt
Project houses were erected, along with
as a general store, cotton gin, blacksmith
shop, sawmill, school and clinic.
The result was a self-sufficient,
landowning community of African-
Americans who were marked by a strong
sense of identity and an indomitable spirit
fostered in the face of hardship. In the
1930s, Farm Security Administration
photographers captured the isolation of
the residents, and the Library of Congress
recorded traditional gospel music in Gee’s
Bend during the following decade.
Gee’s Bend Pg. 8
Like kaleidoscopic portraits in a family album
chronicling adversity, struggle and triumph,
the extraordinary quilts created by
generations of women in Gee’s Bend,
Alabama, are a remarkably personal,
picturesque record of their community’s
resilience under difficult circumstances. In a
materialistic age of manufactured
commodities, the fact that the deep-rooted
art of quilting has endured in Gee’s Bend is a
testament not only to the community’s
devotion to tradition but also the result of
prolonged geographical segregation from
the modern world at large.
Secluded on three sides within a massive,
oxbow-shaped curve of the Alabama River in
one of the nation’s poorest regions, Gee’s
Bend is about 30 miles southwest of Selma
and seven miles directly across the river
from the Wilcox County seat of Camden. The
community, spanning an area five miles long
and eight miles wide, comprises
approximately 750 African-American
citizens. Their earliest ancestors were
brought from North Carolina as slaves in
1816 by Joseph Gee, who established a
cotton plantation there. Ownership of the
plantation changed twice before the Civil
War. Mark H. Pettway, the plantation’s final
antebellum owner, marched an additional
100 or more slaves there in 1845-46. They
walked over 700 miles from North Carolina
to Alabama. After emancipation, the freed
black population remained on the land, in
virtually unchanged circumstances, as share-
croppers and tenant farmers. Many of their
descendants retain the Pettway name to this
day.
"They took
everything
and left
people to
die."
—ARLONZIA
PETTWAY ON MRS.
RENTZ'S 1932
FORECLOSURE OF
LOANS TO GEE'S BEND
FARMERS
Above: Arlonzia Pettway. Right : Gee’s
Bend, 1937. Library of Congress, Arthur
Rothstein, photographer.
A brief history of Gee’s
Bend, Alabama and those
who live there.

9. UP CLOSE:
Real Voices of Gee’s Bend
Although the hamlet’s name was officially
changed to Boykin in 1949 (the same year
the first post office was built), locals still
refer to it as Gee’s Bend, as do the road
signs. Electricity did not arrive until 1964.
Only one road, unpaved until 1967, leads
out of town. Gee’s Bend had no telephone
service or running water until the mid-
1970s.
Because of its isolation, Gee’s Bend was
referred to as “Alabama Africa” by other
blacks in the deep south. Yet the
community’s independence not only
helped to preserve the distinct traditions
of quilting, story telling and gospel music;
it also led the people of Gee’s Bend to
play a notable role in the civil rights
movement.
During the voting rights activism of the
early 1960s, many Benders rode the
unreliable ferry across the river to register
at the Camden courthouse only to face
armed law enforcement, tear gas and jail.
Those Gee’s Bend residents who were
property owners could not be evicted for
their actions, yet further retaliation came
with the termination of the ferry service
and loss of jobs in 1962, part of an overall
effort to halt black civil rights workers
from traveling between Camden and
Gee’s Bend.
As a result, those few Gee’s Bend residents
who owned cars had to drive approximately
100 miles round trip to get to Camden.
Reportedly, the county sheriff at the time
stated that “We didn't close the ferry because
they were black. We closed it because they
forgot they were black.” Today, while the
town has four churches, it has only one post
office and a grocery store. Such basic facilities
as the school, hospital and police station are
located miles away, a fact that has only served
to encourage the ardent self-reliance of the
Benders over time. Their isolation prevailed
for 44 years, until a new ferry began operating
in September of 2006.
In 1965, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke at
Pleasant Grove Baptist Church in Gee’s Bend.
A few days later, he spoke outside the jail in
Camden. Many Benders who attended were
subsequently jailed. Inspired by the strength
of the community, King used the geographical
divide posed by river as a rallying point,
motivating several residents to join him in the
famous October 30 march from Selma to
Montgomery. After King’s assassination in
1968, mules from Gee’s Bend pulled the
wagon carrying his casket through Atlanta.
THE ART OF NECESSITY CONTINUED
"I came over
here to Gee's
Bend to tell you,
you are
somebody."
—DR. MARTIN
LUTHER KING, JR. IN
GEE'S BEND, ALABAMA
Gee’s Bend Pg. 9
Above: Martin Luther King, Jr. Left:
Protesters march in Selma, Alabama.
Library of Congress.

10. Some artists fashioned “britches quilts” out
of castoff clothes, such as over-alls, trouser
legs and shirt tails, often employing such
materials to keep memories of deceased
relatives alive. Yet until the outside world
began applauding their quilts as art, the
creators viewed them as merely functional
items. Old quilts were burned to repel
mosquitoes, or used to mop up motor oil
and protect automobiles from the
elements.
Today, the quilters of Gee’s Bend have
garnered nationwide acknowledgment and
are being celebrated for their
accomplishments. Gee’s Bend quilts have
appeared in museum exhibitions from New
York to Houston and San Francisco. Books,
articles, short stories and films have high-
lighted the unique stories of the quilts and
their creators who, for the first time in
their lives, have a real income from their
work. In 2006, the U.S. Postal Service
issued a series of Gee’s Bend stamps. This
recognition has helped to revive a once-
dying community and the nearly-lost art of
quilting that has been passed down for
generations from mothers and
grandmothers to daughters and grand-
daughters.
Thomas Canfield, who holds a Ph.D. in English with a
specialty in Elizabethan drama, is working on his second
M.A. in theatre history and dramatic literature at UMKC. He
was the dramaturg for last season’s Rep production of King
Lear, and for the Heart of America Shakespeare Festival’s
production of Romeo and Juliet. Dr. Canfield is also an
English instructor at Grantham University and the
dramaturg for this season’s UMKC Theatre production of
The Country Wife, William Wycherley’s Restoration
comedy.
UP CLOSE:
Real Voices of Gee’s Bend
Gee’s Bend Pg. 10
In 1966, Francis X. Walter, an Episcopal
minister and civil rights worker, developed
the idea of marketing local talent to provide
economic empowerment for area quilters.
Farming came largely to a close when a
federal dam construction project, completed
just south of Gee’s Bend in 1970, flooded
thousands of acres of the area’s most fertile
farming land. Nearly one-third of the women
in Gee’s Bend joined the Freedom Quilting
Bee, an offshoot of the civil rights
movement designed to boost income and
foster community development by selling
their work to outsiders. This cooperative,
centered in the nearby town of Rehoboth,
provided some financial relief to the
community. In the late 1960s, Gee’s Bend
quilts were featured in Vogue and Life
magazines, and local artists received a long-
term commercial contract to sew for several
department stores.
The quilts of Gee’s Bend reflect an artistry
born from utility. Their beauty emerges
from, and in spite of, an inherited material
dearth reaching back to the days of slavery.
Many Benders had little or no heat and lived
in barely furnished, ramshackle homes, so
quilts provided warmth and protection from
the wind, cold and dust. While Gee’s Bend
quilts look like Minimalist art, their earliest
creators were actually inspired by the news-
paper and catalog collages pasted on their
walls to provide insulation. Quilts were often
made of limited available materials,
including feed and flour sacks, rags and
tobacco pouches.
Nettie Young, who received her
first pair of shoes at age twelve,
a member of the Gee’s Bend
Quilt Cooperative.
“I was one of the first
ladies from here who
went to the court-
house...to be a
registered voter...We
stood before tear gas
and guns, which they
used to keep us from
the courthouse. We
were put in jail. We
were...some of us,
whipped. We were
treated awful there. I
stayed in jail three or
four nights.”
—NETTIE YOUNG
THE ART OF NECESSITY
CONTINUED
Above: The stamps of Gee’s Bend.

11. How did you get your start?
I first started out as an actor in the theatre. I did
local children’s theatre growing up, starting at
about the fourth grade. That’s really when I first
fell in love with the theatre and playwriting was a
natural transition. I wrote my first full length play
when I was about 17 and had the good fortune of
having it read in a reading series in New York and
then it ended up being produced after that.
Another great program that I went through was at
the Alabama Shakespeare Festival. They have a
program called the Young Southern Writer’s
Project and I was in their very first workshop. So I
just feel like I was fortunate all along having a lot
of encouragement. Having grown up doing
theatre, I had a good background and a good sense
of the way theatre works. And I think that helped a
lot when I made that transition into playwriting. As
far as writing is concerned, I feel like I’ve always
written. Growing up in the South, the south is such
a storytelling culture that it is a very natural part of
how I grew up. Some of my earliest memories are
sitting at the feet of my great-grandmother
listening to her tell stories.
When did you know you wanted to be a play-
wright?
I think the first time I really saw my work on it its
feet. The wonderful thing about the theatre is the
immediacy of going to see a play. I’ve written for
television and I’ve written for screenplays and I
don’t get to experience my work with the
audience. But with the theatre, you have a chance
to be there and watch their reactions and to see
how your work directly affects people. I think,
very early on, that was what was so compelling to
me.
Do you ever have ‘writer’s block’?
Oh, I have moments of writer’s block all the
time. Actually, following the original opening of
Gee’s Bend I really struggled, for almost a year,
to write anything after that. It felt like there
were a lot of new expectations that I hadn’t
experienced before both from other people but
probably more so even from myself. And sort
of not knowing how to follow that up. And it
took me awhile to work through that. I feel like
I’m always doing something that contributes to
my writing even if it’s not actually writing. So if I
hit a bump in the road usually I allow myself to
take the time to put it down, to go back to do
more research, to read, to take a road trip.
Seeing other people’s plays and going to the
theatre is always inspiring.
What is your writing process?
I don’t have any really great routine. I probably
should have more of a routine. [Laughs.] I tend
to write the best early in the morning or late at
night. So I try to be at my desk by 8:00am and
try and get in a couple of hours of writing first
thing in the morning and then come back to it.
What advice would you give to young writers?
I think the best thing we can do as artists is be
surrounded by art. That doesn’t always mean
going to see a play or reading a play but also
surrounding yourself with other art. There are
stories to be told in the ballet, in modern dance,
in opera. Also in visual art. I find a lot of times
an image will direct my work. Every good photo-
graph has a story. I encourage people to look
around them. Another great way to find stories
is to just talk to your parents and grandparents.
AN INTERVIEW WITH THE PLAYWRIGHT—ELYZABETH WILDER
Gee’s Bend Pg. 11
UP CLOSE:
Seek Some Sources
Trace some of Wilder's
inspiration for the play Gee's
Bend by reading the Los
Angeles Times series called
"Crossing Over," written by J.
R. Moehringer, a series which
won a 2000 Pulitzer Prize for
Feature Writing. It is available
o n l i n e a t : h t t p : / /
www.pulitzer.org/year/2000/
Also available online is the
1937 New York Times article
that presents the myth of
Gee's Bend that the
government sought to purvey
as it worked to pass legislation
that would remedy the ills of
the tenant farming system. It
is illustrated with a series of
Arthur Rothstein photographs.
Get the article through Pro-
Quest Historical Newspapers,
"The Big World at Last
Reaches Gee's Bend," by John
Temple Graves II (August 22,
1937), New York Times, p.
SM12.
Gee’s Bend Pg. 11
Above left: Elyzabeth Gregory Wilder.

12. The "Quilts of Gee’s Bend" exhibition has
received a tremendous of acclaim
beginning at its showing in Houston, then
at the Whitney Museum of American Art
in New York and the other museums on
its twelve-city American tour. Newsweek,
National Public Radio’s Talk of the Nation,
Art in America, CBS News Sunday
Morning, PBS’s NewsHour with Jim
Lehrer, the Martha Stewart Living
television show, House and Garden,
Oprah’s O magazine, and Country Home
magazine are among the hundreds of
print and broadcast media organizations
that have celebrated the quilts and the
history of this unique town. Art critics
worldwide have compared the quilts to
the works of important artists such as
Henri Matisse and Paul Klee. The New
York Times called the quilts "some of the
most miraculous works of modern art
America has produced." The Museum of
Fine Arts, Houston, is currently preparing
a second major museum exhibition and
tour of Gee’s Bend quilts, premiered in
2006.
In 2003, with assistance from the Tinwood
organizations, all the living quilters of
Gee’s Bend — more than fifty women —
founded the Gee’s Bend Quilters
Collective to serve as the exclusive means
of selling and marketing the quilts being
produced by the women of the Bend.
Every quilt sold by the Gee’s Bend Quilt
Collective is unique, individually
produced, and authentic — each quilt is
signed by the quilter and labeled with a
serial number.
“[The Gee's Bend quilts] expand
the sense of what art can be."
–PETER MARZIO, DIRECTOR OF THE
MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, HOUSTON
UP CLOSE:
Real Voices of Gee’s Bend
Gee’s Bend Pg. 12
Throughout much of the twentieth century,
making quilts was considered a domestic
responsibility for women in Gee's Bend. As
young girls, many of the women trained or
apprenticed in their craft with their
mothers, female relatives, or friends; other
quilters, however, have been virtually self-
taught. Women with large families often
made dozens upon dozens of quilts over
the course of their lives.
The women consider the process of
"piecing" the quilt "top" to be highly
personal. In Gee’s Bend, the top—the side
that faces up on the bed—is always pieced
by a quilter working alone and reflects a
singular artistic vision. The subsequent
process of “quilting” the quilt—sewing
together the completed top, the batting
(stuffing), and the back—is sometimes then
performed communally, among small
groups of women.
Most of the quilters were featured in the
book Gee's Bend: The Women And Their
Quilts (Tinwood, 2002), where extensive
biographical information can be found.
The town’s women developed a distinctive,
bold, and sophisticated quilting style based
on traditional American (and African
American) quilts, but with a geometric
simplicity reminiscent of Amish quilts and
modern art.
The women of Gee’s Bend passed their skills
and aesthetic down through at least six
generations to the present.
“I get some fabrics
and I’ll be thinking
about quilting with
my eyes closed. With
my eyes resting, I’ll
see a quilt pattern.
I’ll be thinking about
it for a long good
while. It comes right
into your mind, what
the quilt will be.”
—LUCY MINGO
THE WOMEN — AND
THE QUILTS — OF GEE’S
BEND
Above: Lucy Mingo. Above right: A current
photo of the Quilt Cooperative.

13. UP CLOSE:
Real Voices of Gee’s Bend
LITERATURE CONNECTIONS
Backing—The back or bottom layer of a quilt ‘sandwich’ consisting of three layers.
Backstitch—A stitch made by inserting the needle at the midpoint of a preceding stitch so
that the stitches overlap by half-lengths.
Basting—Long stitches used to hold fabric layers or seams in place temporarily and usually
removed after final sewing.
Batting—Cotton, wool, or synthetic fiber wadded into rolls or sheets, used for lining quilts.
In Gee’s Bend the batting would be cotton picked from the fields.
Binding—The finishing edge put on the outside of a quilt, enclosing the three raw edges
formed by the backing, batting and top.
Muslin—A plain weave, cotton, bleached or unbleached fabric used as a backing. If muslin
was not available, quilters in Gee’s Bend used what they had available such as flour sacks..
Piecing—The action of sewing pieces together to make a whole.
Quilt—A cover comprising a top, a filler and a back secured by stitches or tying.
Quilt Lining—The back of the quilt.
Quilt Top—The usually decorative uppermost layer of a quilt.
Quilting—The act of stitching or the stitches that hold the three layers together—the top,
filler and back.
Quilter’s Frame—Four strips of wood that supports the layers for quilting.
Thimble—A protective finger covering made of plastic, metal or leather used to protect the
fingers when sewing or pushing the needle through the layers of the quilt.
Gee’s Bend Pg. 13
QUILTING TERMINOLOGY
Nettie Young, born 1917. "H"variation
(quiltmaker's name: "Milky Way"),
1971.
"Quilts were a
consolation to
me. I didn't have
so much worry
when I was
making quilts. I
just kept my mind
on the quilts.”
—NETTIE YOUNG
Above left: The quilters of Gee’s Bend.
Note the pattern of the headscarf
worn by one of the quilters.

14. IMAGES AND ISSUES IN
GEE’S BEND
The river, the locked and
unlocked door, the key, the
quilts, beatings, the drink of
water, what's sold and unsold—
all these plot elements serve as
potent images for character,
action and idea. Add to the
following list when you see the
play:
UP CLOSE:
Scenic Design
THE RIVER:
•Geographically defines Gee's Bend and divides
it from Camden (portrayed as "them," white
society); the ferry is another image that links
to the river.
•The place of baptism in the first scene (baptism
coming to mean initiation in several senses).
•The ongoing flow of the women's lives and
traditions being handed
down.
THE LOCKED AND
UNLOCKED DOOR:
•For Alice and then for
Sadie, the open door is
the sign of community,
openness. For Macon,
the key/lock is a way to
keep his family safe—
and safety becomes a
major issues for him
during Part Two's civil
rights events. For Asia
in Part Three it is a protection against theft,
from the threat a new ferry may pose.
•Being locked in or locked out also represents
the Gee's Bend black residents' place in the
larger society. When the ferry is stopped, they
are effectively "locked in" at Gee's Bend.
Macon's locking Sadie out after the march
directly echoes the Bloody Sunday action of
denying black citizens' rights—two "locked
doors." Notice that at the end the lock doesn't
work, but Sadie goes to get the key.
BEATINGS:
•The beating, too, reflects marital and gender
issues as well as political and racial issues—
all about "place" in society.
•Compare Macon's story about deciding not
to pick up the pennies, a story of pride and
self-assertion despite his father's beating,
with Sadie's stand about civil rights and
Macon's beating of her
and explanations why.
THE DRINK OF WATER:
•Dr. King's drinking from
the whites-only fountain
is a civil rights stand, and
Sadie's similar action is
about civil rights and
personal rights, as Macon
tries to stop her—"I
haven't got my drink of
water yet," she says,
where the water is far
more than simple water.
•The drinking fountain water also links to the
river image—all the water.
WHAT'S SOLD AND UNSOLD:
•The land is rented, then bought; possession
means empowerment to Macon and the
community, yet with the lock and dam the
government seizes/"buys" back half his
land. Compare Mrs. Rentz's seizure of
property.
•Asia wants to sell her land (her daddy's land),
but Sadie says no; she buys it instead.
•The quilts are sold for various reasons and
for various prices until they are valued as art.
Gee’s Bend Pg. 14
Set design by Tim Jones for the Kansas
City Repertory Theatre. Above right:
Gee’s Bend, 1937. Library of Congress,
Arthur Rothstein, photographer.
Scenic Designer Tim Jones
used the river, which both
divides and unites the
residents of Gee’s Bend, as
the central visual anchor of
the set design. Below, Mr.
Jones uses a set panel to
explore one of the central
element of the play — the
home.

15. UP CLOSE:
Connecting to the Past—
The Grandparent/Elder
Project
LITERATURE CONNECTIONS
Arnett, Paul. Gee’s Bend: The Architecture of the Quilt, Tinwood Books, 2006.
Arnett, William. The Quilts of Gee’s Bend: Masterpieces from a Lost Place, Tinwood
Books, 2002.
Callahan, Nancy. The Freedom Quilting Bee: Folk Art and the Civil Rights Movement,
Fire Ant Books, 2005.
Cubbs, Joanne. Mary Lee Bendolph, Gee’s Bend Quilts, and Beyond, Tinwood Books,
2006.
Hicks, Kyra. Black Threads: An African-American Quilting Sourcebook, McFarland, 2002.
Monroe, Lissa. Just How I Picture It in My Mind: Contemporary African American Quilts
from the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, River City Publishing, 2006.
Ringgold, Faith. Tar Beach, Dragonfly Books, 1996.
Ringgold, Faith. Faith Ringgold: A View From the Studio, Bunker Hill, 2005.
Tobin, Jacqueline. Hidden in Plain View: A Secret Story of Quilts and the Underground
Railroad, Anchor Books, 2000.
Whyte, Mary. Alfreda’s World, Gibbs Smith, 2005.
Learning history from real
people involved in real
events brings life to history.
The Grandparent/Elder
Project provides a means to
learn about the twentieth
century from real people
and primary sources. A
1913 New York Times
newspaper provides a view
of the world on the brink of
a World War. An interview
with a grandparent or
significant elder provides a
human face for life in the
twentieth century. Through
researching primary and
secondary sources, your
students become
conversant with significant
aspects of twentieth
century history.
See the website below for
detailed information and
lesson plans for The Grand-
parent/Elder Project.
http:/international.loc.gov/
learn/lessons/98/grand/
overview.html
Gee’s Bend Pg. 15

16. QUILTS AS IMAGE IN
GEE’S BEND
UP CLOSE:
Quilting as Folk Art
For millennia, the spinning and
weaving of cloth has been a
major part of a woman's
domestic scene. Over time, fine
needlework came to define what
it meant to be a lady, and during
the Crusades European women
left on estates pooled their
efforts and created some of the
world's finest tapestries. Fancy
needlework, embroidery, and
smocking are still valued skills,
and historians often turn to
textiles to explore life in early
America.
Quilting is an old art, one that
takes part of its provenance from
battle, since quilted fabric was
used as padding under armor
and chain mail. But quilting also
answers a domestic need, the
need to provide warmth.
Designer quilts are like fancy
needlework, but many quilts are
practical, not simply pretty. The
homes of the working class and
agricultural workers are often
those most exposed to the
elements and least provided
with amenities of progress, so
that a fireplace can be used for
cooking and heating long after
appliances are available in
society houses. Quilts are made
of what's available, the scraps
left over or the worn out fabric
with no other use, the flour or
fertilizer sacking given another
life—such quilts begin from
savaging, then take form as mind
and needle and fabric meet.
Sometimes, as at Gee's Bend,
necessity fosters art.
In a way, the action of Gee's Bend is quilted, a
series of times and people stitched together by
place and action, picking up patterns from out-
side events as well as from the inner rhythms of
individual lives. The actual quilters of Gee's Bend
do not copy precise patterns; they figure them
out in their heads—that is the most frequent
explanation when they are asked about their
patterning. Watching the various mothers in the
play care for their families gives a repeated
p a t t e r n w i t h
variations, as in the
best African American
quilts. How Alice tries
to guide her daughters
can be compared to
Sadie's values and
how she tries to
impart them to Asia,
who in turn wants to
provide certain
potential for her own
(unseen) daughter.
Where the quilts
appear is important in
understanding their
varying import—
personal, economic,
aesthetic. In Part One,
scene two, Alice is
making a quilt top
while Nella prepares
the stuffing. Sewing is
discussed as one of
the skills a woman needs to sustain a family. Two
scenes later, for the first time Alice tells Sadie to
start piecing a quilt just prior to telling Sadie
about her pregnancy. The two activities become
linked, quilting and family. In scene 5 Sadie
brings that first quilt, her wedding quilt, with her
to her new home with Macon.
Part Two opens with quilting and again the
link between quilting and families, and Sadie
mentions her first sale of a quilt—at the
general store for $2 worth of fabric. The
sisters then huddle beneath a quilt in the
church as they wait for Dr. King to arrive. In
the next scene in Camden the sisters mention
that a man is coming around buying quilts, and
after Macon beats her, Sadie in the following
scene stacks up her quilts for sale (she means
business in every sense).
Two scenes later, she,
Nella, and Alice are by the
road side with their quilts
to be sold for $10 each.
Sadie has ten quilts; in the
next scene, as she returns
to say goodbye, she has
$90. In the next scene we
see that the unsold quilt is
the wedding quilt and
that Sadie has stayed to
nurse Macon. In the scene
after his burial, she is
wrapped in the quilt she
made from his work
clothes.
In the first scene of part
three, Sadie has sold a
quilt to an art collector for
$2000, and she and Asia
discuss the value of the
quilts to the collector and
to the family. Then the
women continue that
discussion as they travel to the museum
exhibit of the quilts. Yet Asia, who says don't
sell the quilts, will sell her land. Sadie
continues to quilt at the end, covering Nella
with a quilt and promising to teach her to sew.
Gee’s Bend Pg. 16
“What you see coming from
Gee’s Bend is not accidental...It
was a very conscious thing and
it’s been passed down for at
least five or six generations.”
—WILLIAM ARNETT
Set design by Tim Jones for the Kansas
City Repertory Theatre. Above right: Quilt
by Lola Pettway "Housetop" blocks.

17. sequence of the event into several steps,
which they will depict on the quilt
squares. For example, if they were
focusing on the Great Depression, one
square might depict tenant
farmers working fields,
another would portray
these farmers borrowing
on credit and paying back
loans, the next square
would convey Black
Tuesday, the start of the
Great Depression, and so
on. Have student groups
brainstorm how these
events might be visually
communicated on quilt
squares. Students can
draw or paint images and
also include words to
convey meaning.
Next, groups will create the
quilt squares portraying
each step of the sequence
on fabric or paper. Have
them assemble these quilt
squares in chronological
order and present their
historical event quilts to the
entire class.
UP CLOSE:
Is it Art?
CLASSROOM CONNECTIONS
Classroom Quilt
The quilts of Gee’s Bend provide more than
just warmth. They offer mementos of
individuals’ lives. Learning the stories of
these mementos can bring
context to the history of Gee’s
Bend and of the American
South in general.
Have students create a class-
room quilt portraying historic
events and their effect on the
Gee’s Bend community. Quilts
can be constructed with paper
or fabric (using iron-on sheets
of material for the individual
squares.)
After introducing the history of
Gee’s Bend to your students,
have students brainstorm the
various historical events and
their effect on the Gee’s Bend
community (i.e. plantation life
and slavery, the Civil War, the
Great Depression, New Deal
policies and the Civil Rights
Movement.)
Assign a group of students to
each historical event and
instruct them to break down the
The quilters of Gee’s Bend
say that they never
considered their quilts
works of art or considered
themselves artists. But
what makes these quilts
different from a bedcov-
ering we could purchase
at the mall?
Assign students to study
various artists of the 20th
century such as Mark
Rothko (whose work is
pictured above), Barnett
Newman, Paul Klee,
Louise Nevelson and
Joseph Albers and com-
pare their works to the
quilts of Gee’s Bend. How
do these works compare
aesthetically? How do the
processes of the artists
compare? Are these quilts
different from other
quilts? If so, how? Have
students research and
discuss their viewpoints.
Gee’s Bend Pg. 17
Above: No. 61 (Rust and Blue) by Mark
Rothko, 1953. Center left: Costume
sketches for the Kansas City Repertory
Theatre’s production of Gee’s Bend.
Above left: Quilt by Loretta Bennett
Courtesy of the Tinwood Alliance.

18. FOR FUTHER RESEARCH
Film Resources:
"With Fingers of Love: Economic Development and the Civil Rights Movement" (27 minutes, Films
for the Humanities, 1995). Treats the Freedom Quilting Bee
"The Quiltmakers of Gee's Bend" (80 minutes, Alabama Public Television, 2004). Interviews
quiltmakers and discusses Gee's Bend history in context of the museum exhibits
Book Resources:
Most books are available from Museum of Fine Arts, Houston at www.mfah.org/shops or from Tin-
wood at www.printedculture.com/geesbend/products.html (which donates proceeds to the
Quilters' Cooperative at Gee's Bend)
The Quilts of Gee's Bend (Atlanta: Tinwood Books)
Gee's Bend: The Architecture of the Quilt (Atlanta: Tinwood Books)
Signs and Symbols: African Images in African American Quilts (Atlanta: Tinwood Books)
Souls Grown Deep: African American Vernacular Art of the South (Atlanta: Tinwood Books), Volumes
1 and 2
Exhibition Catalogue The Quilts of Gee’s Bend: masterpieces from a Lost Place Whitney
Gee’s Bend: The Women and their Quilts (Tinwood, 2002)
The Freedom Quilting Bee: Folk Art and the Civil Rights Movement (2005)
“Slave-Made Quilts in Ante-Bellum America” in Always There: The African-American Presence in
American Quilts (1992)
Music Resources:
How We Got Over: Sacred Songs of Gee's Bend, 2 CD set of songs by quilters, with songs recorded in
1940s and recently.
Sweet Honey in the Rock, Twenty-five, Rykodisc, 1988.
Gee’s Bend Pg. 18
For more information on
Gee’s Bend consult the
following resources:
When: Gee’s Bend
Timeline
USA GEE’S BEND
SLAVERY ‹1816
Joseph Gee
purchases land and
starts a cotton
plantation.
‹1845
Mark Pettway buys
the plantation and
brings 100 more
slaves to work. The
slaves walk from
North Carolina to
Wilcox County.
CIVIL WAR ‹1861
Mark Pettway dies,
willing his property
to his widow and
then to his son.
RECONSTRUCTION ‹1865
After the Civil War
many freed Pettway
slaves become
tenants on the
plantation.
GREAT
DEPRESSION
‹1929-32
Price of cotton falls
to pennies per
pound.
‹1932
Collectors foreclose
on Gee’s Bend
debtors; most suffer
near-starvation.
‹1934-1935
Federal Emergency
Relief Administration
provides help. The
net worth of a Gee’s
Bend family is $28.
Right: Tenant farmers during the Great Depression.

19. RESOURCES CONTINUED
Gee’s Bend Pg. 19
Web Sites:
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/ndipedu/lessons/98/grand/geesfoto.html
Photos of Gee's Bend, 1937-45.
http:/international.loc.gov/learn/lessons/98/grand/overview.html
The Library of Congress, "The Learning Page," The Grandparent/Elder Project.
www.quiltsofgeesbend.com
Basic overview of the community. You can see pictures of each member of the quilt collective.
http://www.pulitzer.org/year/2000/feature-writing/works/
An article about the Gee's Bend ferry written in 1999, as the ferry was first planning its return. In
reality, the ferry wasn't made operational until summer, 2006.
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/issues/2006/october/geesbend.php
This article came out after the second exhibit of quilts was revealed.
http://www.mfah.org/main.asp?target=exhibition&par1=1&par2=3&par3=240
This has photos from the second exhibit, which debuted at the Houston Museum of Art -- It in-
cludes some of the "newer" quilts. Go to "images" on the site.
http://www.auburn.edu/academic/other/geesbend/explore/catalog/slideshow/index.htm
This has images of off the quilts from the original exhibit.
When: Gee’s Bend
Timeline
WWII
‹1937-1940
The Roosevelt Project
Houses are constructed.
Buildings include a
school, a store, a cotton
gin, a mill, a clinic and
100 new homes.
‹1945
Residents offered federal
loans to buy farmland.
CIVIL
RIGHTS
ERA
‹1962
Congress orders
construction of dam and
lock at Miller’s ferry to
flood the Alabama River
at Gee’s Bend.
‹1965
Dr. Martin Luther King,
Jr. preaches in Gee’s
Bend. Ferry service
from Gee’s Bend is
terminated.
‹1966
The Freedom Quilting
Bee is organized.
‹1966
The road leading to
Gee’s Bend is paved for
the first time.
TODAY
‹2003
The Museum of Fine
Arts, Houston,
partnering with Atlanta’s
Tinwood Alliance,
exhibits 70 Gee’s Bend
“quilt masterpieces.”
‹2003
The Gee’s Bend Quilter’s
Collective is founded.
‹2006
A ferry begins to operate
across the Alabama River
to Gee’s Bend.
This Learning Guide was compiled with the gracious assistance of Dr. Susan Willis from the
Alabama Shakespeare Festival and Prithi Kanakamedala from the Cleveland Playhouse.

20. REMINDERS AND
INFORMATION
Before the Performance
If you have any questions prior to performance
day, please e-mail Amy Tonyes, Education
Associate, at tonyesal@kcrep.org or call 816-235
-2707. If you have an emergency after 9:00 am
on the day you are scheduled for performance,
please call 816-235-8806. This phone will not be
answered at any other times and there is no
voicemail on this phone. Remember to bring this
contact information with you the morning of the
show. Please review all of this information with
staff and students prior to attending the
performance.
Special Note
Gee’s Bend has a running time of 90 minutes
with no intermission.
Food & Drink
No food, drinks, candy or gum are permitted
inside the theatre at any time.
Sack lunches can be stored by the House
Management staff until after the
performance. They cannot be consumed in the
lobby before the production, and they will not be
accessible during intermission. There are several
restaurants near the theatre downtown. If you
are planning to eat at a downtown restaurant, it
is advised that you contact them prior to your
visit so that they can plan accordingly.
Electronic Devices
Electronic and recording devices should not be
brought inside the theater. This includes pen-
lights, hand-held games, virtual pets, cell phones,
mp3 players, pagers, ipods and bright or noisy
jewelry.
The use of cameras and other recording devices
is a violation of the actor’s contracts. We ask
that you refrain from taking pictures during the
production.
Arrival at Copaken Stage
Please arrive at the theatre between 9:15am-
9:40am. Performances begin promptly. We
don’t want you to miss anything. The Kansas
City Repertory Theatre’s Copaken Stage is
located at 13th
and Walnut, inside the H&R
Block Building, downtown.
When you arrive at the theatre, please stay
on your buses. Someone from the Kansas
City Repertory Theatre staff will greet your
bus and let you know how to proceed. (It is
best if your bus approach the H&R Block
building heading West on 13th
Street (which is
a one way street). We will have police and
Kansas City Repertory Theatre staff members
at this entrance to help make this loading and
unloading of buses go as smoothly as possible.
Each person planning to see the play will need
a ticket to give the ushers in order to enter the
theatre. This includes all students,
chaperones, and drivers.
Stay with your group unless using the rest-
rooms before entering the theatre.
Parking
If your group is arriving in cars, please contact
us immediately so we can plan accordingly.
There is no bus parking at the H&R Block
Building. We are aware of the following bus
parking options:
Kemper Arena Lot B—No charge.
14th & Wyandotte—Approximately $20
per bus, cash only.
Buses may be able to find street parking
around Barney Allis Plaza—No charge.
Gee’s Bend Pg. 20
Please review this information with
your students prior to attending the
performance of Gee’s Bend.
“Copaken Stage is a
unique addition to the
city’s stock of theaters.
And it holds the prom-
ise of unique theater-
going experiences.”
- ROBERT TRUSSELL,
THE KANSAS CITY STAR
UP CLOSE:
COPAKEN STAGE

21. REMINDERS AND INFORMATION CONTINUED UP CLOSE:
Location
The Kansas City Repertory
Theatre’s Copaken Stage is
located at 13th
and Walnut,
inside the H&R Block
Building, downtown.
Gee’s Bend Pg. 21
During the Performance
We ask that the teacher/chaperones sit among
their students in various areas in order to
encourage positive behavior.
Actors appreciate audience response that is
appropriate to the play. By no means does The
Rep want to discourage laughter or applause
during a performance. However, talking,
whispering, shouting or any inappropriate
responses which are disruptive to the actors or to
the rest of the audience is not tolerated. If
behavior problems arise we ask that a teacher or
chaperone accompany the student to the theatre
lobby where we ask they remain until the end of
the play.
At the end of the performance, the actors will
return to the stage for a curtain call. This is the
opportunity for the audience to applaud and
share their appreciation of the play.
After the Performance
There is a 30-minute Q and A discussion with the
actors following the performance. If your group
needs to leave at this time, we understand, and
would like to know beforehand. However, we
strongly encourage you to stay for this unique
learning experience.
When leaving the theater, make sure you have all
your belongings. Please gather any litter and
dispose of it appropriately in the lobby.
We are very happy that you are with us this
morning and want to encourage an atmosphere
of respect for our artists and audience members.
Our Weather Policy for All Student and Public
Performances
Kansas City Repertory Theatre shall be under no
liability for failure of the group to attend in the
event that such failure is caused by, or due to,
inclement weather, interruption or delay of
transportation services, or any other similar or
dissimilar cause beyond the control of the
company.
Seating and Accommodations
Performances (other than those published) that
are Interpreted and/or Audio Described are avail-
able upon request. We require two weeks notice
in order to facilitate your group’s particular
needs.
Theatre seating is assigned and based on
sequence in which reservations and payments
are received, talkback attendance, disability
considerations, and group size.
What to Wear
Dress for the weather. You may wear dress
clothes in order to make the theatre field trip a
special one, but it is not required. Please be
advised that, at times, it may be chilly in the
theatre.
Please contact Amy Tonyes, Education
Associate, with any questions, comments or
concerns at tonyesal@kcrep.org or
816-235-2707
Above left: Actor Talk Back following a
student matinee of To Kill a Mockingbird
at the Kansas City Repertory Theatre.
Photo courtesy of Linda LeGrand.
Available Bus Parking
Kemper Arena Lot B—No
charge.
14th & Wyandotte—
Approximately $20 per
bus, cash only.
Buses may be able to find
street parking around
Barney Allis Plaza—No
charge.
There is no parking at the
H&R Block Building.

22. COMMUNITY
RESOURCES
UP CLOSE:
Quiz -Are You Being
Abused?
Does something about your rela-
tionship scare you? Take the most
important quiz of your life and
know we're here to help you pass.
Does your boyfriend/girlfriend:
Look at you or act in ways
that scare you?
Act jealous or possessive?
Put you down or criticize
you?
Try to control where you go,
what you wear or what you do?
Text or IM you excessively?
Blame you for the hurtful
things they say and do?
Threaten to kill or hurt you or
themselves if you leave them?
Try to stop you from seeing or
talking to friends and family?
Try to force you to have sex
before you're ready?
Do they hit, slap, push or kick
you?
If you said yes to even one,
you may be in an abusive
relationship.
What do we mean when we talk about dating
abuse? Dating abuse isn't an argument every
once in a while, or a bad mood after a bad day.
Dating abuse (or Relationship Abuse) is a pattern
of controlling behavior that someone uses
against a girlfriend or boyfriend.
Abuse can cause injury and even death, but it
doesn't have to be physical. It almost always
starts with verbal and emotional abuse—
constant insults, isolation from family and
friends, name calling, controlling what someone
wears, and it can also
include sexual abuse.
Dating abuse can
happen to anyone, no
matter what race or
religion they are, and
no matter what their
level of education or
economic background.
Dating abuse also
occurs in same sex
relationships.
Dating Abuse Fast Facts
In March 2006, a survey was conducted to search
deeper into the issue of teen dating abuse. The
survey hoped to measure how many teens have
been involved in abusive/controlling
relationships and to understand what teens
thought about what is and is not acceptable
behavior in a relationship.
The findings were astounding. The results show
that alarming numbers of teens experience and
accept abusive behavior in dating relationships.
Many teens also feel physically and sexually
threatened.
1 in 5 teens who have been in a serious
relationship report being hit, slapped or
pushed by a partner.
1 in 3 girls who have been in a serious rela-
tionship say they've been concerned about
being physically hurt by their partner.
1 in 4 teens who have been in a serious
relationship say their boyfriend or girlfriend
has tried to prevent them from spending time
with friends or fam-
ily; the same num-
ber have been pres-
sured to only spend
time with their
partner.
1 in 3 girls be-
tween the ages of
16 and 18 say sex is
expected for people
their age if they're
in a relationship;
half of teen girls
who have experi-
enced sexual pressure report they are afraid
the relationship would break up if they did not
give in.
Nearly 1 in 4 girls who have been in a
relationship (23%) reported going further
sexually than they wanted as a result of
pressure.
Gee’s Bend Pg. 22
Every nine seconds a woman
is beaten by someone who
says he loves her. Hope
House is here to help.

23. LITERATURE CONNECTIONS UP CLOSE:
Teen Dating Bill of
Rights
I have the right:
To be treated with respect
ALWAYS
To be in a healthy
relationship
To not be abused physically,
sexually or emotionally
To keep my body, feelings,
beliefs and property to
myself
To have friends and
activities apart from my
boyfriend or girlfriend
To set limits and values
To say NO
To feel safe in a relationship
To be treated as an equal
To feel comfortable being
myself
To leave a relationship
Gee’s Bend Pg. 23
Healthy Relationships
Do you sometimes wonder if the things
happening in your relationship are normal? Does
the way your boyfriend or girlfriend treats you
bother you? These are some questions that may
help you decide if your relationship is healthy or
not.
Do you:
Ever feel guilty about
having your own
friends and own
interests?
Often feel pressured to
spend time with your
boyfriend/girlfriend
when you'd rather do
something else?
Keep opinions or concerns to yourself to make
things easier?
Change your behavior to avoid fighting with
your boyfriend/girlfriend?
Does your boyfriend/girlfriend:
Get jealous when you talk to friends of the
opposite sex?
Complain about or try to control what you
wear?
Call or text you excessively?
Push you to do things you aren't sure you want
to (like sex, drugs)?
If you answered yes to any of the above
questions you may be in an abusive
relationship.
What Do I Do Now?
Are you thinking you may be in an abusive
relationship? So what now? First, keep
yourself safe
with these
Safety Planning
Tips.
Tell some-
one you trust
where you’ll be
at all times.
Keep
change, a
calling card, or
a cell phone
with you.
Memorize important phone numbers (in
case you don’t have your cell).
Carry hidden money (in case you need to
take a cab home).
Go out in public with group or couples.
Next, talk to someone that knows what
you’re going through. The hotlines, live chats
and blogs shown below are staffed with
people that are understanding and helpful. If
you just need to talk or if you need a referral
to get help in your local area, they’re there
for you.
Cut out this information and keep it with you
so you have it when you feel confusion, guilt
or fear about your relationship. All contacts
are anonymous and confidential.
http://www.loveisrespect.org
Chat live or blog with trained teens (age 18-
24)
Local Teen Hotline: 816.741.8700 or
1.888.233.1639 or www.synergyservices.org
Youth Outreach Unit: 816.228.0178
Hope House Hotline: 816.461.4673
HOPE HOUSE—LOVE IS RESPECT.ORG

24. Arvin Gottlieb Charitable Foundation
BWF Foundation
Citi Cards
Curry Family Foundation
Francis Family Foundation
Hallmark Corporate Foundation
M.R. & Evelyn Hudson Foundation
Kansas Arts Commission
Mader Foundation
Mary Elizabeth Martin Scholarship Trust
Muriel McBrien Kauffman Foundation
Missouri Arts Council
Oppenstein Brothers Foundation
RLS Illumination Fund
R. A. Long Foundation
Sprint Foundation
Swiss Re
Truman Heartland Community Foundation
Kansas City Repertory Theatre’s educational programs receive generous
support from the following:
ORDER NOW!
A Christmas Carol 2008
tickets are now available.
Reserve your seats now -
performances fill quickly!
For more information on
the Sprint Student
Matinee Series or our
education programs,
please call 816-235-2707.
MELINDA MCCRARY
Director of Education and
Community Programs
mccrarym@kcrep.org
816-235-5708
AMY TONYES
Education Associate
tonyesal@kcrep.org
816-235-2707
This program is presented in part by the Kansas Arts
Commission, a state agency, and the National
Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency, which
believes that a great nation deserves great art.
Honorary Producer
Patricia Werthan Uhlmann
Gee’s Bend is Co-Sponsored By: Additional Support From:
Financial assistance for
this project has been
provided by the Missouri
Arts Council, a state
agency.