Acoustic Instrument Primers What Kind of Guitar Should I Start On? What Kind of Banjo Do I Want? Evaluating and Buying Used Guitars Setting Up Fretted Instruments Whatever Happened to the Banjo? Beginning Five- String Banjo 6-String Banjos Banjo Pickups What is a Bluegrass Banjo? What is a Tenor Guitar? Dean "Backwoods Six" Shootout Axes in my Life Music Theory Primers Introduction to Scales Introduction to Chords Circle of Fifths Other Articles About Music How to Give Guitar Lessons Musician or Wannabe? Did God Really Give Rock & Roll to You? Historical Links About the National Road The Story Behind the Story - Real People, Places, and Events About the Play Play Home What's New Overview About the Music About the History About the Logistics About the Cast Synopsis About the Set About the Author Contact Us Home	Overview of the Play The play "If the Creek Don't Rise" is a celebration of the people and events that shaped the American heartland, especially along the path of western development that was marked by the National Road and the communities it served. The play is set in "modern day" (early twenty-first century). A fragmented family gathers at the strange old home of a deceased great-aunt to sort through her belongings, at the request of the estranged patriarch. They discover the family Bible and a dozen trunks of old clothing and old letters. Still snipping at each other, the family takes turn reading the old letters in chronological sequence and trying on the old clothing. Before long, the individuals are acting out the roles of their ancestors, retelling the story of eight generations who lived and worked along the National Road. They retrace events that happened along the road, as well as the effect of global events on the lives of each generation. The first act ends with the family realizing that a flash flood has cut them off from the road, so they can't go home until the waters recede. By the middle of the second act, the role-playing is getting "closer to home," as the family realizes that even the problems they are experiencing now were foreshadowed a generation or two ago. The experience becomes increasingly cathartic and opens the door for them to openly discuss things they'd kept hidden for years-not only their complaints, but also their underlying affection for each other. The play ends, not with total reconciliation, but with lines of communication restored. If you would like to see a detailed synopsis of the play, please click here. Whatever else you get out of our pages, I hope you come away with some great ideas for "sharing the joy." And please stay in touch!     - Paul Race
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