StoryTown is planning something big for the 250th birthday of the United States in 2026, a brand-new community play. The original show, featuring music, history, and stories, will premiere at the McKinney Center at the end of February and run through early March. Auditions will take place on December 9th and 10th from 6:00-8:30 pm at the McKinney Center. There are a variety of roles available for all ages and all levels of acting experience.
The play will tell the story of Jonesborough, Northeast Tennessee, and the United States as seen through a local lens. Familiar names in the play include John Sevier, Andrew Jackson, Julia Bullard Nelson, Claribel and Etta Cone, movers and shakers from American history who spent time in Jonesborough. There will also be familiar names on a local level like Alfred Greenlee, Mary Nelle Roberson, Beverly Jenkins, and Jimmy Neil Smith. StoryTown has been collecting oral histories from throughout the region for over a decade now, and these stories paint a picture of what Jonesborough was like through the years. The play will combine the past and present to recognize where we’ve been, realize where we are now, and share dreams of what the future may look like for the great “American experiment.”
The McKinney Center and StoryTown have a long history with community plays, including the award winning I Am Home, Lifelines, and We Did It Together. If you are interested in auditioning for the play, come out on December 9th and 10th from 6:00-8:30 pm. You do not need to come both nights. Scenes from the play will be printed to read from, you do not need to prepare a monologue. There will be some singing in the play, and if you’re interested in a singing role, you will be asked to share a song at the audition. Rehearsals will run from January through February. A full list of characters will be posted at mckinneycenter.com and on McKinney Center and StoryTown social media sites prior to the audition dates. This project is supported in part by the Tennessee Commission for the United States Semiquincentennial.
If you have any questions, call the McKinney Center at 423-753-0562, or email Anne Mason at
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