TURNING 15 ON THE ROAD TO FREEDOM

917-206-4600

Turning 15 on the Road to Freedom tells the moving, true story of Lynda Blackmon, one of the youngest participants in the Selma to Montgomery march in 1965.  Jailed nine times before her fifteenth birthday, Lowery fought alongside Martin Luther King, Jr. to secure the right to vote for African-Americans.Turning 15 on the Road to Freedom tells the moving, true story of Lynda Blackmon, one of the youngest participants in the Selma to Montgomery march in 1965.  Jailed nine times before her fifteenth birthday, Lowery fought alongside Martin Luther King, Jr. to secure the right to vote for African-Americans.

STREAMING video AND LIVE Q&A packages

Voza Rivers/New Heritage Theatre Group, Loire Valley Theater Festival, Lynda Blackmon Lowery, Miranda Barry and Amy Sprecher are pleased to offer a streaming video version of the acclaimed stage musical, Turning 15 on the Road to Freedom.  Based upon the multiple award-winning memoir by Lynda Blackmon Lowery, as told to Elspeth Leacock and Susan Buckley, the video is offered to performing arts centers, schools, theatres and community groups in two packages:   

Streaming Video Package Includes:

  1. Streaming video of the stage musical, Turning 15 on the Road to Freedom, approximately 50 minutes in length.

  2. Streaming video of the stage musical, divided into three (3) acts: each act is 15-20 minutes long.

  3. Documentary-style Interview of Lynda Blackmon Lowery filmed in Selma, Alabama in September, 2020. This short documentary contains an interview with Lynda Blackmon Lowery, Co-Producer of the musical, and author of the memoir of the same name, conducted by Tara White, Ph.D., Dean of Arts and Sciences at the George Wallace Community College in Selma. Viewers get to meet Lynda as she is today and hear her talk about things that are not covered in the book or the musical such as why Dr. Martin Luther King first came to Selma; what John Lewis was like as a young leader; what Lynda thinks about the Civil Rights Movement, looking back and as it is today; and her vision of Unity and Humanity for the future. The video also contains present-day images of the places where the movement took place such as the Edmund Pettus Bridge; Brown Chapel AME Church; George Washington Carver Homes; and downtown Selma.

  4. Downloadable Teaching Guide written by the co-authors of the book, Elspeth Leacock and Susan Buckley. 

Live Q&A Package includes:

  1. All the elements of the Streaming Video Package, plus

  2. Live/Remote Q&A with Lynda Blackmon Lowery and 1-2 additional Company Members: each Q&A is up to 45 minutes in length with a maximum of 3 Q&A’s per day.

    • Please note that the Turning 15 video can be provided without the Live Q&A. However, the Live/Remote Q&A is not available independently from the streaming video.
    • Presenters may offer the full-length video, or the video divided into acts, or both, for the same fee
    • The documentary-style interview with Lynda Blackmon Lowery and Dr. Tara White will be provided with the Streaming Video Package, at no additional cost. 

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DETAILS

  1. A password-protected Video Link will be provided to Presenter/Venue for unlimited use over a period of 7-14 days. Students, teachers, and family members can view from home or in the classroom as long as they have Internet access. The video can NOT be downloaded or captured under any circumstances.

  2. Live/Remote Q&A’s with Lynda Blackmon Lowery and 1-2 additional Company Members can be moderated by a local person designated by the Presenter/Venue. In addition, the Presenter/Venue is welcome to customize these Q&A’s by adding panel members such as local civil rights icons and activists, social justice and/or right to vote advocates, journalists, authors, newscasters, etc.  We are happy to discuss suggested structures and questions.  

  3. The Turning 15 Technical Team will consult in advance with Presenter/Venue/School on each venue’s specific technical capacities and will also be present virtually during the Live/Remote Q&A’s to help troubleshoot problems. The Q&A sessions can be hosted on Zoom or Google Meet. We will provide a Technical Manual to help users and presenters participate.

For more information and rates for your theatre school or community organization contact Miranda Barry Miranda@sheedylit.com (646) 919-0440