We entered competition this year with one of my favorite stories. I feel that this play is among the most important scripts in American Theatre, because of its message of prejudice based on race, disability, and mental handicap. It is also one of the most powerful and moving dramas in our language. I am very pleased that we were able to perform it as my last one-act! I was pleased that the show was named an advancing play in Zone 1 of District 13, 5A. It had been a while since we had experienced a win, and it felt really good! On the technical side, we made the decision to paint all the set props, furniture, etc., to match the U.I.L. grey of the unit set. This was done, not because of any rule, but because we wanted a "faded" look, since the story is being recalled from the memory of Jean Louise. I think the effect worked well. The rules allow us to use up to four lighting instruments operated independently from the house system of the contest site. We decided to use all four, the Atticus clip light, Finch porch light, Boo Radley backlight, and the Heck Tate flashlight. We were proud of the show's success in competition picking up ten acting awards and two outstanding technician awards.

The Radley tree was constructed entirely of polystyrene styofoam blocks. The bark was cut wih a small paint brush and acetone. The tree was then coated with polyvinyl glue and cheese cloth, followed by two more coats of glue, one coat of sculpt-or-coat with course sawdust added. Paint was applied after it had cured over a weekend.

The Atticus clip light was used as primary illumination in this scene outside the jail. It was a simple clip light with an ordinary 40 watt bulb run through our portable dimming system.

The "ham" costume was a lot of fun. I did not want to even approach looking like a real ham. I wanted it to look like something Scout and Calpurnia might have made out of paper mache. In actuality, it was foam rubber covered in muslin and painted. It served to help protect Scout when she fell in the attack scene.

The Boo Radley backlight was a 500 watt fresnel spotlight on a floor mount run through the portable dimmer.

The Finch porch light was just that...an ordinary porch light with a 40 watt bulb run through the portable dimmer.

The Heck Tate flashlight was difficult, because there are not many of that vintage left in working condition. It took a good deal of straightening and cleaning of contact surfaces, but it finally came on dependably.