“The way forward is the Great River’s mouth…”

Once, the town of Thebes on the banks of the Mississippi River was the jewel of southern Illinois, but that was before the rains stopped falling and the crops didn’t come in and the babies started dying. Seeking an answer from the gods, suspicion falls on Mellie, a young woman, seriously disabled since birth, long suspected as being unfavored by them who dwell on the Mountaintops. Mellie has her own suspicions though and sets out to prove them before the hammer can fall on her.

This is On every link a heart does dangle; or, Owed, my second play exploring three generations of debts and deceptions in a mythological version of Thebes, Illinois. It’s receiving its first full read in a workshop at the Playwrights Center today, the first step on what should be an exciting, yearlong journey.