How did Warriors Don Cry come about for TWTP?
MARYANNA: I was online–don’t remember what website I was looking at (but I was probably in search of a play!)–when I saw an ad for Warriors Don’t Cry. The title intrigued me, so I clicked through to Cornerstone Theater’s website, where it was being produced. The description of the play further piqued my interest. I tracked down the author, Eisa Davis, and asked if I could read the play. She emailed me a copy. I read it, and fell in love. That was nearly a year and a half ago. Getting it to our stage was a long process. For most plays, you simply contact the licensing agency to get the rights to perform the work. The play was very new when I first contacted the author; it had been commissioned by Cornerstone, and was not published. The licensing information in the script said that the play could not be produced without the express permission of Melba Pattillo Beals. There was no codified licensing procedure for producing the play! We had to track down Ms. Beals. Eisa Davis, having bee
