13 ways to kill a mockingbird

 
INSTALLATION EIGHT: THE TRIAL OF ATTICUS FINCH ADAPTED FROM JAMES CRESPINO’S “THE STRANGE CAREER OF ATTICUS FINCH”[5]13.htmlshapeimage_1_link_0

All rise.  Oyez, oyez, oyez.  The court of cultural studies will now come to order, the honorable judge John Taylor presiding.  In the matter of the people vs. Atticus Finch, the defendant stands accused of fundamentally conservative liberalism and of paternalism in the second degree.

Opening and prosecution statement

The inclusion of James Carville’s testimony was admittedly a shameless attempt to exploit our local connections with Carville. But he is cited in the sources for this script—he really did say these things. Well, some of them. As it turned out one of our cast members’ fathers knew Carville and somehow it came about that there was a possibility he would come up and play himself in our show. We were pretty excited about that but it didn’t work out. http://www.carville.info/shapeimage_3_link_0

When Tim Miller was in residence at LSU he told me a story about being in a performance workshop during which for some reason he was talking about the film adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird.  One of the workshop participants said, very casually, “I was in that.”  “You were?” asked Tim.  “I was Dill,” he replied.  He was John Megna.  The end of Tim’s story was sad.  I hadn’t known Megna had died in 1995 from AIDS.  He was only 42.

Click to hear audience verdicts and to make your own judgment.9.html

Defense statement

Prosecution:  James Carville testimony

Prosecution:  Eric Sundquist testimony [7]

Prosecution:  Monroe Freedman testimony

Defense: Lillian Smith testimony

Defense: Wayne Flynt testimony [8]

Defense: Jewell Knotts testimony

Defense: Variety Critic testimony

Audience summons to testify

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