For
15 years, the Ammons sisters—Amy
Ammons Garza and Doreyl
Ammons Cain—have been
helping Appalachian children
discover their creativity,
build their self-esteem
and honor their heritage
through highly productive
drama workshops they present
under the auspices of their
organization, Catch the
Spirit of Appalachia.
The Cherokee
Youth Center (CYC)—the
Boys and Girls Club on
the Qualla Boundary—has
been eager for Catch the
Spirit to work with Cherokee
children for some time,
and finally had the opportunity
when it received a grant
from the Cherokee Preservation
Foundation in Spring 2003
to create and support a
new drama group called
Cherokee Little Theater
and to write the group’s
first play. A second grant
in Fall 2003 supported
a live production recently,
as well as two future drama
workshops that will have
an impact on more children.
“I
looked at the initial workshop
as a great way for the
children at the Cherokee
Youth Center to learn more
about our wonderful culture
and think about how special
it is,” said Denise
Ballard, CYC’s manager. “My
great grandfather, Moses
Owl, was one of our tribe’s
great storytellers. He
died when I was 12, and
I have always regretted
that I didn’t listen
to him even more than I
did. I don’t want
our children today to take
our culture for granted
as I did when I was their
age.”
“I
wanted the children to
reach down and discover
what is unique and wonderful
about each of them,” said
Amy Garza. “My
goal was that each of them
be proud that they are
Cherokee and mountain people,
and I also wanted them
to learn how to write,
perform, work hard and
work together.”
Amy Garza
is the scriptwriter and
drama coach of the creative
duo, and Doreyl Cain is
the costume and set designer.
As they began working with
25 children, ages nine
through 11, they asked
the children about their
experiences on and off
the reservation, what they
knew about their culture,
and what kind of story
they would like to tell.
Amy listened to each of
the children and created
a script from what they
had to say. One boy mentioned
he was “afraid of
all those legends” and
a story line began to take
shape.
What emerged
was a story about the ghost
legends of Tsa-La-Gi, as
told by three children
who played hooky from school
after their parents had
left the house for work
and began to regret their
decision when the stories
they told each other began
to scare them silly. A
storm gathers while they
speak, and the scary legends
(Spear Finger, Taily Bone,
Uktena and Basket Woman)
come alive. Fortunately
for the children, a bear,
a panther and a wolf chase
each of the legends off—the
moral of the story being
that we should honor Nature,
and its creatures are the
good guys. Another message
of the play is that its
best to go to school!
The children
were involved as writers,
actors, narrators, set
designers and costume makers.
Two children who wanted
to be in the play but were
bashful about having speaking
lines played the roles
of family’s cat
and dog. Sharon Taylor,
Natasha Maney, Chris McCoy
and Shondi Girty of the
CYC’s staff provided
excellent support throughout
the effort.
When the
play was performed at the
CYC on November 7 before
proud parents and many
people from the community, “The
kids were scared to death
before the performance
began—they were jumping
beans bouncing all around
me,” Amy Garza recalls. “But
once the performance began,
a miracle happened. They
were totally into what
they were doing and did
a great job.”
“I
was so pleased with the
performance and so proud
of all the kids on stage
and behind the scenes,” said
Denise Ballard, “After
seeing the effect of the
project on the kids, I
just knew it couldn’t
be a one hit wonder.”
The Cherokee
Preservation Foundation’s
second grant will enable
the CYC to work with Catch
the Spirit and conduct
two additional drama workshops.
Ballard is tentatively
planning the next workshops
to take place in Spring
2004, and these may be
followed by a performance
at the outdoor “Unto
These Hills” stage
so the children can perform
before a larger audience.
Stay tuned for details!
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