'Blood Done Sign My Name' to be Performed at Heritage Center
By University Relations Staff
DUBUQUE, Iowa - Blood Done Sign My Name featuring Mike Wiley will recount the best-selling book of the same name at 7:30 p.m. Monday, January 22, 2024, in John and Alice Butler Hall, Heritage Center, University of Dubuque. The performance is part of the 11th annual Live at Heritage Center Performing Arts Series.
| WHAT: | Blood Done Sign My Name featuring Mike Wiley |
| WHEN: | 7:30 p.m. Monday, January 22, 2024 |
| WHERE: | John and Alice Butler Hall, Heritage Center, University of Dubuque |
| TICKETS: |
- $20 to $29 (Child: $15) - Ticketing fees apply. UD affiliates are eligible for a $5 discount. - One free ticket for military activity duty, retired, and reserve components courtesy of support from Radio Dubuque. - Free UD student admission made possible by UD's Wendt Character Initiative and the Office of International Student Services and Study Abroad. |
In Blood Done Sign My Name, Mike Wiley brings to life the recollections of author and historian Tim Tyson's award-winning memoir surrounding the 1970 murder of Henry "Dickie" Marrow in Oxford, North Carolina, and the events that followed. Marrow, who was Black, was chased from a local store by three white men and killed after he reportedly made a crude remark to one of the men's wives. Despite eyewitness reports, an all-White jury acquitted the men. The town's Black community responded to the events with an uprising that destroyed several tobacco warehouses holding millions of dollars in harvested crops. Tyson, who was 10 at the time, recounts how the conflagration of events shaped his life and offers an opportunity to examine our own roles in the complex and often confusing racial fabric of America.
An acclaimed actor and playwright, Wiley spent the first decade of his professional career fulfilling his mission to bring educational theater to young audiences. His acclaimed work has expanded to performing arts centers and universities nationwide and to film screens and festivals around the world. Wiley has introduced countless students to stories and legacies of Emmett Till, the Tuskegee Airmen, Henry "Box" Brown, and more. He has appeared on the Discovery Channel, The Learning Channel, and the National Geographic Channel, was profiled in Our State and American Theatre magazines, and was named an Indy Artist of the Year in 2012. Wiley tours a total of seven original theatrical productions including Blood Done Sign My Name, which has twice been performed by invitation from the city to standing-room-only audiences in Oxford, North Carolina.
Wiley's one-man show Blood Done Sign My Name is a compelling dramatization of the true-life account of this 1970 racial murder that feels frighteningly familiar, and all too current.
A free pre-show reception for "Dale Easley in the Wild West: Sabbatical Photography" will be held from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. Monday, January 22, 2024. The exhibit will be open Friday, January 5, 2024, through Wednesday, January 31, 2024.
Tickets for Blood Done Sign My Name featuring Mike Wiley may be purchased by visiting the Farber Box Office, Heritage Center, University of Dubuque, 2255 Bennett Street; by calling 563.585.7469; or by visiting www.dbq.edu/HeritageCenter. Patrons are encouraged to purchase tickets online for reduced ticket handling fees.
The Farber Box Office is open 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Monday through Friday and 90 minutes prior to events. The Farber Box Office is closed Thursday, December 21, 2023, through Monday, January 1, 2024, for the holidays.
In its second year, the Heritage Performing Arts Loyalty System (H-PALS) continues to allow patrons to earn rewards with most ticket purchases. For every $200 spent on eligible events, patrons will receive one free ticket (valued up to $50) to their choice of eligible event. Reward points are redeemable for Live at Heritage Center Performing Arts Series events only. Please visit www.dbq.edu/HeritageCenter and click on "PURCHASE TICKETS" for more details.
Note about language and content from Mike Wiley Productions
Mike Wiley's documentary theatre productions are dramatically rendered stories based on historical fact. The dramas are presented with intention that they help to shine light and open dialogue by sharing stories of individual and events of human and civil rights struggles, strength, hope, failure, and accomplishment. These stories are part of the American historical narrative. Occasional use of language or terminology accurate to an event's period or setting may be viewed by some as offensive or inappropriate - but by avoiding such language, the historical truth of the portrayal becomes less authentic. Thank you for your understanding.
