A Note from the Assistant Director & Writer :

When I first heard the album this production is based on, I was completely mesmerized. I stumbled upon it via my music idol, Amanda Palmer, who I can absolutely say has changed my life through her music, art, philosophies, and blogging skills. Jason Webley I came across after I heard the album, and I have found the pair to be unmatched by any. I first imagined dozens of small performance pieces for each song, trivial daydreams I thought. Once I realized the opportunity I had at North Springs, I had a crazy idea to live out my daydreams and adapt the story for the stage. I broached Marty Aikens, our previous Technical Director, about the idea and piqued his interest. I then did everything I had to for months to convince him this was a worthwhile project. One of the happiest days of my life so far was at last year’s Maggie Awards when it was announced as our winter show; I jumped ten feet in the air before I realized the work that was ahead of me.

Like any first production of a new show, Evelyn Evelyn has been a process of discoveries. What originally began as a boy listening to a captivating story with genre-defying music has grown into a show of absurd proportions and unrealistic events, but with real people facing real problems. In my pursuit of this multimedia masterpiece, I’ve encountered many ideas that I’ve thought a great deal about. There are a multitude of themes and morals you can draw from the story about family, limitations, abuse, objectification, displacement, fame, authority, and growing up, and I hope that some of these will resound with you. The sisters encounter incompetent and abusive parent figures time and again, and each time they grow stronger and overcome their circumstances, hopefully teaching an important lesson. I’ve learned plenty of lessons myself along the way, and I am ever grateful for this production.

Theatre is like having someone stuck to you your whole life - everything is a collaborative effort, your art is often riddled off as a silly act, no one expects you to succeed in the real world, and many times you end up fighting with the people you love most. But that’s just it; you love it the most. Evelyn Evelyn has continued to fuel the fire of creation inside me, and I hope I never stop.

Henry Willis Ballard

 Writer, Assistant Director and Public Relations Manager