FLYIN’ WEST BACKSTAGE GUIDE 3 Note from Artistic Director Gwendolyn Whiteside ..............................................................................Page 4 Q&A with Director Chuck Smith ...........................................................................................................Page 4 About Playwright Pearl Cleage .............................................................................................................Page 5 Designers’ Corner: “The Backstory” with Jared Gooding .....................................................................Page 6 Designers’ Corner: Costume Sketches .................................................................................................Page 7 About Nicodemus, Kansas ...............................................................................................................Pages 8-9 About the Homestead Act of 1862 ....................................................................................................Page 10 About Female Homesteaders ............................................................................................................Page 11 About The Great Exodus .............................................................................................................Pages 12-13 About Ida B. Wells .......................................................................................................................Pages 14-15 Timeline of Domestic Violence Laws .................................................................................................Page 16 How to Recognize Abusive Relationships ..........................................................................................Page 17 About Black Girl Magic ................................................................................................................Pages 18-19 About American Blues Theater ...................................................................................................Pages 20-21 BACKSTAGE Contributors Elyse Dolan Associate Producer American Blues Theater with Gwendolyn Whiteside, Chuck Smith, Jared Gooding, and Lily Grace Walls © 2018 American Blues Theater. All rights reserved. TABLE OF CONTENTS