Playwright Clinnesha Dillon Sibley is bringing her work back home.
Sibley will present her play, “The Women of Strong Hope,” at the State Theater in McComb at 8 p.m. Sept. 5 and 2 p.m. Sept. 6.
The play centers on virtue, judgment and fear of change in the 21st Century and features Gospel singer Natasha Renae Brown of the Arkansas Mass Choir.
“It’s a Christian drama that deals with social tolerance and generational differences in relation to the church,” said Sibley, who wrote the play and directs the production. “You have four leading women who are a part of four different generations, and you can see how they come in conflict with one another to satisfy the business of the church.
“It also deals a lot with how the pastor of the church is getting more politically involved with the community,” she said. “Most importantly, it’s about social tolerance and dealing with different people coming together and the challenge of respecting one another’s differences.”
Sibley said she was drawn to the issues in the production.
“I felt like I was spiritually led to deal with an issue that is a part of our current society that we don’t normally talk about,” she said. “I think my purpose was to challenge all human beings and to even challenge Christians. Because at times, we Christians have to be challenged as well.”
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At 25, Sibley is already a veteran to playwriting and drama. She wrote her first stage play at age 12 and had a book of poetry published at 15. Her second volume of poetry, “It’s in My Blood: Thicker Than Water,” was published in 2001.
Her work has been directed by television actor Kim Estes, and Sibley recently won the Key Woman Educator in Drama Award from the Iota Chapter of Delta Kappa Gamma Sorority.
But she said her favorite play is one she wrote as a child.
“The best play I’ve ever written, I always go back to the ‘Littering Bunny Rabbit,’ which is a play that I did in my living room at 7 years old. It was art at its most innocent stage.”
Now Sibley is thrilled to share her talents with her hometown.
“This play is going back to my roots,” she said, noting the play she wrote at age 12 also was performed at the State Theater. “We’re going back to the State Theater, so I’m so excited and overwhelmed at getting back.”
Sibley graduated from McComb High School in 2002 and earned her undergraduate degree from Tougaloo College. She holds a master of fine arts in playwriting from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. She is an instructor at the university, teaching theater lecture, honors theater lecture and African-American theater history.
Her husband, Keith, also graduated from MHS.
Sibley recently formed the African-American Theatre Group of Northwest Arkansas, which will perform the drama. The troupe is operating under the umbrella of Operation Noah’s Ark, a foundation that was organized for educational, charitable and religious purposes and for the promotion of performing arts.
Jacqueline Dillon, Sibley’s mother, is ONA’s founder. She and her husband Clintes are eagerly awaiting the play’s opening.
“I’m so excited, I can hardly wait,” Dillon said.
Dillon said she and Clintes knew early on that their daughter had a special talent.
“She’s anointed; we know that. She has an anointing on her life,” Dillon said. “There’s just something about her writing. If you come to her play, there are no dry eyes in the building. Her thesis play that she did — everybody was moved to tears. She has a story to tell every time.”
Dillon said a special part of her daughter’s play will be an interactive workshop following the Sunday matinee performance.
The free event, called “Behind the Scenes,” will run from 4:30-6:30 p.m. and is for ages 12 and up. The youth will be able to study the play’s script and work with Sibley and the actors.
Sibley said the acting troupe’s aim is to produce four shows a year and travel nationwide during the summers.
“This is our first touring project because the company is just getting off its feet,” Sibley said. “So I’m proud that our first touring project is bringing the show home.”
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Sibley is seeking donations to bring the play to life. To make a tax-deductible donation, send checks payable to the ONA Foundation to Pike National Bank, P.O. Box 1666, McComb, MS 39649. The envelope must read “Attention Tellers” and “for deposit only” must be written on the back of the check. Tickets for the play are $15 for adults, $10 for college students with I.D. and $7 for kids 17 and younger.
