Mike Wiley in BREACH OF PEACE. Photo credit: Chris Charles for Creative Silence

WILMINGTON, NC – Mike Wiley is a North Carolina-based actor and playwright whose mission is to bring to life America’s racial past and its lessons for the present. He has performed his own one-man plays to wide audiences, presenting the stories of iconic African-American figures such as Rosa Parks and Jackie Robinson. When at first it was difficult to secure venues for his works (typical for a rising figure with an idea), he founded his own company, Mike Wiley Productions. He continued to find ways to make the stories heard during Covid, and by now has performed extensively for both theatre audiences and school groups – a key part of his project. His medium is documentary theatre, dramatizations of actual events, largely using the words of the participants themselves.

Wiley’s important work brings lesser-known figures to the fore as well, people like Claudette Colvin, who in 1955 at age 15, 9 months before Rosa Parks and just like her, was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. Or someone like Booker Spicely, a Black soldier who in 1944 was shot point blank in cold blood by a White bus driver in Durham, North Carolina. The bus driver, it might be mentioned, was quickly acquitted of murder by an all-White jury; he died of old age nearly 40 years later.

man standing in front of a screen full of mug shots

Mike Wiley in BREACH OF PEACE. Photo credit: Chris Charles for Creative Silence

The production that took place in Wilmington’s historic Thalian Hall on January 16, Breach of Peace, portrays some of the Freedom Riders – hundreds of people, Black and White, men and women, Jews and Christians – who rode the highways and put themselves on the line in 1961 to break down the segregated barriers in interstate bus travel. Wiley brought their identities colorfully and sometimes viscerally to life, convincingly playing nearly all the figures himself, shifting character time and time again.

The title of the play comes from the laws – among other supposed offenses, the protesters were charged with “breach of peace” –  used to arrest and jail those who refused to be bound by the segregation rules on the buses and in bus stations, in places like waiting rooms and at meal counters. Many of those arrested in Jackson, Mississippi, which became a focal point of the Riders’ action, were sent to the infamous Parchman prison, significantly referenced in the play.

Throughout the piece, as constant accompaniment to the people and events portrayed, were photos on the stage, and projected images of mug shots of the Freedom Riders behind the stage. This was visually effective. It was a sampling of the Riders, 329 of whom were arrested in Jackson alone. The mug shot photographs of all of those 329 are in a book by Eric Etheridge, published in an expanded edition in 2018, which also includes interview material and recent photos of 99 Riders.

The play dramatizes episodes of the Freedom Riders movement as seen by those who were there. Well-known figures like Stokely Carmichael and Martin Luther King, Jr. were represented (who, as discussed in the play, never actually participated in a ride). So too were others, mostly unknown, such as Jim Lawson and 19-year-old Jean Thompson.

BREACH OF PEACE scene. Photo credit: A. Ragupathi

There was drama. Wiley gave a chilling portrayal of the White supremacist Bull Connor, the Commissioner of Public Safety in Birmingham, who was quoted as saying that there would be “absolutely no arrests” of Freedom Riders; they could be beaten and maybe killed. Connor may be best known for unleashing dogs and fire hoses on unarmed Black high school students during the Birmingham civil rights marches two years later – events that were broadcast by the media nationwide

There was ample comedy too. Wiley is excellent at adlibbed repartee. He played off the audience and drew laughs over and over. He also brought the audience into the show by picking people, seemingly at random, to come on to the stage and play a part. One did a funny imitation of a chicken, which was being baptized in that scene, all the while being spontaneously egged on by Wiley. Another audience participant repeated the words of Martin Luther King, Jr. in surprisingly ringing tones.

It seemed to be clearly a choice to keep the presentation emotionally manageable, while still presenting its vital message. One got a clear sense of the contempt, the fear, the always-present threat of violence that Black citizens endured. But the extremes of that anti-Black violence, a devastating reality of the Civil Rights era, are mostly alluded to rather than described in any detail. That was the case for instance with the bus bombing in Anniston, Alabama, a premeditated attack of gruesome barbarity against the unarmed Freedom Riders.

Wiley knows what he is doing. His audience is informed and entertained but not overwhelmed. His effective character acting brings his figures to life. It was an uplifting evening of theatre.

Following the performance was a talkback session. This was nearly as informative as the play itself. It was led by Wiley and the gospel singer Jennifer Evans who had contributed her music during significant portions of the performance. Evans has a large, projective, passionate voice that caused the writer to think of Mahalia Jackson’s singing at the 1963 March on Washington, where Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his powerful “I Have a Dream” speech. She added atmosphere and even more soul to the characters coming to life on the stage.

The audience contributed valuable questions which drew forth substantive responses from Wiley. One of the most meaningful moments Wiley’s commentary offered was about the many school children seeing his work. He said “I’m not trying to make your children feel guilty. I’m just trying to get them to feel.” This may be as good a way as any to encapsulate the contribution that Wiley, through his plays and compelling performances, is making to the vital discussion of race in America.

Breach of Peace will be performed for audiences in the Queen City in March at Children’s Theatre of Charlotte. To find out more about Wiley’s various performances, residencies, and partnerships go here.