"NANCE DUDE" COMING TO RICKMAN'S STORE, NOVEMBER 4TH AT 6:00

In case you don't know, the story of Nancy Curlee, the Haywood County grandmother who was imprisoned a century ago for sealing her granddaughter up in a cave on Utah mountain in Haywood County,this dark bit of history is a popular Appalachian tale. Based on a true event, the play/monologue allows Nance to speak for herself. "I'm going to tell it, now," she says. "I'm going to tell you what really happened."

For the past decade this story has been consistently popular with audiences in western North Carolina. Based on a book by Maurice Stanley, extensive research into actual events and personal accounts (I saw her as a child walking the roads near Wilmot with a load of kindling on her back), this dramatization has been performed hundreds of times in libraries and community theaters in this region. The actress, Elizabeth Westall has gained a following from devoted fans. In recent years, she has repeatedly said, "This is my final performance as Nance Dude." Each time, we have been able to lure her out again, but this performance could well be the last one.

SPONSORED BY CHEROKEE RUBY MINE AND FRIENDS OF RICKMAN'S STORE
TICKETS: $15.00
TELEPHONE: 828-369-5595

Nance Dude: a dramatic monologue

Well, Kind Hearts, here, at long last, is a 4.5 minute clip from my play, "Nance Dude."(To enlarge the picture, simply click on the screen icon at the bottom of the screen right under the YouTube logo.) The actress is Elizabeth Westall, who has been performing the role for twelve years. It is, for whatever reason, the most popular work that I have. Since this clip is taken from the middle of the play, a bit of background might be useful. Nance Dude is a "real person" who was charged with the murder of her two-year-old granddaughter back around 1913. She was sentenced to 30 years of hard labor and was released after 15 years. She was 80 years old and came home to find that her own family rejected her. She ended up living in a one-room shack on Conley Creek in Jackson County. She remained a social outcast and was considered a witch by many of her neighbors. Her only companions were a pack of stray dogs that followed her. She supported herself by splitting kindling which she sold to "the Floridy folks." She died alone at the age of 104.

Over the years, people have come to believe that there were "mitigating circumstances" that were never brought to light about the murder. Nance had been forced out of the house where she was living with her daughter and told to "get rid of "Roberta," the two year-old-child ... the reason being that there were too many people living in the house. The old story about Nance says that she walked the roads of Haywood County for three days and was unable to find a home for the child. It was April and cold; the child was sick.

The story has become a legend in my region. Maurice Stanley's book, had a profound effect on this play. However, I grew up hearing the stories and often saw Nance walking along the roads in my region with a load of kindling on her back. (There is much more to Nance's story, including her love for a man named Dude Hannah.)

Nance Dude: a dramatic monologue