Alan Alan Marshall

Alan Marshall, a native of Baltimore, Maryland, was raised to understand that the freedom and equal opportunities he possessed were the byproducts of the struggles and sacrifices of those, both known and unheralded, who participated in the Civil Rights Movement. He always felt compelled to give something back to the movement that has given so much to him...and this nation. In 2010, Marshall found the means to repay that debt when began writing the first opera about the civil rights movement....See more

Alan Marshall, a native of Baltimore, Maryland, was raised to understand that the freedom and equal opportunities he possessed were the byproducts of the struggles and sacrifices of those, both known and unheralded, who participated in the Civil Rights Movement. He always felt compelled to give something back to the movement that has given so much to him...and this nation. In 2010, Marshall found the means to repay that debt when began writing the first opera about the civil rights movement. THE MARCH: A Civil Rights Opera is a dramatization of the events surrounding the 1963 March on Washington. Marshall's innovation of the "mass-meeting" as a theatrical medium was introduced as part of the first public concert for THE MARCH: A Civil Rights Opera on January 15th, 2012 at North Park Covenant Church. A mass-meeting production includes freedom songs with audience participation, speeches, testimonies & character-driven drama, all happening in and around the audience. Marshall has written, directed, and produced several mass-meeting shows to dramatize well known and obscure episodes from the civil rights movement era. These include, Freedom Summer, Remembering Medgar Evers, Shades of Mississippi, The Birmingham Children's March, and Prelude to a Dream. In 2012, Marshall also co-produced Civil Rights Movements with Joel Hall Dancers of Chicago. This dynamic performance was a unique fusion of opera and various forms of dance and movement. On November 22, 2013, National Pastime Theater in Chicago presented the world premiere of Marshall's THE INTERVIEW: JFK, a play exploring the life and presidency of John F. Kennedy. President Kennedy's untimely death prevented him from writing a memoir. THE INTERVIEW offers JFK a fictional forum to speak with candor. Marshall will restage THE INTERVIEW: JFK in 2019, along with Marilyn and Jack, a poignant drama, set in the afterlife, exploring the enigmatic relationship between John F. Kennedy and Marilyn Monroe. These represent the first two installments in Marshall's JFK Trilogy of stageplays which will be completed in 2020 with The Shadow of Death. Marshall lives with his family in Chicago where he is a volunteer basketball, soccer, cross country and track coach at the elementary school his children attend. He is also the founder and athletic director of the Chi-Town Huskies AAU Sports Club. See less