Clayton State Theater Director’s Christmas Play to be Performed in North Carolina Morrow, Ga., Oct. 26, 2004 – Christmas cheer came early this year for Clayton State Theater Director Phillip DePoy. He recently learned that his play “Appalachian Christmas Homecoming” will be produced this holiday season by North Carolina’s Blowing Rock Theatre. Performed across the nation every Christmas since 1991, “Appalachian Christmas Homecoming” tells an authentic Appalachian folklore version of the biblical prodigal son narrative. In keeping with the oral tradition it preserves, “Appalachian Christmas Homecoming” is a memory play, using a narrator to recall events of yesteryear. “Until the 20th century, most knowledge of most things was passed among people through folklore,” explained DePoy, who minored in folklore at Georgia State. “Oral tradition comprises the entire body of human culture and human history before writing, and that tradition is vanishing rapidly.” Not only does the play preserve the voices of the Appalachian past, but it also gives much needed new material to the storyteller of the 21st century – Theatre. “America is currently hungry for new works,” DePoy said. Ensemble pieces with small casts – much like “Appalachian Christmas Homecoming’s” five character cast – are in high demand, as are witty and humorous plays such as DePoy’s “Urban Fairytale,” produced last month by Theatre in the Square in Marietta. And to help the next generation of actors and “techies” find their niche in modern storytelling, DePoy plans to establish a relationship with the North Carolina theatre, so Clayton State students can pursue paid theatre internships. In addition to having his play produced by Blowing Rock, DePoy has been approached by both HBO and Hallmark Hall of Fame to adapt “Appalachian Christmas Homecoming” into a movie – more good news for the folk community. “People who preserve folklore feel, to some extent, a guardianship. It’s our story; it’s life; it’s art; it’s religion...If these stories are not preserved, they’ll be forgotten,” he says. DePoy, a resident of Atlanta, serves as artistic director of Clayton State Theater and teaches three theatre courses at the University. His play “Easy,” based on his Flap Tucker mystery novel by the same name, won the 2003 Edgar Award – the equivalent to the Oscars in mystery writing. His Flap Tucker series of mystery novels has been slated to become an HBO television production. His latest novel, “The Witch’s Grave,” is currently available at Barnes & Noble. For additional information on “Appalachian Christmas Homecoming,” or to learn more about DePoy, e-mail phillipdepoy@clayton.edu or call (770) 960-2162.