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Title of Grant <br />Request <br />Performances of The Disrupted Divorce at the Historic Orange County <br />Courthouse <br />Grant Amount <br />Requested <br />$2000 <br />Project Start Date <br />(no earlier than July <br />1, 2023) <br />December 2023 <br />Project End Date (no <br />later than June 30, <br />2024) <br />April 2024 <br />Project/Program <br />Summary <br />In 1940, a North Carolina man and a woman left their spouses and <br />obtained decrees of divorce in Nevada. They then married and returned to <br />North Carolina to live, whereupon they were then prosecuted for bigamous <br />cohabitation. At that time, North Carolina did not recognize divorces <br />obtained in any other state. The W illiams v. NC case ultimately went to the <br />US Supreme Court, which ruled in 1945 that a decree of divorce rendered <br />in one State must be recognized by any state. <br />Our play, The Disrupted Divorce, is loosely based on what might have <br />occurred in the lives of Sonny Campbell, Lorraine Skaggs, and Sarah <br />Miller, once they found out that a divorce in Nevada was not recognized in <br />Hillsborough, North Carolina, in 1939. <br />The Seymour Playwrights will present a play written specifically for an <br />Orange County audience. Set in the Old Courthouse, the play pits a <br />character from our previous courtroom drama against his wife. They learn <br />that their out-of-state divorce isn't legal, and that the man's second <br />marriage now makes him a bigamist. They badly need a divorce, but who is <br />rightfully to blame for the failure of the marriage? <br />Act I will follow the divorce proceedings; Act II will depict what happens <br />when the townspeople try to recreate the proceedings for a Hollywood <br />movie. Movie excerpts shown on the courtroom's prominent video monitor <br />plays a critical role in the play; our budget reflects additional costs <br />associated with producing these videos. <br />The play would be performed two consecutive weekends in April on Friday <br />and Saturday evenings at 7:30 and Sunday matinees at 2:30. As in 2022, <br />net proceeds will go to the Orange County Historical Museum. <br />DocuSign Envelope ID: CD3DDCA2-A9D1-498F-B8E2-36E05E9CAABB