To Kill a Mockingbird Directors Page
Beth Girton
She has most recently directed THE NERD, and her most recent appearance onstage was in MY THREE ANGELS.
She has also appeared in OUR TOWN and as Amanda in THE GLASS MENAGERIE. Her first play at PCPH was I REMEMBER MAMA.
Hello! My name is Beth Girton, and I’m directing Harper Lee’s To Kill A
Mockingbird. I have a B.A. and M.A. in communication and theatre from
Indiana State University and have been a teacher on both the high school and
college level for 22 years. Currently I teach speech communication,
journalism, and English at Greencastle High School.
This will be my second time directing Christopher Sergal’s dramatization of
Mockingbird. I like this adaptation, because it features Scout as a grown
woman narrating the play looking back at herself as a child during the time
of Tom Robinson’s trial. The narration helps us better understand young
Scout’s struggle with the innocence of childhood versus the injustices of
the adult world.
I strongly recommend this production for school groups, church groups, and
families to use for discussion purposes on the topic of the evils of
prejudice. I would also like to hold discussions after the show with
audience members who would like to stay and discuss prejudice in our own
society and what we can do to help eliminate it. This play is educational
theatre at its best, so it deserves conversation regarding its message and
relevance in today’s society.