Oxford Woman Writes, Directs First Play

Auditions for ‘Her Mother’s Daughter’ will be from 2 to 5:30 p.m. at The Powerhouse on Sunday.

By Alyssa Schnugg
Staff writer
alyssa.schnugg@hottytoddy.com

When Oxford native Chasity Nicole sets her mind to something, she gets it done.

The actress, singer and now playwright, wrote a full-length stage play in six days and will be holding auditions Sunday to bring that play to life.

“Her Mother’s Daughter,” will be performed in Oxford Feb. 24, 2019, at The Powerhouse. Auditions will be held from 2 to 5:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 16 at The Powerhouse.

Chasity Nicole

Nicole calls the play a “dramomedy,” that focuses on a woman trying to break a generational cycle of putting men before their family.

“The main character was molested by her stepfather and she tried to fill the void by sleeping with different men,” Nicole said. “She’s in a year-long relationship with a man she now has a child with but he’s out doing his own thing. Her friends know, but she doesn’t want to believe what’s going on.”

The main character tries to break the cycle of the generational curse while life continues to happen around her. While serious at times, the show has plenty of comic relief, in part by a nosy neighbor who uses the information she learns about others to blackmail them to get what they want.

There are 14 cast characters and Nicole said everyone is welcome to audition.

“I would like to strongly encourage people of all ethnicity and members of the LGBT community to audition,” she said. “You don’t have to have acting experience.”

Nicole said she started writing the play, but with being a single mother of two young children distractions made it hard to finish. One day a woman at her church recently said God told her someone in the congregation was going to write something big.

“After the third time, I went home and started writing,” she said.

A special education teacher in Southaven, Nicole would work on her play during planning periods.

“It’s amazing how much you can get done when you have no distractions,” she said chuckling.

One part has already been cast to Nicole’s 6-year-old daughter, Morgan.

“She’s excited,” Nicole said. “She’s following in her mother’s shoes.”

Nicole has performed in several plays and local productions through Theatre Oxford and more recently, starred in three independent films. One of those films, “Finding Me” premieres this weekend in Memphis.

For cast descriptions and more information, visit https://www.facebook.com/events/281600202568406/permalink/281606829234410/.