*The Sunday performance will be followed by a Q & A with Ramona Dallum as Special Guest Moderator.*

"The history of any one of us is linked to the history of all of us. No Turning Back brings the message of its title.  If we are truly learning from and honoring our past, we have no choice but to move forward.  Real progress allows no turning back." - Keith McGill 

The Sunday performance will be followed by a Q & A with Ramona Dallum as Special Guest Moderator. 

Content Warning: History themes include the descriptions of discrimination, segregation, and violence.

Where: Nancy Niles Sexton Stage at Commonwealth Theatre Center, 1123 Payne St. Louisville, KY 40204

Each year I direct NO TURNING BACK, my hope is that I’m telling people stories they already know.  The reality is a lot of people have never heard the stories Caisey and Tony so skillfully bring to life.  A more difficult part of that reality is that there are other people actively fighting to keep Black history and many other culture’s histories from being told. 

This is why telling stories, whether through literature, plays, or oral traditions, is so vital to keeping the truth in the global conversation.  I am proud and privileged to be part of the stories that are being told and kept alive through theatre.  

I thank you for being part of the telling of this story and stories that have been told and will be told.  I challenge you to live as if your story will be incorporated into history.

Because it will.

About the Playwright/Director:

Keith McGill is thrilled to be directing NO TURNING BACK, which he also wrote. Previously for CTC, Keith co-directed EURYDICE with Hallie Dizdarevic, and produced THE YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL. He directed THREADS OF OUR HISTORY: WHERE WE INTERTWINE with Actors Theatre. With StageOne, Keith directed MONSTER OF MINE, GHOST, and most recently, THE GIVER. He has also directed THE COMPLETE WORKS OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE (ABRIDGED) with Highview Arts Center. Recently, he wrote JAMIE WHATEVER and THE RIGHT SHOES as part of Stage One’s Theatre for Everywhere Series. In addition to acting and directing, Keith is a teaching artist with CTC, as well as the Kentucky Shakespeare Festival, Actors Theatre, and Shakespeare Behind Bars, and he appeared last summer with Kentucky Shakespeare Festival in THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR, and RICHARD III.

Cast: 

Tony Smith (Actor Educator) has been a proud member of the Commonwealth Theater Center Outreach Team since 2015, and he is so excited to be a part of NO TURNING BACK. As a  graduate of the Youth Performing Arts School, he has been performing on stages across Louisville and surrounding areas for the better part of 20 years. He currently works as a Director/Performer for The Bard Theater, Art Sanctuary, and Company Outcast in Louisville. He also provides entertainment services for various nightlife/tourism companies across the Greater Louisville area. Tony would like to thank the good people at CTC, the cast, and the crew for such a wonderful experience!

Caisey Cole (Actor Educator) is excited to embark on both NO TURNING BACK and THE INVENTIVE PRINCESS OF FLORALEE! You may have seen Caisey recently in StageOne Family Theatre’s LAST STOP ON MARKET STREET as Grandma Posey, as Amira in StageOne’s REFRAME, on the Belle of Louisville, or even at one of Louisville’s many scrumptious food spots. Caisey would like to thank their directors and both casts for putting up amazing shows at lightning speed, along with their partner Zach. 

Creative Team:

Costumes & Props Designer: Lindsay Chamberlin

Production Manager: Jake Allen Miller

Set Design: Kathy Preher Reynolds 

Ramona E. Dallum is an artist, philanthropist, speaker and curious citizen.  As a practicing visual artist, Ramona’s artistic practice and visionary background equip her to think outside traditional processes to coordinate, design, develop, implement and manage initiatives which engage those most impacted by inequities to lead solutions.  She is a leader and mentor in the Louisville art community, regularly speaking and writing about art and activism, as well as participating actively with arts and community organizations in the city.   She served on the Steering Committee for The Speed Museum’s Promise, Witness, Remember highly acclaimed 2021 exhibition and currently is a member of the Speed’s Board of Governors.  She is a co-founder for the West Louisville Women’s Collaborative, a collaborative committed to creative, healing spaces in Louisville’s West End.

Ramona is Vice President, Community Engagement at the Community Foundation of Louisville working with the Foundation’s initiatives strengthening leaders, artists, and entrepreneurs as well as responding to timely community needs.  Before joining the Community Foundation, she was the Director of Education at Louisville’s KMAC Museum. She is the proud mother of two adult children - Zachary Lindsey and Faith Lindsey.