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SIDES is a (roughly) two-hour musical play written, composed and arranged by

Norman Ball and consisting of 20 musical numbers, two main characters (14-year-old

Gabe Sander and 70-year-old Henry Fleming, alias 'The Old Soldier'), several

supporting characters and seven historical 'enactors' who perform songs and offer

actual quotes.

The staging is minimal with the majority of the play occurring on the Old Soldier’s

farmhouse porch as he recounts his war experiences to Gabe, assisted in the telling by

a variety of apparitions from the past.

The play attempts to imagine Henry Fleming, the young protagonist of The Red Badge

of Courage, as a veteran and old man. Due in large part to its unflinching and graphic

portrayal of war, the novel (now in the public domain) caused a sensation when it was

first published in 1895 and remains one of the most popular novels (by sales) in the

United States (source: Melissa Kelly, about.com).

Inquiries: Norman Ball norm@normanball.com

SIDES offers a wonderful intersection of multiple disciplines, leveraging one of

America’s most enduring novels in a manner that combines literature, history,

drama, music and current events.

SIDES is an educational vehicle in an entertainment package –or is it an

entertainment vehicle in an educational package…maybe it’s both! In the right

directorial hands, SIDES could play to either crowd. Ideally, SIDES could walk

both paths simultaneously.

SIDES is an appealing scholastic vehicle that ‘puts history to song’ while

showcasing America’s rich variety of musical genres: gospel, country, folk, rock,

rock opera, show-tune, blues, and Americana, all to maximum effect.

An informative new podcast interview with playwright Norman Ball conducted

by Dr. James Beeghley appears here (pt 1) and here (pt 2).

Inquiries: Norman Ball norm@normanball.com

Stephen Crane (November 1, 1871 – June 5, 1900), the

author of The Red Badge of Courage, “was an American

novelist, short story writer, poet and journalist. Prolific

throughout his short life, he wrote notable works in the

Realist tradition as well as early examples of American

Naturalism and Impressionism. He is recognized by modern

critics as one of the most innovative writers of his

generation.” –from Wikipedia

Civil War veterans who read TRBOC refused to believe Crane

was not a fellow combatant. In fact, he began writing the

book at age 21 and was not even born until after the war!

Note to young people: ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE!

Inquiries: Norman Ball norm@normanball.com

NOVEL SYNOPSIS: Henry Fleming is a fresh, young Civil War (Union) recruit from New

York. After suffering an initial failure of nerve, he redeems himself in a subsequent

skirmish against the enemy. Though he continues to be haunted by his early encounter,

Henry comes away with a sense he has ultimately triumphed over 'the red sickness' of

war. He concludes that the extreme conditions of war have allowed him to achieve

manhood.

One of the central themes of the novel is that life itself is a 'wound'

to which we must all devise responses—and marshal the necessary

facets of character—in order to transcend and prevail. At the same

time, life is meaningless without such rites of passage and trials &

tribulations. There are no badges without courage.

While most critics agree TRBOC is not, first and foremost, an anti-

war novel (but rather uses war as a metaphor for life), SIDES

elects a stance clearly critical of the internalized and avoidable

forms of war and conflict.

“Crane asks a recognition from his reader that the virtues Henry achieves only in battle are of utmost importance in everyday life." --from Imaging the Civil War: Authenticity in Painting, Photography, and The Red Badge of Courage, by Eric Gislason

Inquiries: Norman Ball norm@normanball.com

PLAY SYNOPSIS: Using Crane's novel as a launch-point, SIDES imagines an older brother for

Henry, Confederate soldier Michael (moved to Virginia as a very young man) and a Southern

wife for Michael, Becca. Additionally, Henry has a wife, Agnes.

The Fleming brothers’ mother in the play, Mamma Fleming, dreads the prospect of both boys

potentially faced-off against one another. She implores Henry not to join up.

Near the conclusion of the war, a host of tragedies befall the Fleming clan in rapid

succession. Becca succumbs to dysentery, Michael is shot by a Union sniper, Henry loses a

leg and Mamma Fleming dies of heartbreak over the death of her beloved Michael. The play

consists largely of Gabe Sander and his mother learning Henry's tragic tale as he recounts it

to them as an old man.

The play stands on its own without requiring a prior reading of the novel. However it is

hoped viewers of the play are inspired enough to seek out the novel. It would be well-worth

their time!

Inquiries: Norman Ball norm@normanball.com

Inquiries: Norman Ball norm@normanball.com

The SIDES graphic-montage (grayscale version to the left) was created by

the playwright. The central image derives from an early study of Eastman

Johnson’s painting ‘The Wounded Drummer Boy’ (1871).

Variants of this painting exist based on “an incident that reportedly occurred

during the Battle of Antietam (1863) in which an injured drummer boy

asked a comrade to carry him so that he could continue drumming his unit

forward. The emblematic image of a heroic youth literally rising above the

chaos of the battlefield resonated deeply with Northern audiences both

during and after the war...[and] helped to commemorate the hope and

sacrifice of the Union effort...and powerfully evoke the experience of battle—

the steady drum beat, the smoke-filled air, and the drama of life and death.”

(quote from Brooklyn Museum)

For the playwright, this iconic painting captures the ideal of one

generation lifting another above the fray, to a better place i.e. on the

shoulders of giants. The hopeful optimism of America is traditionally

premised upon our children having brighter futures than ourselves

and unclouded vistas. Frankly, can the same be said today?

Almost certainly, another inspiration for the painting was Charlie

Coulson, a 14-year-old amputee who died at Gettysburg. Too young

to be a soldier, he trailed along as a drummer boy. A fervent and

devout Christian, he refused chloroform during his amputations,

asking that it be spared instead for the soldiers. He died in a field

hospital soon after agonizing operations to remove a leg and arm.

The sad irony is that, like history’s Charlie Coulson, each successive

generation seems wed to the ‘glories of war’ with undiminished

fervor. This begs the question: Will the Old Soldier prevail upon Gabe

to ‘break the generational tragedy of war’?

Inquiries: Norman Ball norm@normanball.com

Today’s red-blue divide bears ominous similarities to the blue-

gray divide of yore.

Former President Jimmy Carter offered an astounding observation

recently (in box, left). Congressional Black Caucus Leader

Emanuel Cleaver II has made similar cautionary comments in

recent months.

The powers of division in America are on the verge of eclipsing the

powers of unity and compromise.

Acrimony is a childish indulgence. Conciliation is a grown-up

response to a multifaceted, multicultural world.

During the current sesquicentennial remembrance of the Civil

War, we should reflect on the dangers of history repeating itself.

“This country has become so polarized that

it’s almost astonishing…Not only with the

red and blue states…[but also] the most

polarized situation in Washington that we

have ever seen--even maybe in the time of

Abraham Lincoln and the initiation of the

War Between the States.”

–President Jimmy Carter (September 20,

2010)

“...in our deeply politically tribal country and

rabidly partisan Congress, we sometimes

anticipate the worst about those who are of

a different political affiliation...Civility and

cautious judgment of others are the insignia

of statesmanship."

--Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, (MO) (March 23,

2012)

Inquiries: Norman Ball norm@normanball.com

Historic figures

Abraham Lincoln, General Robert E. Lee, Harriet Tubman, Nat Turner, Frederick

Douglass, John Brown and John Wilkes Booth make appearances in actual quote

and in song.

Composite/Generic figures

The Confederate and Union soldiers and their wives help convey the common man's

loves, fears and concerns. Additionally, the soldiers offer actual quotes from

TRBOC. They also serve, at times, as the young Fleming brothers and their wives.

Personal characters

The main narrative arc involves the interaction between Henry Fleming (the Old

Soldier) and 14-year-old Gabe Sander, along with their family members, both living

and dead.

Inquiries: Norman Ball norm@normanball.com

Checkers the Harlequin is a character (or should we say

she’s a real character) who interjects riddles, rhymes,

tall tales and anecdotes along the way.

Checkers is the hip and worldly sage used to dispense audience asides,

contemporary social commentary, levity and ‘unscripted’ mischief.

Checkers also sings a musical number, General Obsession, which lampoons

the Civil War’s generals in a style reminiscent of a Noel Coward song.

There was nothing foolish about the Shakespearian fool, really a precursor

to the TV commercial interruption where the audience gets a breather from

heavy historical content for the occasional witticism or badda-bing.

Inquiries: Norman Ball norm@normanball.com

SIDES is a meditation on sides--internal, personal and political--

that strives to avoid the taking of sides. Huge inspiration is owed,

with the greatest reverence and respect, to Crane’s enduring

masterpiece.

With similar reverence, SIDES incorporates loose adaptations of

four public-domain hymns: Steal Away to Jesus*, Run On,

Doxology and It Is Well with My Soul**.

‘Getting along’ is a necessity, not a luxury. In an odd way, we are

advantaged by the example of the Civil War, but only if we learn

from its tragic example. We can ill-afford to ignore its message.

We can ill-afford to ignore one another.

Creative conflict in a democracy is vital. We cannot stew in the

corner while our TV-pundit-of-choice reinforces everything we

want to hear. We must vigorously engage one another.

“The process by which Henry sheds his illusions leads him to assert by novel's conclusion that the antagonistic co-operation necessary to democratic society must be embraced.”

--from Imaging the Civil War: Authenticity in Painting, Photography, and The Red Badge of Courage , by Eric Gislason

* Wallace Willis, circa 1862

** Horatio Spafford, 1871

Inquiries: Norman Ball norm@normanball.com

A TV pilot is currently underway at FCAC directed by

Leo Gerard of Last Tango Productions, LLC.

The objective is to create compelling video and audio

material from key moments in the play in order to

secure financing for a large-scale TV or movie

screenplay effort.

Other outreach efforts are underway to obtain the

support and interest of industry ‘rain-makers’ and

production companies.

A financial needs-analysis is currently being developed

for further SIDES-based initiatives. Seed capital and/or

early investors are actively solicited.

Inquiries: Norman Ball norm@normanball.com

Much is made of the prohibitive costs involved in mounting a Broadway play—and

for very good reason (as the next chart clearly shows).

SIDES is not necessarily a ‘Broadway product’. The Civil War (or as is preferred in

the South, ‘The War Between the States’) still commands great heartland interest

and fascination. This is especially true in the South. In fact cities like Richmond and

Atlanta may be among the most welcoming venues for SIDES.

Community theatres and High School/College drama departments are also ideal

venues due to the content-rich subject matter of SIDES.

From an educational and historical standpoint, too many musicals are about ‘a

whole lot of nothing at all.’ Whereas SIDES is right in the middle of our nation’s

most pressing issues, both past and present.

America is also in the middle of Civil War sesquicentennial commemorations and

will be through at least 2015. The time is right.

Inquiries: Norman Ball norm@normanball.com

Representative Costs to Mount a Musical Play (courtesy of makemusicals.com)

$25,000 – 75,000 – full scale production at a small community theater

$150,000 – 250,000 — full scale production at a professional non-equity theater

$1,000,000 — The production and operating costs/production at most regional

theaters

$1.5-4 million — The cost to do a major pre-Broadway tryout at a regional theater.

Includes the planned Broadway cast and with the intention that the bulk of the

sets and costumes will transfer. (Source: TheaterMania)

$5-$20 million — The cost to open a musical on Broadway (Spiderman’s $65

million is yet another order of magnitude). (Source: NY Times)

Inquiries: Norman Ball norm@normanball.com

Friend or foe? Savior or enemy? Which of these SIDES are you on? How we

address these questions TODAY will determine the future course of our

nation. Know thy sides -- know thyself.

Abraham Lincoln – Great Emancipator or northern industrialist stooge?

Nat Turner and John Brown - terrorists or freedom fighters?

John Wilkes Booth - cold-blooded murderer or martyred nationalist?

Harriet Tubman - wanted fugitive or new world Moses?

Frederick Douglass - freeman-in-mind or slave-in-body?

General Robert E. Lee - Union deserter or loyal Virginia son?

SIDES offers no easy answers. Rather it urges all of us to think.

Inquiries: Norman Ball norm@normanball.com

The play is set in January 1916, on the eve of WWI, just after the sinking

of the RMS Lusitania, and fifty years after the conclusion of the Civil War.

Rationale: This allows Henry Fleming, TRBOC's protagonist, to counsel the

young Gabe with the hindsight of a battle-hardened elder. Like Henry before

him, Gabe is 'fired up' and wants to teach Kaiser Wilhelm a lesson or two.

Leaving home as a young man to construct railroads in the south, Henry's

older brother Michael settles in Virginia and takes a wife, Becca. Thus he

signs on with the Confederate Army when the war breaks out.

Rationale: Literalizing the 'brother against brother' conflict of the Civil War

allows SIDES to explore both the historical and personal costs of this blood-

soaked chapter in American history.

Inquiries: Norman Ball norm@normanball.com

Inquiries: Norman Ball norm@normanball.com

Unlike the novel's Henry Fleming, 'this Henry' loses a leg at the

conclusion of the war.

Rationale: The injury serves to symbolize and accentuate the disfiguring

effects of war.

The play is set on Henry Fleming's farmhouse in rural southern Maryland

which he purchases and settles in after the war.

Rationale: Maryland was selected because of its 'ambivalence' as a border

state. Indeed there were strong factions --both for and against succession--

in the state. Consistent with its message, SIDES attempts to take no 'sides'

seeking 'border status' itself. Consistent with the novel, Henry is originally a

New Yorker, as is his ‘invented’ brother Michael.

SIDES employs a 'ghost' or 'magic' field adjacent to Henry's farmhouse.

Rationale: This field furnishes a 'stage within a stage' which broadens and

deepens the story, allowing characters and apparitions to propel the narrative

forward by way of backlit quotes and illustrative musical numbers.

Although Fleming is a Union soldier in TRBOC, Union and Confederate

soldiers are employed interchangeably to offer Henry Fleming's

observations during the play.

Rationale: Crane was essentially an agnostic on the Civil War. His concern for

historical accuracy was not paramount. In an effort to better universalize the

novel and strike a non-sectarian stance, SIDES employs both sides to mouth

the words of the young Henry.

Inquiries: Norman Ball norm@normanball.com

SIDES Preliminary Music Guide Tracks

The Youtube links below are CLICKABLE works-in-progress. Some are rough cuts and will

be updated as new versions are recorded. Additional voices will be added as acquired. For

the moment, the playwright’s voice appears as a guide on all tracks.

1. We Are Whole (3:13)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-Omwcd8NrU

2. The Wounded Drummer Boy (1:24)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAizA86LMtk

3. Nat Turner's Dream (4:36)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXc_HUbqTCw

4. Underground Railroad (3:04)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_feeFL8CL0

(All songs are the property of Norman Ball. Listen please, but do not distribute.)

Inquiries: Norman Ball norm@normanball.com

SIDES Preliminary Music Guide Tracks (cont.)

5. What Need Must Pass (4:46)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqdGalIY0oM

6. Freedom’s Just a Banner with a Place to Hide (2:40)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5Gd1mNzx_E

7. Two Roads, One Life (4:20)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCQ_WrysTTc

8. Who Is on My Side? (3:17)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsA2HoekDZc

9. General Obsession (1:58)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGqxPkxUOps

(All songs are the property of Norman Ball. Listen please, but do not distribute.)

Inquiries: Norman Ball norm@normanball.com

SIDES Preliminary Music Guide Tracks (cont.)

10. Our Sweet Time Will Come (to be completed)

11. Becca’s Song (3:31)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NlpggViHp-0

12. A Soldier's Destiny (7:50)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2k89EZ3TGw

13. My American Cousin (3:26)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDNwbyRuTvY

14. In Memoriam – Doxology (5:58)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xveH14L1V2Q

15. Fresh Beginnings (3:24) (to be completed/karaoke here only)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hGXZx8nmYQ

(All songs are the property of Norman Ball. Listen please, but do not distribute.)

Inquiries: Norman Ball norm@normanball.com

SIDES Preliminary Music Guide Tracks (cont.)

16. A Mother's Tears (4:05) (very poor recording quality)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fI07PtmmiH8

17. Michael’s Song (4:02)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_iuxQNpnM0

18. Blue and Gray Matters (3:02)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FsbhT3sQME

19. Perfect Union (3:11)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZ3B9Yytg-Y

20. We are Whole (reprise) (4:28)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5S44CU2KuWo

(All songs are the property of Norman Ball. Listen please, but do not distribute.)

Inquiries: Norman Ball norm@normanball.com

Our new Civil War Compendium is available from Sf Communications of

Georgia here at Amazon, Kindle and in a variety of eBook platforms at

Smashwords.

This 405-page book includes the play SIDES, Richard Stafford’s true-to-

life Civil War play ‘Yours’, the Red Badge of Courage novel and a number

of essays and observations from leading historians. All in all, a fascinating

collection that any Civil War enthusiast will want to have.

Make sure to click the cover above to get a glimpse inside the book.

Inquiries: Norman Ball norm@normanball.com

Playwright Norman Ball has spent nearly his entire life in the great state of

Virginia. Scottish-born, he arrived with his family in Northern Virginia as a four-

year-old.

A graduate of Washington & Lee University and The George Washington

University (MBA), his poetry and essays have appeared in numerous magazines

and journals, among them, Liberty, Prairie Home Companion, LIGHT Quarterly,

Berkeley Poetry Review, Epicenter, Main Street Rag, The New Renaissance, The

London Times, The Scotsman, NASDAQ and others.

A two-time nominee for the prestigious Pushcart Prize and a regular on

eScene’s Best of the Literary Journals, his collection of essays How Can We

Make Your Power More Comfortable? (Del Sol Press) appeared in late 2010. The

Frantic Force (Petroglyph Books), another essay collection, appeared in 2011. A

poetry collection A Signature Advance from Hoof and Paw will appear in 2012.

Inquiries: Norman Ball norm@normanball.com

One of six long-form essays from Norman Ball's upcoming book Between River and Rock:

How I Resolved Television in Six Easy Payments ('Camelot Sells a Lot') appears at the

Museum of American Poetics (MAP) curated by former Allen Ginsberg protégé Jim Cohn.

MAP is an assemblage of the leading voices of the Postbeat movement; those who, in

Cohn’s words, “illuminate poetic calling as it is now”. Naropa University graduate and

former Ginsberg research assistant Kirpal Gordon calls the book simply, "the most

uncanny channeling of Allen Ginsberg's poetry I’ve ever read."

LIGHT Quarterly, the English-speaking world's preeminent journal of light verse,

recently stated its mandate as seeking to, “resurrect the literary milieu (if not the time)

of Ogden Nash, Dorothy Parker, James Thurber, E. B. White, Morris Bishop, David

McCord, Peter De Vries, [and to] foster new talent in light verse like Norman Ball,

Charles Ghigna, John Whitworth and Alicia Stallings.”

Inquiries: Norman Ball norm@normanball.com

In her recent article, ‘Broadway’s Spider-Man: A Tangled Web of Lessons in Project

Management’, author and project management consultant Pam Stanton uncovers myriad

management failures all across the mammoth $65M undertaking.

Stanton uses the Project Management Institute’s (PMI) widely-accepted PMBOK

methodology to isolate and diagnose classic, ‘textbook’ errors in Project Planning,

Initiation, Execution and Monitoring & Controlling.

In addition to his creative background, playwright Norman Ball has over 30 years of

experience managing large-scale project efforts. He is a Certified Project Management

Professional (PMP).

The playwright has delivered every aspect of this turnkey project to its present form

single-handedly and for (it should be added) a tiny fraction of Spiderman’s massive outlay.

The ‘iron triangle’ of Schedule, Scope and Cost are critical to the success of any large-scale

endeavor. Management is important. After all folks, it’s show business!

Inquiries: Norman Ball norm@normanball.com

Be sure to check out Norman Ball’s other books and music widely available on the Internet:

Norman Ball's ambitious poetry turns on wordplay--for wit, for sonic joy, and for serious surprises. Both his formal and free verse

thrive in the territory of e.e. cummings, where he takes on challenges too daunting for most contemporary poets.” --A. M. Juster,

Poet, “The Satires of Horace”

“A prolific songwriter, literary essayist, political commentator and playwright, here comes Ball the poet refracting, at his best,

Auden's 'ironic points of light’…as for that patented Ball humor does it traverse genres? I’m pleased to report it more than survives

the stanza.” --Douglas Milton, Editor, Anthony Burgess International Journal

“Often very funny, always incisive with insights that deflate the hot air of contemporary society and its inept leaders, Ball both

entertains and alarms as he penetrates the follies of our time. His own skillful use of language exposes the semantic fabrications that

prop up so many of our political and economic policies.” —Walter Cummins, Editor Emeritus, The Literary Review

“Ball…mobilizes enormous and uncountable numbers of ideas about virtually every aspect of our culture. When you read him, you

aren't revisiting notions you already had; you're facing real challenges, sentence by unpredictable sentence. If you want to be

enlivened, rather than lulled to sleep, you should read Norman Ball.--Stephen Cox, Editor, Liberty magazine

Inquiries: Norman Ball norm@normanball.com