“The Black Cyclone,” a play that tells the story of Charles Follis, the first black professional football player, will be featured again this spring on the stage of the Mansfield Senior High auditorium.
The production is a collaboration between Jim Stoner, who wrote the original play, the North End Community Improvement Cooperative, and Mansfield City Schools as part of the district’s 21st Century state grant.
The play was presented at Senior High last year.
Follis, a Wooster resident, played for the Shelby Blues from 1902 to 1906. The contract he signed is the first documented evidence of a black man playing professional football.
Auditions for this spring’s presentation of “The Black Cyclone” will be held at Mansfield Senior High on January 24 and 25 from 3 to 4:30 PM. Stoner said actors of all ages are needed, including football players because there is football action in the play.
Performances are scheduled April 12 and 13 in the Mansfield Senior High auditorium. For more information, call 740-504-9399 or visit www.blackcyclone.org.
