The Colored Door at the Train Depot

by Nancy Gall-Clayton

“The Colored Door at the Train Depot” is based on the life of the first African American to command whites in the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps during World War II. Born in 1919 in rural Kentucky and raised by a grandmother who could neither read nor write, Anna Mac Clarke won several battles for racial justice in the military and seemed to be defying all the odds — until death took her at age 24.

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The Colored Door at the Train Depot

Character Information

Roles of the two white women (Pvt. Cartwright and Pvt. Brewster) can be doubled.
Roles of the three white men (Sgt. Irvin, Sgt. Marshall, and Col. Dyer) can be tripled.

Anna Mac Clarke

Discouraged by Jim Crow, but determined and patriotic, raised by grandmother who could neither read nor write but who insisted on Anna earning a college degree

Character Age

22-24

Character Race/Ethnic Identity

African American

Character Gender Identity

Any (but probably Female)
Can be played by:
- Actor Age
  
  20s
- Actor Race/Ethnic Identity
  
  Black, African, Caribbean, or African American
- Actor Gender Identity
  
  Female
Mama Lucy

Grandmother of the protagonist, uneducated but wise, practical, caring

Character Age

50s

Character Race/Ethnic Identity

African American

Character Gender Identity

Any (but probably Female)
Can be played by:
- Actor Age
  
  50s
- Actor Race/Ethnic Identity
  
  Black, African, Caribbean, or African American
- Actor Gender Identity
  
  Female
Franklin James

ANNA's younger brother (by a different father), accepts the status quo, a good man

Character Age

20-23

Character Race/Ethnic Identity

African American

Character Gender Identity

Any (but probably Male)
Can be played by:
- Actor Age
  
  20s
- Actor Race/Ethnic Identity
  
  Black, African, Caribbean, or African American
- Actor Gender Identity
  
  Male
Pvt. Candle Adam Cartwright

By upbringing a racist southerner, persistent, more open than she realizes

Character Age

20s

Character Race/Ethnic Identity

Any (but probably white)

Character Gender Identity

Any (but probably Female)
Can be played by:
- Actor Age
  
  20s
- Actor Race/Ethnic Identity
  
  White
- Actor Gender Identity
  
  Female
Ellie Danforth

Member of the Women's Army Corps, smart, helpful

Character Age

20s

Character Race/Ethnic Identity

African American

Character Gender Identity

Any (but probably Female)
Can be played by:
- Actor Age
  
  20s
- Actor Race/Ethnic Identity
  
  Black, African, Caribbean, or African American
- Actor Gender Identity
  
  Female
Sgt. Kent Marshall

Manager of the movie theatre at Douglas Army Airfield, a take-charge kind of man but one who can be distracted

Character Age

any

Character Race/Ethnic Identity

Any (but probably white)

Character Gender Identity

Any (but probably Male)
Can be played by:
- Actor Age
  
  20s,
  
  30s,
  
  40s,
  
  50s,
  
  60s,
  
  70s+
- Actor Race/Ethnic Identity
  
  White
- Actor Gender Identity
  
  Male
Pvt. Sandy Brewster

Likes rules and making others follow them, not the brightest person around

Character Age

20s

Character Race/Ethnic Identity

Any (but probably white)

Character Gender Identity

Any (but probably Female)
Can be played by:
- Actor Age
  
  20s
- Actor Race/Ethnic Identity
  
  White
- Actor Gender Identity
  
  Female
Col. Harvey Flynn Dyer, Sr.

Commander of Douglas Army Airfield, a listener but one who makes his own decisions

Character Age

43

Character Race/Ethnic Identity

Any (but probably white)

Character Gender Identity

Any (but probably Male)
Can be played by:
- Actor Age
  
  40s
- Actor Race/Ethnic Identity
  
  White
- Actor Gender Identity
  
  Male
Samuel Lincoln

A train porter who knows his place, but who understands more than he lets on

Character Age

30s

Character Race/Ethnic Identity

African American

Character Gender Identity

Any (but probably Male)
Can be played by:
- Actor Age
  
  30s
- Actor Race/Ethnic Identity
  
  Black, African, Caribbean, or African American
- Actor Gender Identity
  
  Male
Sgt. Harold Irvin

An Army recruiter with traditional values -- no women, no blacks needed in the US military

Character Age

20s-50s

Character Race/Ethnic Identity

Any (but probably white)

Character Gender Identity

Any (but probably Male)
Can be played by:
- Actor Age
  
  20s,
  
  30s,
  
  40s
- Actor Race/Ethnic Identity
  
  White
- Actor Gender Identity
  
  Male

Development History

Type Reading, Organization Comparative Drama Conference, Year 2017
Type Reading, Organization Public Theatre of Kentucky, Bowling Green, KY, Year 2002
Type Reading, Organization Infamously Famous Black Women Festival, Louisville, KY, Year 2001
Type Reading, Organization Rudyard Kipling Roundtable Theatre, Louisville, KY, Year 1999
Type Reading, Organization Juneteenth Festival of New Works (University of Louisville), Louisville, KY, Year 1998

Production History

Type Professional, Organization Actors Warehouse, Gainesville, FL, Year 2019
Type Workshop, Organization Heritage Festival (sponsored by Citizens Concerned for Human Relations), Danville, KY, Year 2006

Awards

New Harmony Project

The New Harmony Project, New Harmony and Indianapolis, IN

Finalist

2000
New Works Festival

Pittsburgh New Works Festival, Pittsburgh, PA

Semi-Finalist

2001
Top Ten

Southern Appalachian Repertory Theatre (SART), Mars Hill, NC

2002
Charles M. Getchell New Play Award

Southeastern Theatre Conference

Finalist

2002
Top Ten

Theatre Conspiracy, Fort Myers, Florida

2003
Jane Chambers Award

Women & Theatre Program (WTP) of the Association for Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE)

Honorable Mention

2003
West T. Hill Theatre Heritage Festival

Citizens Concerned for Human Relations, Danville, KY

Winner

2006