Mercy me! A sneak peek into Theatre AUM’s upcoming ‘The Mercy Project’ that celebrates America and women

The 2026-2027 Theatre AUM members and faculty pose for a group photo during the first company meeting of the fall semester on Aug. 24, 2026. (photo courtesy of Nicolette Parrish)

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (Sept. 4, 2026) – Only two weeks into the semester, Theatre AUM has hit the ground running, having already begun work on its newest production, “The Mercy Project,” which will open Oct. 1.

Theatre AUM had its first company meeting of the semester on Monday, Aug. 24, and welcomed both new and returning students into the theater company with information about the program and the upcoming October production.

Auditions were held that same day after the meeting, and it would appear that some familiar faces will be seen in the upcoming production from last semester’s performance of “Fool for Love,” including senior Samuel Alford (the actor for Eddie), junior Sam Crevensten (the actor for May), and junior William Rouse (who will continue his work as the lighting designer).

“I am excited to be working on a new Theatre AUM production.” Alford said, “I have always liked historical pieces and I am glad that we can bring light to one of the lesser known revolutionary women in American history.”

Senior, Tyreanna Causey, who was the lead costume designer for “Fool For Love,” is also working on the production as the lead hair and makeup specialist. When asked about her part in the operation, she said “I’m excited to be part of this production. It gives us the chance to highlight more women who helped shape our country and finally give them the recognition they deserve. I’m looking forward to diving into the research and exploring the era to create inspiring work!”

A photograph of the flier is shown promoting auditions for Theatre AUM’s newest upcoming performance, “The Mercy Project” provided by Val Winkelman.

In an interview Thursday, professor and director of the production, Val Winkelman, spoke on some of the finer details of the project, saying, “”The Mercy Project” is not a play that exists… it’s a collection of letters, poems, plays and others.” Because of this, she describes the event as being not a single large play, but as an evening of Warren’s works.

Winkelman said the main reason Theatre AUM decided on this performance about colonial-early independence era America was that she was inspired by the works of Mercy Otis Warren, a prolific yet underappreciated writer in the late 18^th century.

“I found out about Warren through Ken Burns’s American Revolution series.” She said, “I had never heard of her before and I was intrigued. I started looking her up, and the more I learned, the more fascinated I became.”

She said the Theatre AUM team wanted to put on a performance that celebrates American history, drama and writers, as this year is the 250^th year of American independence, and she could think of no better example of an American writer than Warren.

The performance will be an evening of Warren’s works, including poems, short plays, monologues and even some musical and dance numbers – a feature not often seen in AUM’s performances.

When asked what she would tell students unsure about attending, Winkelman said, “We’re celebrating America. We’re celebrating women. We’re celebrating poetry, playwriting and politics, and it will be a great opportunity to learn about someone important to our country that people may never have heard of.”

Like previous events put on by the team, “The Mercy Project” will be hosted in the AUM Theatre in the Taylor Center building. Admission is free for students and faculty, $10 for general audiences and only $5 for senior citizens and military members.

The performance will open Thursday, Oct. 1 and run until Saturday, Oct. 3, then it will run from Thursday, Oct. 8 to Saturday, Oct. 10, beginning at 7:30 PM on those nights. It will also run Sunday, Oct. 11, where it will begin at 2:00 PM

For more information, interested parties can find the most up-to-date information on the Theatre AUM website, and the full cast and crew can be found below.

The production crew for “The Mercy Project” includes: