This is my first column as the new twice-monthly arts and culture columnist for The Sun. So let me introduce myself.

I’m a playwright, a poet, a singer and a writing teacher.

My family has been in Clark County since 1857, when Stanley F. Tebbs built Stanley Place out on Colby Road. That was where my father Bill Sr., uncles Marshall “Mac” and John, and aunt Carolyn (later Sledd) grew up.

As children during the 1950s through early 1980s, Stanley Place is where my cousins and siblings and I spent every Sunday after church, and every holiday. It was where I had my first summer job. And it’s the farm my family moved to while I was attending college.

Clark County is not where I lived as a child, but in many ways it is where I was raised. I did, however, live here, first on the farm, later in Winchester, for a total of about eight years as a young adult. I was active in church, Young Democrats, and the Jaycees. Then, 30-odd years ago, I moved away.

Last November, I moved back with Jeanine Lister, a dog, and three cats.

Professionally, I have been an educator for nearly 40 years. Avocationally, I became published both as a poet and as an author.

In 2010, I went back to college to get a second Master’s degree — this one in theatre — to become a playwright. In February of this year, my first full-length play, “Boats Against the Current,” was given its premiere by Flashback Theater in Somerset. A much shorter play, only 10 minutes in length, is to be given its premiere in Berea at the end of March.

Help needed

Enough about me. Future columns will feature brief blurbs on arts or cultural events. Given my diverse interests in the arts, my columns will focus on the range of arts available in Winchester and within a short drive.  

I’ve only recently moved back after living elsewhere for the past three decades, so for the column to succeed, I will need your help and insights.

Let me know what you’re doing, or what you have in the works arts-wise, and I’ll try to get it in this column.

Contact me at wmccann273@gmail.com.

I Was Here project launch

The Greater Clark Foundation and the Clark County Community Foundation have teamed together to sponsor a public art installation, I Was Here.

An opening reception at the Leeds Center for the Arts on the evening of March 15 will formally launch an ‘on the street museum’ in downtown Winchester, featuring 22 Ancestor Spirit Portraits which will be on display for several months in doorways and windows.

I Was Here seeks to shift the spirit in the country. Consequently, the purpose of the project is to “create,” according to artist Marjorie Guyon, “a map towards our common humanity.”

On March 16 at 9:30 a.m., the community is invited to gather at The Winchester Sun building for a walk through the actual street museum. The downtown tour will end at Leeds, where a community conversation will be held for the purpose of engaging the entire community.

According to a sponsored Facebook posting, “There are two events associated with ‘I Was Here’ — a reception on March 15 and an On the Street Museum Walk and Community Conversation on March 16. The walk will be held rain or shine.” Both events are free, but participants are asked to register for each event. Please register on their website at leedscenter.org/event/i-was-here-reception and leedscenter.org/event/i-was-here.

Andrew Tribble

interpretive marker

In nearby Madison County, Andrew Tribble was America’s first African-American comic female impersonator.

Largely forgotten today, Tribble was the predecessor of such modern comics as Tyler Perry, Eddie Murphy and Flip Wilson.

After growing up in Union City, Tribble, a descendant of enslaved persons, left Kentucky to pursue a career in music in New York City.

He first met with success on Broadway in the 1890s play “In Old Kentucky” by Kentucky playwright Charles T. Dazey.

Later, Tribble, seeking work as a singer, dancer and actor, moved to Chicago where he became a comic, dancer and actor. He died while performing on stage in Baltimore, Maryland.

The Rev. Dr. Russell Rechenbach has been seeking to raise $2,500 to honor Tribble with an interpretive marker to be placed in Union City. Rapidly closing in on what is required, Rechenbach is only $617 shy of his goal.

To contribute, send your donation to Friends of the Rose, 2183 Boonesborough Road, Richmond, KY 40475.

Bill McCann is a playwright, poet, flash fiction writer, and teacher who writes about arts events and personalities. Reach him at wmccann273@gmail.com.