How to Make a Rope Swing

Synopsis: Delores Wright is the wealthy town matriarch and former elementary school principal and Bo Wells is the custodian who worked under her strict supervision for most of his life. When they find themselves stranded together in the old condemned schoolhouse, their reunion takes a dark turn and they relive their first meeting, decades earlier. It was 1952, when some schools were first integrated in this region nicknamed the “Mississippi of the North”. Bo’s wife, the school’s first black teacher, was found drowned in a nearby river, hanging by her ankle from an old rope swing after it was rumored she had struck a white child. The papers dismissed it as an accident resulting from the “wild and drunken actions of a young colored woman”. When Mrs. Wright reveals that she has dreams about the incident, Bo suspects she knows more than she admits. As the night grows colder and the failing health of Mrs. Wright becomes increasingly evident, Bo tries to understand his wife’s final moments and Mrs. Wright’s role in her death.

1 Senior Male, 1 Senior Female, 1 Male (20s)

“Fully realized, emotionally rich” —Salt Lake Tribune

“a remarkable achievement” —City Weekly

“heart-wrenching drama” —Deseret News