"Shot House"

Shot House is a one-act play set in the suburbs of Birmingham, Alabama in 1964. Dark, funny and finally heartbreaking, it's about Billy, a man trapped by a desire to be free of all things and a richly colorful talker who sells liquor illegally from his shot house. Billy's house is inhabited by characters Billy sees, but the audience does not: Scooter, a fellow WWII vet whom Billy throws out when he starts to moan about what he used to have — namely, legs and a wife; Creola, whose job is to roll Scooter’s "crippled ass" on out of the place; the Boy, Billy’s son; and most importantly and dramatically, Annie Laurie, the woman of Billy’s life, who even has beautiful feet.

It made its debut in July 2007 at the Ogresse theater in Paris. The playwright, Quinton Cockrell, acted the play, directed by Bethe Ensey.

Thanks are due to the musicians who offered their time and talents to play after the show: Stéphane Beaussart, Zinc-Breaks (Ahmed and Tristan), Chris Kenna, John Simms and Miguel, Lari Lucien of 21st Century Folks and Miles Turney.
And to friends who offered us their help and advice: Mutata of the Ogresse theater, Dietlind Lerner & Chris Thomas, Jack Cannon & Cheryl Hall, Chelethia Williams, Jeanne Bernard and Romilly Masters.




Here is a version of the script of Shot House.