Clinton student performing in nationally-recognized cemetery tour

Special to The Clinton Courier

Jeremy Burwell of Clinton will bring a Mississippian “back to life” in his school’s upcoming Tales from the Crypt performances.

A cemetery tour by candlelight among historic gravesites may seem like the setting for a Hollywood horror movie, but one such tour takes place far from California and involves history rather than horror.

The setting for this performance is Friendship Cemetery, located in Columbus, Mississippi; and Jeremy Burwell from Clinton is among the historical performers.

This year, students from the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science (MSMS) are producing the highly anticipated 36th Annual Tales from the Crypt, winner of the Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts and national finalist for The History Channel’s “Save Our History” Award. Tales has also been featured on NPR’s All Things Considered, in national publications such as The Atlantic, and highlighted in James and Deb Fallows’ Bestseller Our Towns.

Beginning with the start of the school year, forty-eight MSMS students in three eleventh-grade U.S. history classes began exploring documents and preparing original scripts based upon student research to bring Mississippians “back to life” through dramatic performances. Eleven of the students were chosen to develop their characters this spring for visitors to Tales from the Crypt. Other researchers will serve as cemetery tour guides leading visitors among the performers.

Burwell researched members of the Kerby family who immigrated from Mardin, Turkey, in the first decades of the 20th century. Portraying a business owner in Columbus’ historic Catfish Alley, Burwell explores the challenges and contributions of immigrants and small business owners in Columbus.

Burwell is the son of Deon Horne and Latoya Clark-Horne.

“Tales performances offer a more complete history of our community and help make history personal for students as well as visitors,” said Chuck Yarborough, MSMS social studies faculty member and the project’s director. Through research in the extensive local history resources at the Columbus-Lowndes Public Library, MUW Archives, and other sources, Yarborough says his students learn more than just history.

“Our students develop sophisticated research and writing skills along with critical thinking,” added Yarborough. “Then they’re challenged to turn what they learn into a public presentation. As we honor the contributions as well as the challenges of past Columbus residents, our students develop a strong ethic of community participation, service and leadership.”
Profits from program admissions are donated to charitable causes designated by the students. Over the previous ten performance years, Tales has raised over $55,000 for charity.

Yarborough adds, “For thirty-six years, Tales from the Crypt students have practiced how they can make significant contributions to a Mississippi community, and the project has become a model for similar projects across the country.”

Tales from the Crypt performance tours will be on the evenings of April 8, 10, 15 and 17 from 7 to 9 p.m. in Friendship Cemetery on Fourth Street South, Columbus.

Tickets are available on site and are $5 for general admission. Tickets may also be purchased online at www.VisitColumbusMS.org. For more information, contact the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science at 662-329-7670.