Comedy set in reenactment of Shiloh battlefield to be presented July 31-Aug. 3.
COLUMBIA, KY. (07/09/2025) An alumna, two graduate students and three undergraduates make up the cast of this summer’s TheatreFest! production at Lindsey Wilson University.
This summer’s Lindsey Wilson TheatreFest! production will be Shiloh Rules, a provocative comedy by Doris Baizley. It will be presented July 31-Aug. 3 at V.P. Henry Auditorium.
Shiloh Rules is a six-character play that tells the story of a dedicated Union nurse and a mysterious Confederate refugee who meet in contemporary times on the Shiloh battlefield to help reenact the first major battle of Civil War while competing for the title of “Best Female Reenactor of the Year.”
With their young trainees trying to out-do each other in authenticity and a concessionaire encouraging both sides, the competition leads into real conflict with an African-American female park ranger who would rather be anywhere than the year 1862, imaginary or not. As the reenactment rages out of control, the six women discover that some conflicts of the Civil War weren’t left behind at Appomattox Court House.
Three Lindsey Wilson undergraduate students have been cast in the TheatreFest! Production of Shiloh Rules:
* Sabrina Ruiz ’26 of Louisville, Kentucky, will play the character Meg Barton, a new Union nurse reenactor. Ruiz is also president of the Lindsey Wilson chapter of Alpha Psi Omega, the national theatre honor society.
* Shiane Lussier ’26 of Bremen, Kentucky, will play Widow Beckwith, a concessionaire and newsletter publisher. Lussier is also vice president of the Lindsey Wilson chapter of Alpha Psi Omega.
* Making her Lindsey Wilson theatre debut will be Mayatu Brown ’27 of Campbellsville, Kentucky, who will play Ranger Wilson, a U.S. park ranger. A native of Liberia, Brown is also a short sprinter on the Lindsey Wilson track and field team.
The cast also includes two graduate students: Kassidy Phelps of Burkesville, Kentucky, who is a 2024 Lindsey Wilson graduate and the theatre current graduate assistant, will play Miss Clara May Abbott, a Union nurse reenactor; and Zoe Boatright of Columbia, an LWU graduate student, will play LucyGale Scruggs, a Confederate refugee reenactor.
And Lindsey Wilson theatre alumna Kayla Koerner of Columbia, who graduated in December 2024 and is now a fifth-grade teacher at Adair County Elementary School, will play Mrs. Cecilia Delauney Pettison, a Confederate refugee reenactor.
The TheatreFest! production of Shiloh Rules will be directed by Lindsey Wilson theatre professor Robert Brock. The stage manager is Leeshawn Johnson ’26 of Louisville.
Shiloh Rules had its world premiere in 2002 and received positive reviews. In a 2006 review in The New York Times, critic Neil Genzlinger wrote: “It’s not easy finding a new take on something as heavily scrutinized as the Civil War, but Doris Baizley has done it in Shiloh Rules, an inventive comedy with some drama, history and first-aid tips thrown in.”
“Shiloh Rules,” by Doris Baizley, will be presented at 7 p.m. July 31-Aug. 2 and at 2 p.m. Aug. 3 at V.P. Henry Auditorium, 210 Lindsey Wilson St. To purchase tickets, go to theatrefest.org or contact the Lindsey Wilson Theatre Department at theatre@lindsey.edu or 270-384-8044.
Director Robert Brock, standing, with the cast and crew of the Lindsey Wilson University TheatreFest! Production of “Shiloh Rules,” which will be presented at 7 p.m. July 31-Aug. 2 and at 2 p.m. Aug. 3 at V.P. Henry Auditorium. Front row, from left: Zoe Boatright of Columbia, Sabrina Ruiz of Louisville, Kentucky, and Mayatu Brown of Campbellsville, Kentucky; back row, from left: Leeshawn Johnson of Louisville, Kassidy Phelps of Burkesville, Kentucky, Shiane Lussier of Bremen, Kentucky, and Kayla Koerner of Columbia.
(Duane Bonifer – Lindsey Wilson University)
Lindsey Wilson University is a vibrant liberal arts university in Columbia, Kentucky. Founded in 1903 and affiliated with The United Methodist Church, the mission of Lindsey Wilson is to serve the educational needs of students by providing a living-learning environment within an atmosphere of active caring and Christian concern where every student, every day, learns and grows and feels like a real human being. Lindsey Wilson offers 28 undergraduate majors, five graduate programs and a doctoral program. The university’s 29 intercollegiate varsity athletic teams have won more than 120 team and individual national championships.