Local Historical Societies and the Making of Seven Cousins for a Horse
Playwright Tammy Ryan is no stranger to commissions. Her wide-ranging work has been commissioned, developed, and performed at regional theaters across the United States and around the world. While many of her plays, such as Molly’s Hammer, The Music Lesson, Tar Beach, and Pig, could be called period pieces, her recent commission from Thrown Stone challenged her to unearth a much older story — one of a little-known self-taught painter born in 1788: Ammi Phillips. Ryan embarked on a fascinating journey into the past, weaving together the emotionally compelling story of the folk artist now acknowledged as the most prolific in American History.