'Spirit' moves descendants to act

As it is relatively common for theater groups to collaborate with other groups, the Tennessee Repertory Theatre has an ongoing relationship with the Arkansas Repertory Company. Virtually all of the community theater groups share resources in one fashion or another. Usually these collaborations are limited to a couple of participants. Mockingbird Theatre has exploded that formula to encompass half a dozen different entities.

Mockingbird Theatre is presenting Spirit: The Authentic Story of the Bell Witch of Tennessee by David Alford, in Adams, Tenn., the home of the Bell Witch, and in Nashville at Nashville Children's Theatre's Cooney Theatre. The collaborative effort includes Mockingbird and the town of Adams. Also participating in bringing this to the stage is Austin Peay State University and Bell family descendants.

Spirit is an original production written and directed by David Alford, an Adams native. The legend of the Bell Witch has seen numerous books, plays, and television shows dedicated to the "mysterious spirit" that tormented John Bell and his family in the early 1800s. Until now, the town of Adams, where the events occurred, has never taken part in telling its own story.

"We are producing this project in an unprecedented collaboration with the town of Adams, and with the participation of Bell family descendants, which is very exciting," Alford said. In fact, Carney Bell, John Bell