Black Hawk College and The Mockingbird are proud to announce a new, ongoing partnership dedicated to producing professional-caliber theatre that is accessible, educational and deeply connected to the community.

This collaboration brings together Black Hawk College’s commitment to student opportunity and learning with The Mockingbird’s mission to create bold, meaningful storytelling rooted in both classic and contemporary works. The partnership will offer students, emerging artists and community members hands-on theatrical experiences both onstage and behind the scenes, while expanding access to live theatre in the Quad-Cities region.

Black Hawk College and The Mockingbird previously collaborated on “The Glass Menagerie” in 2023 after the building the theatre was housed in collapsed in downtown Davenport.

The partnership will launch with its inaugural production, “Death of a Salesman,” the Pulitzer Prize-winning and Tony Award-winning play by Arthur Miller. Performances will be in the Black Hawk College Theatre at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 20-22 and Aug. 27-29.

The production will be directed by Black Hawk College alum Tristan Tapscott, co-founder of The Mockingbird, with Black Hawk College alum and professor Dr. Traci Davis serving as executive producer.

In the spirit of accessibility and inclusion, the production will utilize a pay-what-you-can ticket model, ensuring that theatre remains affordable for everyone, especially students at Black Hawk College.

“We want this to be a true community effort. It’s the essence of what Black Hawk College is – a community college for everyone – and we want this to be a theatre for everyone,” executive producer Davis said.

“In the Quad Cities, the arts don’t just reflect the community – they are the community: where neighbors become audiences, audiences become collaborators,” director Tapscott said.

“We hope this partnership can offer yet another opportunity to work together and inspire the next generation,” he said.

This inaugural production marks the beginning of a long-term collaboration designed to strengthen the local arts community, support student learning, and make powerful theatre available to all.

“When education and artistry meet, the arts don’t just exist they grow,” Tapscott said. “And together with Black Hawk, we can ensure that they thrive.”

Learn more by visiting The Mockingbird On Main on Facebook and Instagram.

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Sean Leary Director of Digital Media

Sean Leary is an author, director, artist, musician, producer and entrepreneur who has been writing professionally since debuting at age 11 in the pages of the Comics Buyers Guide. An honors graduate of the University of Southern California masters program, he has written over 50 books including the best-sellers The Arimathean, Every Number is Lucky to Someone and We Are All Characters.