Mike Wiley: Fire of Freedom

Mike Wiley is the NC-based playwright and actor whose distinctive original works in documentary theatre, film, and performances have been acclaimed across America and abroad. Wiley’s impressive one-man “casts” sometimes introduce dozens of characters during the course of a single play. Morphing between characters of multiple races, young to old, man to woman, his gripping stories enlighten and inspire audiences of every age to apply history’s lessons to the gripping issues of today.

Fire of Freedom recounts the remarkable, story of Abraham Galloway, a slave who rose out of bondage to become one of the most significant and stirring black leaders in the South during the Civil War. Galloway became one of the first black men elected to the North Carolina legislature. Long hidden from history, Galloway’s story reveals a war unfamiliar to most of us.

This riveting portrait, adapted by playwright Howard Craft, illuminates Galloway’s life and deepens our insight into the Civil War and Reconstruction as experienced by African Americans in the South.