Almost three years after its first production at Black Hawk College, Moline, The Mockingbird theater company is entering into a new ongoing partnership dedicated to producing professional-caliber theater 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, according to a Tuesday release from BHC.
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.
BHC and The Mockingbird previously collaborated on “The Glass Menagerie” in July 2023 after the building the Mockingbird on Main was housed in collapsed in downtown Davenport, May 28, 2023.
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 on Aug. 20-22 and Aug. 27-29.
The production will be directed by BHC alum Tristan Tapscott, co-founder of The Mockingbird, with BHC alum and professor Dr. Traci Davis serving as executive producer.
“A lot of communities have found real success pairing colleges with professional or semi-professional theatre companies, and I’ve always wondered, why not the Quad Cities?” Tapscott said recently by email. “This feels like a smart, forward-thinking step that benefits everyone involved.
“On a personal level, this partnership is especially meaningful. I attended Black Hawk College, and I know firsthand the value it provides to this community,” he said. “It helped shape who I am and being able to come back and create theatre in that space feels full-circle in the best way.”
The Tennessee Williams classic The Glass Menagerie “was a really wonderful experience for us,” Tapscott (who played Tom) said. “It was a beautiful production, and we were so grateful to present it at Black Hawk College… especially in the wake of the Davenport disaster. Having a place to land during that time meant everything. It made so much sense at the time and makes so much sense now.”
Mockingbird Main launched in late July 2021, as a 40-seat cabaret-style theater, at 320 Main St., Davenport. After the building collapse (and its subsequent demolition), The Mockingbird also produced the play that inspired its name, “To Kill a Mockingbird,” in May 2024 at Moline’s Black Box Theatre.
As for why the BHC agreement didn’t happen sooner, “we actually did pitch this idea back then,” Tapscott said recently.
“For a variety of reasons, it just didn’t gain traction at the time. The conversation was kickstarted again this past winter, and now here we are. Sometimes timing really is everything.
“Looking ahead, we want to be thoughtful and intentional. Death of a Salesman will help us see how this partnership works in practice, and while we don’t want to overpromise too early, we’re genuinely hopeful this opens the door to many more productions each year,” he said.
“I also think it’s important to be honest about the financial realities of producing theatre. The costs of putting on meaningful work continue to rise: licensing rights, artists, designers, marketing, technical needs—while the margins get smaller,” Tapscott added. “It was getting harder to do this work sustainably on our own then and it’s even more costly now. This partnership gives us breathing room. We help them, they help us… it’s a win-win.”
Resurrecting theater at Black Hawk
The timing of the partnership could not be more perfect for Traci Davis, a BHC alum and psychology professor who’s bringing theater back to the community college.
She will teach a new course this fall, Introduction to Theatre Arts at Black Hawk.
Davis has taught psychology and sociology at BHC since 2003, and the theater program was disbanded around 2013.
“I went around to the theaters in the QC and talked to folks, and they said pretty consistently, ‘We have a fantastic K-12 educational opportunity in the Quad Cities for theater kids. But then when they get to college age, the number of opportunities decline pretty significantly’,” she recalled Tuesday. “And so I took that back to my boss and he said, ‘Yeah, let's do it.’ So I went back to school. So right now I'm in the MFA distance program at the University of Idaho.”
“I’m super excited to be on this journey and to bring back theatre to BHC,” she said.
Davis is pursuing a Master of Fine Arts, or MFA, in pedagogy and playwriting through the University of Idaho. Her goal is to finish her master’s in spring 2027 then offer additional theatre classes at BHC.
She has worked tech with local theater companies and is a playwright. Her new melodrama, “The Mire,” was workshopped and presented as a staged reading at the Quad-Cities Campus in March 2026 and at the Phoenix Theatre in Indianapolis in May 2026.
“It was very strange to hear professional actors read my words out loud,” she said. “That was just in and of itself like this magical thing that happened. But then I got to do a talkback and they were really kind, but also very assertive about what needed to change. And I'm finding as an artist, that feedback is really helpful.”
“On the eve of America's 250th birthday, we just— we've never in my lifetime been more divided. And where I see points of community and I see points of connection, it's when people are telling each other their stories,” Davis said. “I don't think that there's ever been a time that it's been more important than right now for us to be storytellers, because I think that's what's going to knit us back together. And I think theater is a huge part of that.”
Davis connected with Tapscott and she said, “We clicked immediately in that way where we're both just— we just both love theater.”
“It’s a natural fit, I think, for Black Hawk. Because we have the theater space and they have this really fantastic troupe who needs a space,” she said. “And so it works together in that way. And so I'm happy that, that we're going to be partnering with them. I could not be more excited about the production, not only for Black Hawk as a community, but also for Mockingbird and also for our students just to be able to see what it looks like to actually put a production on.
“I think if you are a theatergoer, you sort of understand what happens front of house. But I think a lot of the other stuff is really a mystery unless you've been inside of it,” Davis added.
“And I think Tristan has that capacity not only as a performer but also as a teacher of theater to be able to extend that to students. And so we really are just sort of bringing Black Hawk and Mockingbird on Main together in a shared space, and I think it's going to be great.”
She also got support from playwright Alex Richardson, who directed “Glass Menagerie” at BHC in 2023.
“I will literally do anything Alex Richardson tells me to do because I trust him really, really a lot,” Davis said. “So that really kind of greased the wheels for me. But like I said, I just really hit it off with Tristan.”
It’s up in the air how many shows Mockingbird will produce at Black Hawk, which has a seating capacity of about 200 in the theater in Building 1.
“We're going to see kind of where we want to go from there. The beauty of the partnership is that we have a freedom to be flexible,” Davis said. “And because Tristan is really hooked into all things theater, I really trust his instincts in sort of what we want to do next. I had mentioned to him casually it would be really nice if we get a core group of students going over the next couple years who want to write in the fall and then produce in the spring, that we could bring everything that we're kind of putting together to them.
“But we're really leaving it open, I think, because we sort of want the flexibility to kind of move as we're going,” she said.
“And Black Hawk has been amazing in opening up the space and setting it aside and making sure we have room to do this stuff and really just being very encouraging. I think the current administration at Black Hawk is really just very open to more artistry, and that has been a wonderful sort of opening for this partnership.”
Working with theater students
Davis envisions Mockingbird working with theater students to offer staged readings of their work.
“There is a kind of magic, and it's very difficult to describe, when you write something and you see someone perform it the way that you intended it,” she said. “If we ended up being able to take the troupe and the group at Black Hawk and weaving them together, I think those partnerships, those relationships, are going to help launch Black Hawk students maybe in ways they don't know or I can't even really predict right now.
“But also to be able to find a home theatrically for your troupe is really special. And I hope that Mockingbird on Main feels that,” Davis said. “I hope they feel sort of that reception with open arms because that is, that is certainly how it's intended.”
“Making sure that we're embracing Mockingbird on Main, making sure that they feel like they're part of the community, and that Black Hawk knows. I'm really proud of working at Black Hawk,” Davis said. “I have been for 23 years. It's just been an amazing journey for that professor part of me.”
“There's a performance capacity at Black Hawk that was even not known to me that I'm now discovering. And so to be able to also bring those things out kind of naturally as this partnership goes forward, I'm really excited about that too,” she said.
Black Hawk students are already excited about seeing theater come back, Davis said.
“My heart has been so warmed by the reception that the students have given it. The class is definitely big enough to make it a go,” she said. “Students have said to me, you know, especially our art students say, ‘Why don't we have any theater offerings?’ So I knew that the students would want it. I just didn't realize the reception that I would get. It's been very warm, and that's really been fantastic for me.”
The Fall 2026 class will cover the whole of the theatre experience – the history of theatre, acting, directing, dramaturgy, critical thinking about form and function, and more.
“Theatre helps people to explore the world around them through artistic endeavor,” Davis said. “For the upcoming generation, theatre helps reinforce some basic human traits we are losing – making appropriate eye contact, being able to work on a project in groups, and understanding human nature through stage work,” she said.
New accessible production
In the spirit of accessibility and inclusion, “Death of a Salesman” (currently enjoying a critically acclaimed, Tony-winning revival on Broadway) will use 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,” 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.”
“More than anything, this partnership feels like an opportunity to truly flourish—artistically, financially, and as a community,” he added. “I’m incredibly excited about what this can become and deeply grateful for the chance to build something lasting together.
“I began producing theatre as a kid, turning an unused storage room in my small-town library into a makeshift theatre,” he wrote. “Storytelling—building worlds alongside my friends—has always been at the center of who I am. It’s what I always wanted to do. I’ve missed it, and I’m ready to return to the work that has always given me purpose.”
Current Black Hawk College students can register for THEA 111 at connect.bhc.edu/register. New students can get started at connect.bhc.edu/apply.
Auditions
Auditions for “Death of a Salesman” will be Wednesday, June 25 at 7 p.m. in the Black Hawk College Theatre (6600 34th Ave., Moline, Building 1, Room 308).
No preparation is required. Participants are encouraged to simply arrive ready to read from the script. Those unable to attend in person may request alternate arrangements by emailing TheMockingbirdAtBlackHawk@gmail.com.
All roles are open and members of the community and students from Black Hawk College alike are encouraged to audition. The organizations will also be looking for several artisans behind the scenes as well. Rehearsals will begin Monday, July 20, and the schedule will be set once the show is cast.
The classic 1949 tragedy (currently on Broadway, in its sixth revival starring Nathan Lane and Laurie Metcalf) was last done in the QC in April 2013 by Richmond Hill Players in Geneseo, with Jim Driscoll as Willy Loman. Incidentally, Driscoll was the star of the last Mockingbird production as Atticus Finch in 2024’s “To Kill a Mockingbird.”
Learn more by visiting The Mockingbird on Main on Facebook and Instagram.
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