CLARKSVILLE, TN – Two Austin Peay State University graduate students are making history by creating what is believed to be the first international Belizean musical — and it will premiere on campus this May.
“How do you find time to do this?” is a natural question when sitting down with Alysia Norales and Cameron Tillett to discuss their unique Austin Peay experiences. Being a quantitative methods master’s student is hard enough; now you’re putting together a thought-provoking musical about a pivotal moment in your country’s history?
“We love Nora,” Tillett said. “The time we spend on it, we know it’s going to be worth it, no matter how stressed we are. People are going to be really proud of what we show them.”
The “Nora” in question is Nora Parham, a Belizean woman wrongfully executed in 1963 for the alleged murder of her abusive husband. Norales and Tillett, both pursuing master’s degrees in predictive analytics at Austin Peay, have spent five years developing a musical based on her story, bringing a powerful tale six decades in the making to light in Nora, A Belizean Musical.
The story begins with a domestic dispute in 1963, when Belize was still the British colony of British Honduras. Parham threw a kerosene-filled iron at her husband during an argument, then fled upstairs. Her partner, a police officer named Ketchell Trapp, went outside to smoke and accidentally ignited himself with the spilled kerosene. On his deathbed, Trapp cleared his wife of any wrongdoing, stating it was an accident.
Despite this testimony, colonial authorities put Parham on trial before an all-male jury. Though the jury found her guilty, they requested mercy, citing her eight children aged 16 months to 16 years. The British council ignored the plea and sentenced her to death.
The decision sparked unprecedented protests throughout British Honduras, with future Prime Minister George Price writing directly to Queen Elizabeth II requesting clemency. The Queen’s pardon arrived a week after Parham had already been executed.
“A lot of people don’t know about Nora Parham’s story, and we wanted to share that with as many people in the world as possible,” said Norales, who first learned the story from Tillett five years ago.
Tillett discovered the story through his mother, who found it while pursuing a law degree.
“She was probably in her 40s when she first heard this story,” Tillett said. “It’s one of those things where history kind of gets forgotten because things aren’t documented properly.”
The musical presents unique challenges, blending traditional Belizean music styles like Brukdown and Punta with theatrical elements.
“We try to put Belizean roots in it because this is a Belizean story,” Norales said. “But when it comes to making a musical, you have to also have the theatric element.”
An abbreviated version of Nora, A Belizean Musical will premiere at the APSU Fringe at 7 p.m. on Saturday, May 2, in Trahern Theatre. While most speaking parts are taken, Norales and Tillett are seeking performers for male and female ensemble roles.