Once you’ve visited a place, seen its attractions, shops and galleries – don’t you wish there was a way to see what the real stories are, behind the touristy smiles and the have-a-nice-days?

One way to do that here in Georgia is to attend a folk-life play, based on oral-histories and generally performed by the locals. Put aside, for a moment, your thoughts about amateur actors and cliché-ridden scripts. While there may be some of that in these plays, there are also often surprises, contemporary-occasionally-controversial subjects and thoroughly good performances.

Of the seven to ten plays that take place throughout the year in Georgia, Headwaters – Birth, Death and Places In-Between in Sautee-Nacoochee is one of the best. Stories from people who have lived in White, Habersham, Rabun, Stephens, Banks, Lumpkin, Union and Hall counties have been turned into scenes, monologues and songs that take the audience through years and into the lives and struggles of the real people. A midwife tells some of her experiences, a group of moonshiners work cooperatively rather than competitively and a unique character from the area confronts his past in the form of his horse – in purgatory.

This is the fourth year for Headwaters, which is performed inside the historic gym at the Sautee Nacoochee Community Center, located in Sautee Nacoochee, between Helen and Clarkesville. Written by professional writers Jo Carson and Jerry Grillo, the show is directed by Gerard Stropnicky of Bloomsburg, PA and includes choreography by Celeste Miller of Atlanta and fascinating puppetry by Lynn Jeffries, of Los Angeles. It includes both original and traditional music, directed by Brandon Nonnemaker and backed by talented local musicians, conducted by Walter Daves.

“Headwaters is a unique experience of people’s lives here in our ‘goodly portion of beautiful Northeast Georgia’,” says producer Lisa Mount. “Birth, Death and Places In-Between is filled with magical moments created with songs, stories and puppets – all proven to excite the imagination and touch the heart.”

Performances are Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings at 8 p.m. with a Sunday matinee at 2 p.m. from July 8 through 25. Tickets are $15 to $20 (earlier weekends have the lower prices.) SNCA members prices are $10 and children are $6. For more information, see www.snca.org or call 706-878-3300.

(Photos: E. Lane Gresham. Used with permission.)