Morgan High

Morgan High was a locally-produced television drama which aired on Birmingham Cable Channel 7 in September 1981. The program, aimed at teenagers, was created by social worker Lesley Whitson. Patterned after All My Children, the plot incorporated "teen traumas" including drugs, sex, and peer pressure.

Whitson conceived of producing a television program while working on her PhD at the University of Alabama, and pursued the project as part of her dissertation. The setting for Whitson's drama was the fictional "Morgan High School", described as an experimental private school where students are responsible for the code of conduct.

Whitson and her husband, Willard, an artist and designer on staff at the Red Mountain Museum, enrolled in a television production course taught by Samuel Lilly. She wrote a script, recruited 25 volunteer cast members, and put together a budget of $100, which was collected through donations from people involved in the project. Lilly helped with the technical elements of the production.

Willard Whitson directed the production, holding rehearsals in the party room at their apartment complex and taping the show at Birmingham Cable's public access studio at 6429 1st Avenue North. It aired on the evening of Thursday September 3 and again on the afternoon of Sunday September 6.

References

• Sanders, Carl Jr (August 24, 1981) "TV soap opera aims at telling teens others have problems, too" The Birmingham News - via Birmingham Public Library Digital Collections