Exploring the”Rise and Fall” of the town of Picher is one team of researchers mission this week.

Step by step a research team is working to uncover the 95 year history of the town of Picher. 
 “People walked through all of these things and people lived here there chimney is still up..you can see the doorway that somebody entered a million times but there just not there anymore.” said Lauren Pelaia, The Picher Project Music and Lyrics
The group traveled all the way from New York City to perform research for a musical production “The Picher Project” that will debut in December. 
Director and Writer Quentin Madia spearheaded the project and says he was inspired to make the piece after viewing a hauting portrait of the town. 
  Madia is hoping the Picher Poject will bring justice to the people of Picher driven out due to lead and zinc mining .
   This week the group will be in the Four State Area conducting research with environmentalists, and tribes who have played a part in the story. 
   The musical will pay tribute to those affected. 
“Probably one of our strongest themes is children and the effects that lead and zinc had on them and them being able to grow up here in Picher and what that did to the rest of our lives.” said Quentin Madia, The Picher Project Director/Writer
The musical componentes of the piece will allow audiences to feel the story in a different way. 
” There’s such strong passion and emotion in everybody that has lived here and continues to live in the Tar Creek Region and hearing them speak and hearing the stories they have gone throughout there emotions are just too much to capture in words they just have to be a melody.” said  Lauren Pelaia, The Picher Project Music and Lyrics
Leaving an impact is one of their biggest wishes of the project. 
” I think one of the most shocking things is that when we bring this project up to people that nobody knows about” ” To show that humanity that existed in Picher but to kind of act as a forewarning to say we are not taking good care of this earth and bad things are happening because of it.” said Alex Knezevic, The Picher Project, Musical Composer 
In picher, Autumn Bracey, Action 12 news.

   The team will also have a special showing of their production at the NEO Music buidling on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. 
   While they are visiting the Four State Area, they are asking if any former residents of Picher are willing to tell their story to help them in their creative process of the production.
   If you are interested in doing so you can email them at thepicherproject@gmail.com