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Bay Creek
By The Miller Conspiracy
Written by Derek Lee Miller
Playing at
Show Description
Four generations of smugglers from the river bottoms of Pike County, IL deal with their legacy of violence and crime, and the terrifying entity they accidentally smuggled over the veil from the other side.
Genre and Content
Content Warnings
The creators say this show is appropriate for ages 16 and up
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Seat Reservations and Show Tickets
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Video Trailer
Cast and Crew
Derek Lee Miller
writer/performerDerek is a long-time Fringe performer now on his 22nd year in a row at Minnesota Fringe, where he has been an actor, writer, designer, musician and whatever else needs to be done to make the show happen. You may have seen him at Fringe with Sandbox Theatre in June of Arc and Marie-Jeanne Valet, Who Defeated la Bete du Gevaudan; with Transatlantic Love Affair in Ballad of the Pale Fisherman, Ash Land, Red Resurrected, These Old Shoes,105 Proof and 5x5; with The Winding Sheet Outfit in Blood Nocturne, You Are Cordially Invited to the Life and Death of Edward Lear, Stabby Stab Stab, Årsgång and The Spirit Moves You to Color the Unseen, or in his solo shows Know Your B-Movie Actors and The Banana Wars. You can also catch him again at this year's festival in A Confluence of Magical Arseholes
Originally from Pike County in west central Illinois, Derek earned a BFA in acting from Millikin University, and has been a resident of the Twin Cities since 2003. He is the former Artistic Director of Sandbox Theatre and a founding ensemble member of Transatlantic Love Affair. He also illustrated the children's book The Princess in the Clouds. You can see more about what Derek has gotten up to in the past at derekleemiller.com, and if you want to know what he's doing when he's not on stage, you can follow along as he continues to build an overly-complicated cabin in the woods at The Birchlands
Rob Ward
voiceRob Ward is an award winning actor, playwright, and choreographer who has been a part of the Twin Cities theater scene since 2013. Rob has worked several local companies including Open Window Theatre, Sidekick Theater, Oncoming Productions, Mindless Mirth, Frosted Glass Creative, The Old Gem Theater, and Actors Theater of MN. Rob is also a frequent performer at the Minnesota Fringe Festival. His one-man shows, How To Kill A Horse! and Welcome To The Food Chain won a "Minnesota Fringe Golden Lanyard" and the "World Crime League’s Most Diabolical Show at Fringe" awards in 2023 and 2024 respectively. You can also see him onstage at this year's festival in The Lousiest Werewolves: Mania in the Moonlight. Additionally, Rob has acted in film, television, music videos, web series, and podcasts. He is also the author of the sci-fi crime novel, Click. Learn more at RobWardCreative.com.
More Information
Bay Creek premiered at the 2025 Green Bay Fringe, where it won that festival's "Boomerang Award." It subsequently appeared at the 2025 Elgin Fringe and the 2025 Twin Cities Horror Festival.
"Miller is never less than completely hypnotizing" - The Stages of MN
"This is a good old-fashioned ghost story, brilliantly written and performed by Derek Lee Miller." - Cherry and Spoon
Audience member reviews from past performances:
"Horror story at its best! Derek had me in the palm of his hand."
"Derek Lee Miller is a VOICE and a PRESENCE."
"Whoa. An amazing performance for a dark tale."
"Truly unsettling and riveting... will have you on the edge of your seat."
"A must-see for horror and true crime fans! Fantastic acting and good scares!"
"I was blown away by this show. So well written and acted."
"Dark and amazing. He's an incredible storyteller."
Bay Creek is a work of fiction, but Pike County, Illinois is a real place. I'm from there. No, it's not anywhere near Chicago. According to family lore, my great-grandfather really did smuggle liquor across the Mississippi River. There are signs on some river bridges really warning that smuggling cigarettes across state lines is a crime. There really was a very public shooting in a cafe in Pittsfield back in the '50s. My dad really did once tell me "There's bodies buried out in those fields they'll never find." My mom says she really has seen ghosts. A lot of people in Pike County will tell you the same. That being said, this play is entirely a work of fiction. Really.
To get a flavor of the kinds of supernatural stories people down there tell, I would recommend reading Legends and Lore of Southern Illinois by John W. Allen, but I fear I may be one of the few people left with a physical copy.
