I wonder who I am to be making a speech
about anything not alone theater and
social change I don’t think that I have
directed enough shows taught enough
classes had a legitimate enough acting
directing career or actually I don’t
think I’m smart enough to be talking
about any of this and also hi I don’t
like change I like to hide I like to
pretend that everything is OK especially
when things are hitting the fan
especially when things are outside of my
control
raise your hand if you can relate yeah I
became crazy passionate about a play a
play that spoke to me in this time of
political unrest a play that is about
doing the unthinkable when thing hits
the fan not because it’s easy but
because but because a human life is
worth saving this play showed me a lot
it showed me that I might not be the
person to go out and protest I might not
be the person to get angry and write
hundreds of emails to my representative
but I am the person to fall in love with
the story become so passionate about it
that I demand that the Kent State School
of Theatre and dance season selection
committee choose it and do it and
furthermore I demand that I direct it it
started in 2015 I was actually the chair
of the Kent State School of the interns
the season selection committee and I was
listening to NPR and there was a
conversation about whether or not the
United States should take in Syrian
refugees does this sound familiar later
that day I went back to my office and I
read a play called Irina’s vow by Dan
Gordon this play is about Irina gute a
17 year old Catholic girl who saved 13
Jews by housing him in the basement of
the German Nazi commandant that she
worked for Irina witnessed first hand
the mass genocide of Jews in a Polish
ghetto and when she saw this she vowed
that she would save anyone that she
could
one day a character in play named Helen
came to her and begged her to take in
her husband who was also a Jew Irina and
the eleven Jews already in hiding
realized that they had to take him in
during the NPR radio program there was a
conversation and they were letting us
know that the United States had denied
and did not take Anne Frank’s family in
after reading the play I realized that
we as people and the United States have
not learned to take care of a fellow
human man and I stormed into that
meeting and I said that it was our more
responsibility to do this play because
the message of this play was needed now
more than ever and the crazy thing is is
when I picked this play back in 2015 I
had no idea how poignant the
conversation would be to the current
political times when it was produced and
performed in October of 2016 because you
know what the message of this play is
one of hope change how one person can
make a difference and how it is our job
as humans to take care of each other
regardless of nationality religion
sexual orientation or color doing this
play reminded me the theater has the
power to be a mirror to society
and can raise questions about actions of
governments groups of people and
individuals it can give voice to the
voiceless unveiled truths forgotten and
can challenge the way things have always
been done theater not only has the
potential to spark conversation and
investigation of a given content of a
play or musical but it can take it a
step further and create awareness that
can lead to change and action and these
actions have been small some inspired by
love and hopeful other actions have been
riotous theater that inspires change has
its roots in the ancient plays of the
Romans and the Greeks an Elizabethan
time Shakespeare was right with
political commentary early real is
was created by authors who challenged
the political and social norms in the
earliest 20th century arge was creating
such a splash that riots broke out the
play the Playboy of the Western world
incited a riot in Dublin in 1907 because
it was offensive to public morale
Daniel lubbers opera la Muette de port
Ichi ended up creating a riot because
its plot was about how the common people
stood up against a tyrannical ruler and
in America in 1937 the musical Creed of
Iraq was shut down because its pro-union
plot was too radical but with the help
of the common people it was found they
wait they found a way to perform it
anyway theater within the last 30 years
has continued to create change plays
such as Tony Kushner’s Angels in America
has humanized the gay experience and
brought to light the AIDS epidemic Eve
Ensler’s play The Vagina Monologues has
raised over a hundred million dollars to
end violence against women and girls
through benefit performances currently
Hamilton is inspiring people to end
stand up for immigration and race there
are also documented cases where high
school teachers are using it to get
their students interested in history I
truly believe the theatre can in science
spire change on the macro scale like
Hamilton but but also on the micro like
a single production of a play that took
place at a university in Kent Ohio
Irina’s vow may not have inspired a riot
but like Hamilton it did inspire
critical thinking evaluations of one
owns belief and hope the impact that it
had at Kent State in October of 2016 was
unlike anything I have ever experienced
it started first with the cast in the
design team we spoke for hours about
what it meant to be a hero
but also what it meant to be a Nazi and
how we all hold the potential of both
inside of us and then it became about
the production itself in directing it I
chose to direct it in the round
allowing the audience not only to
witness the play but witness each other
witnessing the play it allowed them to
hold each other responsible not only for
what they were seeing but what they were
doing with the information received and
then it became about Jeanne Smith
Irina’s daughter back when I had gotten
the OK to direct the play in my
excitement and my research I found
Jeannie’s email through the website
about her mom I sent her this crazy
zealous email saying how excited I was
to be directing this play and she kindly
offered to come give talk backs to us
here at Kent State like she did after
every performance when it was on
Broadway in 2009 I had no idea how
powerful this was going to be after the
play Jeannie let the audience know what
Paul Harvey used to call the rest of the
story she talked about what happened to
her mom and the German commandant that
she worked for Jeanne said that when the
war was over Irina came to the United
States and chose not to speak about
anything that had happened to her until
one night in the mid-80s when she
received a phone call from a college
student who was doing a random phone
survey asking if people really believed
that the Holocaust happened or if they
just thought it was propaganda drummed
up by Jews to gain sympathy Jeanne said
that when Irina her mom got off the
phone after giving him a piece of her
mind she said quote in my remaining
silence I have let the monsters win end
quote
she said it became her mission in life
to speak to students about standing up
against bullying to speak to them about
being together to love and to forgive
overnight and throughout the run of the
show I had students and theater patrons
openly weeping before and after the show
professor who had their students come
and see the show said that they were
able to use the context of the play not
only to incite discussion regarding
World War two in the Holocaust but how
events like Syria sex trade equal rights
for race gender sexual orientation and
crimes against humanity are still
prevalent today and a student said quote
the show made you question your morals
and the way that you treat people it
made you think about current events
going on in the country and begs us not
to make the same mistake again
end quote it seemed that the show
encouraged everyone to move away from
the human capacity of cruelty and
savagery and instead focus on loving
deeper risking all for one another and
standing up for the most oppressive and
ugly situations when the show closed I
knew I was never going to be the same
the chauffeur showed me firsthand the
impact of theater the definition of
change is to make the form nature
content of something different from what
it is or from what it would have been
when left alone on this micro scale I
can’t actually honestly say that I
changed anyone in directing this play
but I can say that directing this play
has changed me and it made me take
action I have called my representative
standing up for bills and rights that I
believe in I have had in depth
conversation regarding the current
political time but most importantly I
have seen first hand that actions
inspired by love hope and forgiveness
are actually more powerful than those
made out of fear I truly believe the
theater can change and the truth is
I still might have impostor syndrome but
I know that theatre changed me and just
maybe it actually changed one student or
patron at Kent State University because
looking at arenas life we know that one
person can make a big difference thank you