TAKE ACTION - On-Campus Initiatives
The Dead Man Walking School Theatre Project is more than a performance of "Dead Man Walking." It involves other elements of campus life and learning activities in addition to drama and theatre: debates; art exhibits; symposia and special convocations; classroom explorations of ethics, the meaning of justice, the possibility of redemption; and many more.
Here are just a few of the on-campus initiatives that have been undertaken in conjunction with the production of the play. If you have a story to tell, please contact us.
Immaculata Regional High School, Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada
The first international production of "Dead Man Walking," happened in British Columbia at Immaculata Regional High School in late May 2006. The purpose behind the production of the play was to highlight a social justice issue not just in their country, but worldwide. The death penalty was explored by a student team, "Global Opportunities" (Team GO), made up of students from all grade levels. The two leaders of the team became the stage managers for the play production.
At a United Nations forum attended by Team GO members in September 2005, the issue of capital punishment was explored for nations beyond the continent. The students especially focused on children who have been convicted with death penalties for various crimes, particularly in developing nations around the world.
Excitement built around the production through the academic year, which included year-long studies of the death penalty in many classes. The local chapter of Amnesty International was invited to set up a display alongside Team GO during productions of the play.
University of the Pacific in Stockton, California
The Art Department at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California, hosted an art show featuring students' work from the spring semester on the theme of the death penalty. This art show took place on the final weekend of the play production and attended by university alumni and benefactors.
Another academic collaboration was with the school's literary and arts magazine, "Calliope." The magazine's spring issue featured works of art and poetry on the theme of "refuge and release" in conjunction with the play project. The issue was released on the weekend that Sister Helen Prejean and Sister Maureen Fenlon visited the university to attend the final performance of the play. The theatre studies class at East Union High in nearby Manteca, California, studied the "Dead Man Walking" script to coincide with the university's production of the play.
Bishop Hartley High School in Columbus, Ohio
The students at Bishop Hartley High School in Columbus, Ohio, have travelled to Southern Ohio Correctional Facility to be a prayerful witness against state sanctioned killings and then on April 10, 2006, visited their state representatives to express concerns and request a legislative change to end the death penalty.
|
