St. Edward’s University Students Perform Rachel’s Words
Drama students students perform reading at Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest
By Karen Hartwell, ICPR member
On March 30, the Interfaith Community for Palestinian Rights (ICPR) in Austin, Texas, approached St. Edward’s University Drama Department to ask if their students would be interested in performing Rachel’s Words as part of a Palestinian film festival. The Artistic Director of the Mary Moody Northen Theatre and member of the drama faculty, made inquiries, and senior Dana Dixon was selected to direct four other students as readers. The practices were challenging for the students, who had little previous knowledge of the embattled Palestine or of Rachel Corrie.
Their performance followed a clip from the film “The Killing Zone” ending with Rachel Corrie’s death. The director did an excellent job of staging the performance. The readers, dressed in black shirts and jeans and wearing a green Rachel Corrie bracelet, moved toward and away from one another as they alternately read, creating a shared identity among them as Rachel. For the email from the IDF refuser, they stood soldier-like at attention. At the end of Rachel’s last email to her father, they came together, clasped hands as they quietly said in unison, “Rachel.” An audience of about 50 were quite touched, many with tears in their eyes. Two people later talked with the students about performing the readings again at their churches.
After the performance we distributed the Rachel Corrie bracelets your organization provided and a beautiful “Rachel, we won’t forget you” card published by If Americans Knew. We also had a Q&A session following the performance where we were able to share more information about Rachel Corrie, your organization, the work of the Corries in home rebuilding, etc.
Pictured above are the readers with the director standing between them. The performers are, from left to right: Erin Marie Opperman, junior, from LeGrange, Texas; Lena Assaf, sophomore Mineola, Texas; Dana Dixon, director, a senior from Burkburnett, Texas, who previously trained at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York; Maria Maella, junior from Bolivia; Tamekia Jackson, a junior from Houston.
Many thanks to Rachel’s Words for your assistance during the past year and for all the work you do to spread the inspiring words of Rachel Corrie.
