Only at Western

Western Wyoming Community College Theatre and Dance Department will be opening their first production of the New Year with a student directed play, Kindertransport, on Friday January 27, 2012.  The show will run January 27, 28, and February 3 & 4 at 7:30 pm in the WWCC Theater.

Written by Diane Samuels, Kindertransport, was inspired by the real-life evacuation of 10,000 Jewish children from pre-war Nazi Germany and their subsequent placement in English foster homes. This show tells the heart-wrenching story of a Jewish mother who sends her 9-year-old daughter, Evelyn, on a train to England in order to save her from the Nazis. The young girl grows up and as time passes her memories fade. Forty years later, the daughter, now a British citizen and mother, is forced to confront her painful past in order to create a better future for her own daughter. The story simultaneously depicts two eras in the woman’s life. Evelyn has spent a lifetime reinventing herself so as to obscure a painful past that includes the loss of her parents and other traumatic hardships. In an emotional journey, inspired by her daughter, Evelyn steadily deconstructs the "Memory Lane" she has built to bypass her former life.

Kindertransport is directed by WWCC student, Briana Bedore. When asked about her experience, Briana replied that she really enjoys working with her peers on this project because they help inspire her to make different artistic choices. Briana has a deep connection to this play and explains more in depth about it. “This show is predominantly about two things: dealing with the past, specifically the Holocaust in the context of the show, and the relationship between mothers and daughters. Last semester, I took the Holocaust course offered here at Western. It was a beautiful life-changing experience and I was really excited to share my knowledge and passion for the subject with my fellow students. Along with that, my relationship with my mom is also very important and I immediately connected to this play, not only mentally and emotionally but artistically.”

Colin Doxey is one of three men playing the part of the “Ratcatchers”. While participating in this production, Colin has personally had his mind opened to many new things. “This show has opened up my thoughts about how people deal with their pasts; whether they run from it, follow it, or feel like they are part of it. They must deal with their pasts whether they want to face it or not. Bri, our director, is very discussion oriented which means we talk about the play a lot. It is interesting to hear the other cast member’s answers as well as discover my own. I have discovered that I deal with my past by I learning from it, letting it shape me, but by not being part of it. It’s behind me, it’s not who I am now."

Gloria Morin, a Green River, WY native, has learned more about herself while dong this show and realized that she connects to this play on a deeper level. She explains, “I love my childhood. One of my desires is to never stop being a child. Not in the sense that I never want to grow up, I just don’t ever want to lose my childlike fun, spontaneity and careless persona. This show is about Eva trying to find out who she is and trying to discover things. She changes her name in the show to Evelyn in order to cope with her childhood. I relate to that right now at this point of my life because I am trying to discover who I am and put pieces together in my own life.”

Kindertransport is a moving story that shows how the past influences the present and the future. Director Briana Bedore concludes, “If we are afraid of our past and allow it to haunt and hurt us then it can and that gives it power to affect us and cause us harm. But if we are more willing to accept ourselves in all tenses that we live in, then we can come to appreciate more fully, everything that we experience and pass those experiences along to the rest of our family and those that love us.”

Come and experience, first hand, this touching story of the life led by a victim of World War II. Content is appropriate for all ages but subject matter is heavy so we recommend ages 12 and up, but all children over the age of 5 are admitted. For questions and tickets please visit: www.wwcc.wy.edu/academics/theatre/tickets.htm or call the theatre office at (307)382-1721.