DEAD
MAN WALKING has a way of stirring up community engagement in the issues surrounding
capital punishment. Below are some examples of outreach in the local community.
Send us the stories of the way your campus involved
the larger community beyond the campus.
University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls/Waterloo
hosted a workshop during the time of their play production in February 2006
entitled "Theatre for Community and Change." Community and
church leaders, juvenile justice workers,and other community activists were
invited to participate in this unique workshop led by Michael Keck, a New
York artist/actor and activist. Michael spoke about his work with the
incarcerated and their families by using the medium of theatre to awaken insights
an communication with one another. The group then engaged in small groups
to create theatre.
Western Michigan University
The Survivors of Violence Committee hosted a Healing Service on February 19,
2006 in conjunction with the performance of "Dead Man Walking" at
Western Michigan University. Members of the SOV committee also participated
in discussions after each performance of the play. A strong partner
in these community events has been the Sisters of St Joseph of Nazareth, MI.
Elms College in Chicopee, MA
Elms College in Chicopee, MA produced the DEAD MAN WALKING play in early December,
2005. One of the performances took place on the evening of Dec. 1 when
the state of North Carolina carried out the 1000th execution in the US since
the death penalty was restored in 1974. The students decided to make
this number real to their college and local communty by building a 1000 small
wooden crosses, each with a name of an executed person. They placed the crosses
in the grounds between the administration building and the street. The
sight of these 1000 crosses was powerful enough but in the middle of the night
over 45 of the crosses had plastic covered papers taped to them describing
the violent crime of the executed killer. The discourse on the death
penalty was alive and very visible at Elms College.
It was a spectacular sight for the entire campus and surrounding community.
Following the production of the play on December 1st the audience were invited
to join in a vigil outside the auditorium to reflect upon the significance
of this particular execution. What does it reflect about who we are as a nation?
Napa Valley College, Napa, CA
Because Napa Valley College is situated in a rural county the play organizers
decided to take their production of DEAD MAN WALKING on a walk through their
famous wine valley to any school that invited them to perform the play. Their
road show production consisted of a cast of 12, a large canvas backdrop with
a painted scene portraying elements of the story, and a few black cubes for
the staging.
On April 11, 2006, the first performance was done at their home campus theatre.
Then word was sent out to all the schools in the valley that the play was
available to them upon request. Bookings immediately came in from high schools
and junior highs across the valley. Because of this county-wide outreach the
local community became very involved in the Play Project at all levels, i.e.
community theatres, churches, and a variety of community based organizations.
The final production of the play was performed in a local church in Napa so
that more people would be able to see the play.
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Dead Man Walking School Theatre Project.
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