The Play Project at Adams State College went well beyond the
production of the play and impacted a very large audience.
Organizers at ASC began their planning and work on the Play Project early
in the fall semester 2005. From the beginning they cast a wide net to involve
the larger community in the project—establishing book clubs to read
and discuss Sister Helen's book DEAD MAN WALKING; inviting area artists to
prepare works for a spring art exhibit on the themes of justice, forgiveness,
redemption; inviting area churches to explore these topics within their congregations;
organizing a debate, a symposium, and talks by Sister Helen as well as a former
death row inmate who was exonerated —all leading up to the April 2006
performances of the play. Details can be found on the ASC website: http://www2.adams.edu/deadman/
Listen to reports from Alamosa through "Community Radio by Miles Eddy"
http://radio.mileseddy.com/deadman.html
The two lead characters in Adams State’s production of DEAD MAN WALKING were brother and sister! JC Williams played Matt Poncelet and his older sister, Shelly Johnson, played Sister Helen. These already very intense and emotional roles became even more so when playing them as brother and sister. Shelly and JC both commented on how much closer they have become as adult siblings having had this unique experience of each other on stage.
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According to Dr. John Taylor, the theatre director and overall
play project coordinator, well over 25% of the San Luis Valley (100 miles
long and 75 miles wide) were directly involved in this project over many weeks
of events and news stories.
Under the guidance and creative energy of a community-wide planning
committee,
• more than 25 book clubs read and discussed DEAD MAN WALKING,
• churches incorporated the issue into their Sunday school classes,
• Adams State College hosted a Forgiveness and Reconciliation Symposium,
a debate on the death penalty, and a talk by Witness to Innocence speaker,
Ron Keine, who shared his experience being on death row.
A lunch was served by the First United Methodist Church after
their Sunda
y
service on April 23 to strategize about the impending murder trial in which
the district attorney intends to seek the death penalty for the first time
in many years. Many in this group participated in the DEAD MAN WALKING Play
Project, especially as book club members and were ever more committed to speak
out against the capital punishment in their local community.
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Dead Man Walking School Theatre Project.
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