For their Stage Direction class, Augustana Theater students have been staging a tribute to the victims of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Directed by juniors Luke and Michael Currie, both theatre arts and computer science majors, the play follows twelve individuals before, during and after the storm. This year marks the tenth anniversary of the devastating event.
The set of five plays was created by Lisa Brenner, assistant professor of Theatre Arts at Drew University and Suzanne Trauth, member of the Playwrights Theatre of New Jersey Emerging Women Playwrights program.
The pair created a script based on interviews with New Orleans residents compiled in 2007. The characters cross racial, gender, age and socioeconomic lines, portraying the many faces of those who were impacted by the storm.
The cast includes several familiar faces to the Augustana stage including: Payton Brasher, Leo Nguyen, Josh Pride, Deo Balogun, Keith Johansen, Keenan Odenkirk, Kai Steward, Lauren Davis, Tierra Watkins, Rukmini Girish, Sarah Crawford and Jessica Holzknecht.
In the attempt to portray such a momentous event in recent American history, sophomore Gbadebo Balogun said the experience is a “greater perspective on the event… we were all so young when it happened.”
In a brief synopsis of the show, junior Michael Currie describes it as “characters and their stories based on interviews with actual survivors conducted by the playwrights of this piece,” which Balogun said specifically to pay specific attention to how “each person’s life [was affected] in very different ways.”
Describing these moments as a “jarring experience for the residents of New Orleans, and it will be for the audience members as well,” Currie also said this production has led to “a few sleepless nights that we’ve had trying to make this show what we wanted it to be.”
The first performance will take place in Potter Theatre starting Feb. 7 at 7:30 p.m. The performances continue into the weekend on Feb. 8 at 7:30 p.m. and Feb. 9 at 1:30 p.m. Tickets are $5 for the general public.