On Oct. 25, the 11th-grade class of High Tech High International took a field trip to see a play by Mia McCullough about the Lost Boys of Sudan called “Since Africa.” The Mo’olelo Performing Arts Company in collaboration with Young Audiences of San Diego hosted this special engagement just for the students.
The field trip was part of their playwriting project called “Scenes from a Nation: The American Dream.” The class project consists of putting together a 15- to 20-minute one-act play relating to the hardships, struggles or experiences immigrants face when migrating to America.
The 95 students will partner up to write several plays and pick the best four to be produced and performed before the entire school and community. The project is designed to give the students a full learning experience that becomes more than just school work. According to 11th-grade humanities teacher Michelle Pledger, the project incorporates a multi-faceted, comprehensive learning experience in which students will learn skills such as writing character biographies, cultural research skills and hands-on theater production.
“They are such a diverse group of students. I felt like they could identify with at least one of the issues going on in the play” Pledger said as she and her students left the theater. “They’re all real excited about writing their own plays and have ideas.”
This is also the second year Pledger and High Tech High International have collaborated with Young Audiences of San Diego. Last year, students saw “Piece of My Heart,” a play about the Vietnam war.
This year’s selection, “Since Africa,” illustrates the struggles of one Lost Boy of Sudan as he comes to terms with the reality of attaining the American Dream. The play elegantly touches on sensitive issues such as cultural identity, racism, assimilation and genocide. Through complex characterizations, the play reaches to the core of these issues while circumventing the stereotypical arguments and presenting more nuanced views based on the characters’ life experiences.
The play is based on the book “They Poured Fire On Us from the Sky.” Co-written by Alephonsion Awer Deng, one of the Lost Boys of Sudan, the book brings to light the devastating effects of genocide on a people and culture. According to his mini-biography in the play’s program, Awer Deng’s village was stormed by government troops when he was 7 years old. He fled to Kakuma refugee camp after surviving near starvation, wild animals and war.
Under the direction of Seema Sueko, Awer Deng plays the main character, Ater, and leads a talented cast, including Rosina Reynolds as Diane, Erika Beth Phillips as Eve, Mark Christopher Lawrence as Deacon Reggie, and Nyeda Lane as the living Statue.
After the play, the cast engaged the students in a discussion about the concept of home and the “American Dream.” The High Tech High International students were only too eager to share their ideas and conclusions about the issues and messages conveyed in the production, though they produced no real clear definitive answers to abstract, subjective questions.
After the discussion, one student left with an inclusive perception of the relationships between people from different cultural backgrounds.
“Being an American is about diversity. We’re all Americans. We’re all accepted. It’s us,” said 11th-grader Amber Frederiksen.
Young Audiences of San Diego (YASD) has been bringing current events and education to high schools across San Diego for 43 years. YASD brings students from high schools and middle schools from all over San Diego County to learn about the American literature theme of the American dream, said Executive Director Hillard Harper. The group is part of a national network of chapters and affiliates that bring professional artists and students together to “inspire, motivate and challenge” students to reach their full potential, Harper said.
“The best part of this job [is] going out to the school to see a performance and see the kids create their own art or experiences,” said Harper, who has been with the organization for 17 years.
Sueko and the Mo’olelo Performing Arts Company has partnered with the international rescue committees’ Students Plus Program and the San Diego City Library to work on a project called “My Home,” which teaches literacy through theater to approximately 20 refugee students at Crawford High School, Sueko said.
“Whether you’re a refugee or you’ve been living in this country for multiple generations, I think its something inherent in us. We all sort of search for where we’ve been home,” Sueko said.