Dead Man Walking School Theatre Project
April 30, 2013
MADP Board Report
Past Productions:
Jan 24-26—St. Francis Borgia Regional HS; Washington, MO
Feb 7-9—St. Joseph’s Academy; St. Louis, MO
Feb 28, Mar 1-3—Trinity Valley School; Fort Worth, TX
Mar 13-14 Martin Methodist University; Pulaski, TN (One Act)
Mar 14-17—Mayfield Senior School; Pasadena, CA
Mar 14-17—St. Thomas Aquinas High School; Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Apr 11-13, 18-20—St. Michael’s College; Colchester, VT
“The students did a great job and honestly it was probably the best show I’ve directed in
16 years of working with high school kids!”- Gene Sessa, Director
“I cannot overstate the impact that doing this play will have on the lives of the actors
and their audiences. It was remarkably even- handed while at the same time putting the
audience through some very uncomfortable situations. To have students that are truly on
the brink of adulthood addressing such a significant issue will have ripple effects
throughout their lives and those that they interact with. The fact that they are confronting
these issues while on stage with fellow students, seeing the anguish on the faces of their
friends portraying the parents, the terror in the voices of Hope and Walter and the
extinguishing of the life of Matt will stay with them for the rest of their lives. “- Mother of
student who played Lucille Poncelet
“It was intense, moving, thought-provoking production that, I hope, will change how we
view theatre at St. Thomas Aquinas High School. “- Jerry Seeger, Director
Upcoming Productions:
May—Brother Martin High School; New Orleans, LA
2013-2014 Productions:
University of Louisville
Unitarian-Universalist Church- Durham, NC (One Act)
After viewing a reading of the one act version of the play at DePaul University, Tim
Robbins requested that we no longer offer it as an option. I will remove the one act from
the play project website, but I must request that we allow church groups that have already
sent in their forms to quietly complete their productions.
Since the last board meeting, I have sent 20 information packets to interested schools. I
have sent 300 postcards to schools in CA, CO, DE, MD, MT, GA, and FL (TX in the next
week). The postcards were sent directly to the theatre Director, and all contact
information (Name, address, email, phone number) has been entered into a new database.
The cards contain a QR code that, when scanned from a smart phone, take users directly
to the Play Project webpage. I will keep track of the return on the postcards.
The Ignatian Solidarity Network has been very supportive of the project, and has been
sure to include information about it as they publicize the award that Helen will receive
next week. It has been great to connect with ISN, and I have appreciated the attention
they have given us on social media sites. I did a video blog with ISN about Helen and the
project in March:
http://ignatiansolidarity.net/blog/2013/03/13/dead-man-walking/
Fetzer Intsitute Update:
Trinity Valley School, Mayfield Senior School, St. Thomas Aquinas, and St. Michael’s
College are all participating in our study with the Fetzer Institute. Audience members at
Mayfield, St. Thomas, and St. Michael’s completed post-performance surveys that ask
the following quantitative questions:
1. Please describe your stance on the death penalty before viewing today’s
production.
2. 2. Did the play make you evaluate your stance on the death penalty?
3. How did the play have an effect on your stance on the death penalty?
4. If an initiative to replace the death penalty with life sentences without the
possibility of parole was put on the next ballot, how would you vote? If you are
not of voting age, answer as if you would be 18 before the next election.
5. Had you heard about “Dead Man Walking” before seeing today’s production?
The results from these questions will be included in our final report to Fetzer.
I sent a list of reflection questions to all of the schools, and the responses are slowly
rolling in.
Mayfield Senior School, which produced the female version of the play, student’s
responses can be seen on our new blog:
http://www.dmwplay.org/blog director
To date, we have completed milestones for $35,000 of the $50,000 agreement with
Fetzer. These milestones include high school curriculum lesson plans (68 pages- see
attachment), and an interim report on initial findings (18 pages- see attachment). Once
we get final approval from Fetzer, the lesson plans can be made available through our
website and CMN.
Ihave requested a combination of the final two milestones from Fetzer (June 15 and
October 14, currently) to June 30. This will include our final report about the power of
DMW in exploring the values of Love and Forgiveness in our world, as well as all final
financial reporting.
As I have mentioned before, our partnership with Fetzer is not only about funding; it is
about exploring the transformative power of theatre arts. The responses that are coming
in from students, parents, and teachers speak to this very clearly. We have often said that
the experience can be life-changing, and we will now have the data and responses that
show it. I have established protocol to gather this information through the
research/journal questions that I developed, and have created a platform (the blog) to
share. I hope that the Play Project can continue to encourage students, audiences, and
directors to share their feelings about the transformative power of the arts. There is value
in continuing the “data collection” component of our Fetzer partnership.
Fetzer will be entering a funding moratorium and is going to take time to sift through the
findings of their various partner projects. There is a possibility that they may return to
our project in the future, but I (and Fetzer) do not know what that may look like. I will
do my best to facilitate a relationship between the new director and Fetzer before I leave
at the end of June.
Transition:
As the play project moves to DePaul, my time as the national coordinator will come to an
end on June 30. I will be available to travel to Chicago in early July, but my hope is to
transition as many materials and protocols over to DePaul before then. I found it
difficult to learn from Steven without all of the materials (computer, phone, email
access), so I hope we can make this transition more efficient. I have plans to scan all of
the files in the file cabinet (many from Maureen) in hopes that I can send them to DePaul
digitally or on a thumb drive before I need to send the computer.
I will send an inventory (of books, scripts, flyers, postcards, bookmarks, brochures, etc)
early next week. I wonder which pieces of equipment (computer, laser printer, inkjet
printer, phone, paper files) DePaul will want or need. I hope we can make the transition
timely and efficient.
I will be forever grateful for the opportunity I have had to run this special project for the
last 2 years. I am glad to have gotten to know you, and I am honored to have been a part
of this ministry.
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