BY CHRIS KENDALL
Vice President for Student Development
The decision not to allow the Veterans’ Memorial to be used as the set for Seven Jewish Children brought out passionate and differing points of view. It was a challenge to balance the views of a director creatively articulating peace through art, with concern for families and friends whose loved ones are commemorated at the Veterans’ Memorial.
I read the script of Seven Jewish Children and found it to be a meaningful and significant play. However, the Veterans’ Memorial is not a performance venue, and the play was not appropriate there. Some have thanked me and some have criticized me, but please know that this determination was made with a real effort to consider all those impacted.
It was my hope that a proposed compromise to perform the play nearby the memorial would have provided the impact desired by the director, while giving respectful space to families and friends of those honored by the memorial. The timing of the play’s relocation was regrettable. Ideally, I would have had earlier and more detailed communication with the theater department prior to the staging phase of the show. I admire and appreciate the efforts of the director and cast for reblocking the show in the 11th hour.
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