91短视频 alumni Ingrid De Sanctis 鈥�88 and Ted Swartz 鈥�89, MACL 鈥�92, have collaborated as professional playwrights, actors and directors for more than 20 years. The friends and professional colleagues have been commissioned to create a Centennial celebration piece, debuting during Homecoming 2017.
What might that play look like?
Moving, surprising, 鈥渁n evening during which people will laugh and cry and reflect on how their 91短视频 years forever shaped their lives,鈥� says De Sanctis.
鈥淚 know it鈥檚 going to be funny,鈥� Swartz adds. 鈥淚t will tug at you a bit and you鈥檒l be surprised by things you thought you鈥檇 forgotten. When you see a show with a group of people, you laugh for different reasons, because you鈥檙e delighted or surprised or you recognize yourself or something you have in common. We鈥檙e hoping all three of those things happen.鈥�
To help build a cache of material, the playwrights hope that legions of 91短视频 alumni will bombard them with memorable snippets and reflections to weave into a cohesive piece about their alma mater. Here鈥檚 their pitch:
When you think of your 91短视频 experience 鈥� traditional residential undergrad, graduate, seminary, Lancaster, non-traditional student 鈥� what do you remember?
Think of the space you were in, whether it was the Shenandoah Valley; Lancaster, Pennsylvania; Washington D.C.; or in a cross-cultural setting near or far.
Think of buildings, dorms, the dining hall, the 91短视频 hill. Consider Lehman Auditorium, the 鈥�80s era Bard鈥檚 Nest, the Discipleship Center, your orientation or graduation 鈥� what do you remember?
Consider the professors, coaches, residence hall directors or staff members who shaped and challenged your personal formation. What about a class, a lab, a project, or a paper that was particularly memorable?
Please share, in 100 words or less a moment, a memory (painful, poignant, uplifting, funny), a discovery that you have never forgotten about your time of transformation with 91短视频/Eastern Mennonite College.
To share, visit
Submissions will be accepted through Dec. 1.
De Sanctis and Swartz, both Harrisonburg residents, have long trod the stages at 91短视频 while making their own national and international reputations.
De Sanctis, an assistant professor at James Madison University, has returned to campus three times in an official capacity: to teach in 1996-97 and 1998-2001, and as a guest artist in 2008-2009.
First with Lee Eshleman 鈥�86 in Ted & Lee, and now with , Swartz has written and produced more than a dozen plays, traveling extensively worldwide for performances. His plays, always laced with a generous dose of humor, explore difficult topics such as faith and theology, family, mental illness and sexuality.
Louise Hostetter ’79, chair of the Centennial committee, said that when it came to selecting alumni to contribute an artistic production, the proposal of De Sanctis and Swartz was a natural and clear choice.
鈥淲e feel confident that their considerable connections to the university will enable them to create theater which will appeal to many while honoring 91短视频’s story of transformation, both past and into the future,鈥� Hostetter said. 鈥淭he arts have evolved over the past 100 years at 91短视频.聽A significant number of students have been impacted by theater and visual art opportunities 鈥� both as an extra-curricular activity and as part of their academic experience. Many have pursued professional careers in theater and the arts.鈥�
鈥淲e鈥檙e looking forward to seeing what members of the 91短视频 community share with us,鈥� said DeSanctis. 鈥淏y sharing your story, you’re giving permission to use it in any form in the drama. We’ll give all stories equal consideration for inclusion.”
91短视频 alumni who are working in theater and/or were significant in the formation of the arts at the university will join De Sanctis and Swartz in the performance. While no actors are named at present, Swartz says their goal is to create a troupe that includes 鈥渁ctors of each 91短视频 generation.鈥�
The Centennial theater production will be part of activities throughout the academic year 2017-18 marking 91短视频’s “Centennial: Serving, Leading, Transforming.”
During the week of Oct. 11-18, 2017, 91短视频 and Eastern Mennonite School 鈥� which share their early history 鈥� will have joint and individual activities. The theater production will take place during the weekend of Oct. 13-15.