'Walking' presents social issues

By Andrea Ragni

Friday's premiere of "Dead Man Walking," will join Santa Clara with Jesuit schools across the country in promoting social justice. The ethics of capital punishment will be brought before the Santa Clara community in Tim Robbins' adaptation of his 1995 screenplay.

The play is presented under the direction of theater and dance department chair Barbara M. Fraser and student directors, junior Jenn Bevard and senior Claire Larson. Bevard took on this project because of her interest in working on social justice projects, while Larson is completing this production for her senior project.

"Dead Man Walking" was first a book written by Sister Helen Prejean. It is story of her relationship with death row inmate Matthew Poncelet which was sparked by a letter he wrote. She helped hire an anti-death penalty lawyer, and after many legal maneuvers went unrewarded, she acted as Poncelet's spiritual advisor and a supporter for the families of his victims.

This book moved Robbins to write a screenplay, which he converted for the stage. Before it's released in the professional world, Robbins has allowed it to be performed at Jesuit universities, colleges and high schools.

Robbins requested that participation in the production be accompanied by an educational component. The Santa Clara cast paid particular attention to the January execution of Donald Beardslee at San Quentin State Prison. Robbins also suggested that as many academic departments as possible be involved in a discussion on the death penalty following the performances.

At Santa Clara, the project is a joint effort between the department of theater and dance and the law school, with funding from the Bannan Center for Jesuit Education. Ellen Kreitzberg, a professor at the law school and director of the school's Death Penalty College, formed a panel for discussion after each show.

"Ellen and I wrote a grant because initially 'Dead Man Walking' was not a scheduled part of the performing arts season," Fraser said. "The money from the Bannan Center allows us to pay for the speakers and the production as a whole."

Past shows, such as "Barred from Life" and "Breast Entanglements," have done more than entertain, they have educated on social issues. Fraser says the community has been supportive of such performances, which she finds encouraging.

This year, "Dead Man Walking" will replace the annual One-Act Festival. The Festival was scheduled for the same weekend, but Fraser found that few student directors would have participated if both events had taken place.

After each performance the panel will include speakers Billy Moore, Tammy Krause and Joy Sojoodi. Sunday's panel will also include Prejean. Moore was a death row inmate who was within 20 hours of execution when his sentence was commuted to life. He was later released on parole, became a minister and now speaks to groups about his life on death row.

"Billy is living proof that someone is more than the worst thing they have ever done in their lives," Kreitzberg said.

Krause is a victim outreach specialist who helps families of murder victims through the criminal process. She has worked on such cases as the Oklahoma City bombing and the Yosemite killings.

Sojoodi is a member of Murder Victims' Families for Reconciliation, a death penalty abolition group, and speaks about finding comfort and forgiveness without an execution when her parents were murdered 10 years ago.

"Each panelist brings a unique perspective on the question of the death penalty and its use," Kreitzberg said. "Each will bring this background to the audience and, hopefully, engage the audience in a conversation about the many facets of capital punishment."

In using a play as a medium for discourse on the death penalty, the community can see the issue in a different light.

"Often, through art, we can better evaluate controversial political and social issues in a way that just discourse does not allow. Here [with the play] we are combining the two," Kreitzberg said.

Fraser says combining the play with the panel directly afterward helps give the audience a starting point. She expects the performance to evoke questions and ideas that can be answered by the panel.

Fraser hopes the production challenges the community to think about the death penalty, which isn't simple. "This is the theater I like to do. There is more to it than entertainment, it challenges values and makes you think," Fraser said.

The play premieres Friday at 7 p.m. in the Fess Parker Studio Theatre. It will continue Saturday and Sunday at 2 and 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday tickets are $14 for general admission, $12 for faculty and staff and $5 for students. Sunday, tickets are $12, $10 and $5. There will be a reception on Sunday at 6 p.m. in honor of Prejean.

* Contact Andrea Ragni at (408) 554-4546 or aragni@scu.edu.