The Maelstrom: A play against genocide [abstract]

Abstract

The Darfur Conflict has been addressed at length, but the majority of the public seems to be unaware the significance these acts of inhumanity have on a global psyche. The time for reflection and action is now, while the crisis is ongoing in order to alleviate the situation. Picking up the pieces from the fallout of human life is too little and too late. The United Nations has estimated that nearly 500,000 persons in the Darfur region of Sudan have been left dead from genocidal acts. 2.5 million people have been displaced, yet the majority of the American public doesn't know the extent of the current-day tragedy. At the least, this project, “The Maelstrom: A Play Against Genocide” will help students at the University of Missouri-Columbia understand the sheer inhumanity of such conflicts. It is similarly vital that our nation's public understand the acute implications violent action has on the lives and psychologies of individuals. A play is unique in the sense that it makes any issue represented, real and present. Theatrical productions force an audience to be involved with the situations on stage, because the events (as fictitious or true as they may be) are happening to real people. “The Maelstrom: A Play Against Genocide” will make the conflict in Darfur present and visceral, so that a modern-day audience will gain understanding of the complex emotions behind such an event and the impact it has on a political, cultural, and personal scale. This play serves to connect the audience with the immediacy of this horrific conflict, and hopefully move them to action. It seeks to translate to the public a slice of this genocide in an accessible form, so that everyday people will be moved by compassion, and seek to eliminate prejudicial hate on a local and global stage.