Plays about historic saints honor the memory of former student, Oct. 31-Nov. 9

Event: Goshen College fall mainstage play – "The Saint Plays" by Erik Ehn

Dates and times: Oct. 31, Nov. 1, 7, 8 at 8 p.m.; Nov. 2 and 9 at 3 p.m. The Nov. 9 performance will have ASL interpretation for the Deaf.

Location: Umble Center

Cost: $8 general admission, $5 students & seniors

For more information: To reserve tickets, call the Goshen College Welcome Center at (574) 535-7566 or e-mail welcomecenter@goshen.edu

GOSHEN, Ind. – Last fall, Goshen College student Deanne Binde performed as the lead in the college's fall mainstage play, "Step on a Crack." This fall, her very good friend Angie Noah will be performing as Binde in the fall mainstage play.

After Binde's life was cut tragically short in May 2008 when she died in a car crash while driving home to Minnesota, her death touched off a reaction that will culminate this month in the world premiere of a play written especially for her.

"The Saint Plays" by Erik Ehn are a series of six short plays that link saints from the past with ordinary people, and will be performed by the Goshen College Theater Department as a collective group Oct. 31, Nov. 1, 7, 8 at 8 p.m., and Nov. 2 and 9 at 3 p.m. in Umble Center.

Exploring the connectedness between historical saints, contemporary life, earthly existence, spirit and eternity, "The Saint Plays" are about Joan of Arc, John the Baptist, St. Eulalia and St. George who fought a dragon. In addition, Ehn wrote a special piece about St. Rose of Viterbo, one of the two saints that mark Binde's birthdate.

Binde, a junior Roman Catholic student, touched the lives of many people on campus during her years as a communication and theater major. After her death, Milne, who had taught and directed Binde, decided to stage "The Saint Plays," by Ehn, a Catholic award-winning, internationally-renowned playwright who has previously explored theatrical responses to the genocide in Rwanda and works to promote peace building through the arts.

Though Ehn, dean of the theater program at the California Institute of the Arts, did not know Binde and hadn't written a play about the saint connected with Binde's birthdate, he quickly offered to write a piece about Rose of Viterbo and Binde's life when Milne contacted him. In the play, Ehn included stories about Binde and quotes by her.

While honoring Binde through theater, her former director and fellow cast mates are finding new challenges. "Working on this play written for Deanne has been difficult. How do you cast for a play about someone you know, with people who were her friends?" said Milne. "I think Deanne would have loved this play and this process though. And without her and her spirit, this wouldn't have been possible. There are many times when we are on the stage working and I can feel and know that Deanne is still here with us."

The way that this production has come together is quite different than other mainstage productions at Goshen College. "We have been working in an incredibly ensemble-based way, with the students all pulling double or even triple duty," said Milne. "This approach resonates with our liberal arts background, as it asks students to work in teams to design the set or create movement or even choose which specific short plays we will do. They are working between disciplines and their work has been incredible."

Working on such poetic and gripping plays has expanded the cast's understanding and appreciation for Catholicism and the role of saints. "Part of what we have been learning about the saints is that they are human and are not perfect. There is brokenness and holiness in the same people," she said. "We have worked to embody that in the acting and the set as well."

And for the first time, this Goshen College production will be submitted as a "participating entry" in the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (Region III), to be held in January 2009 in Saginaw, Mich. Students have competed individually before, but a full production has never been submitted by the college. "The productions we do at Goshen College are of the caliber of other plays we've seen at KCACTF over the years," said Professor of Theater Doug Liechty Caskey, "and this production directed by Michelle Milne is no exception."

In the ensemble: Emily Bowman (Fr., Millersburg, Ind.), Alison Brookins (Soph., Verona, Wis.), Grace Eidmann (Sr., Antioch, Ill.), Disi Diaz (Jr., Berwyn, Ill.), Kelly Jean Frey (Fr., Shipshewana, Ind.), Jenna Grubaugh (Jr., Delta, British Columbia, Canada), Ben Jacobs (Sr., Goshen), Meg Kennell (Soph., Roanoke, Ill.), Stefan Kuhns (Fr., Tallahassee, Fla.), Allison Landis (Jr., Mason, Mich.), Grace Magnan (Sr., Minneapolis, Minn.), Kristina Mast (Soph., Corvallis, Ore.), Laura Nimigan (Soph., Napanee, Ontario, Canada), Angie Noah (Soph., Bay City, Mich.), Ben Noll (Sr., Lancaster, Pa.), Patrick Ressler (Soph., Lititz, Pa.), Adriel Santiago (Soph., Souderton, Pa.), Phil Stoesz (Fr., Goshen), Emily Swora (Sr., Shoreview, Minn.) and Tyler Yoder (Sr., Goshen).

Umble Center is accessible to wheelchairs and people with other physical limitations. The Nov. 9 performance will have ASL interpretation for the Deaf.

Tickets cost $8 for general admission and $5 for students and senior citizens. They can be reserved by calling the Welcome Center at (574) 535-7566 or e-mailing welcomecenter@goshen.edu. Tickets will also be available at the door 45 minutes prior to each performance.

Editors: Photographers can take play preview photos on Tuesday, Oct. 28 between 7-7:30 p.m. in Umble Center during rehearsal. For more information about this release, to request a photo or to arrange an interview, contact Goshen College News Bureau Director Jodi H. Beyeler at (574) 535-7572 or jodihb@goshen.edu.

### 

Goshen College, established in 1894, is a residential Christian liberal arts college rooted in the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition. The college's Christ-centered core values – passionate learning, global citizenship, compassionate peacemaking and servant-leadership – prepare students as leaders for the church and world. Recognized for its unique Study-Service Term program, Goshen has earned citations of excellence in Barron's Best Buys in Education, "Colleges of Distinction," "Making a Difference College Guide" and U.S.News & World Report's "America's Best Colleges" edition, which named Goshen a "least debt college." Visit www.goshen.edu.