playbill vip

"On December 14, 2012, 20 children and 6 adults died in the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Following the tragedy, the community rallied together to care for and support each other as the world watched their suffering. Eric Ulloa’s documentary drama 26 Pebbles chronicles the experiences of the parents and community members of Newtown and Sandy Hook. In a series of monologues and short dialogues, they tell the story of their hometown: The experience of community events, the day of the shooting and their panic, the grief and trauma following the tragedy. Lauded for its compassion and message of healing, 26 Pebbles shows how pebbles dropped in the pond can create a ripple effect for the rest of the world." Concord Theatrics

While this may seem to be such a heavy topic for high schools to perform, it is a timely topic to explore in the safety of the theatre. In the current state of the world, the conversations we have had as a cast have led to deep discussions of "desensitization" of population in regards to serious topics as this. I thoughtful comment that was spoken "Flag is at half-mass - just another typical Tuesday." Showing how commonplace this has become in our world.  Through the rehearsal process we have discovered that this play is not at all about the incident on December 14, 2012, but about the resilience of human kind. The characters protrayed in 26 PEBBLES through this documentary-style performance are real people. Their involvement varied from first responders (Rabbi Praver) to the outside community members (Carla, Bill, Carole, and Sally), and families (Jenn and Michael/ Darren and Georgia)of students deeply impacted by the incident, and the spiritual leaders of the community (Father Weiss, Jerianne, Rabbi Praver, Starr). What is incredible about Eric Ulloa's work is the journey all of the community of Newtown, Connecticut from the days before, the moments during and the months following that horrific incident. This once quiet town became the center of media coverage that spanned the globe. As Yolie states, there are riipples and these ripples emanate out and spread."  This one day- This single event - Changed the course of history. 

While you view this production, a range of emotions may race through you (grief, anger, frustration, sadness, confusion, disenchantment, and remorse to name a few). Join the club. We have all experienced these emotions through this process and they are all human; They are all acceptable.  For this reason we have multiple resources (provided by our school social worker, Richard Ramirez, to access if any need arises.