26 Pebbles by Eric Ulloa at Eastern Washington University Theatre

Eastern Washington University launches their 2022-2023 season with an exploration on gun violence and a small town shaken by a horrific event. 

TICKET LINK:  https://www.showtix4u.com/event-details/67564

BOX OFFICE PHONE: 1(509)359-2459 for questions or accommodations. 

CONTENT ADVISORY: play contains mature content and discussions of the Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting. 

TRIGGER WARNINGS: Discussion of mental illness, PTSD, death and child loss. Flashing lights will be used to represent photography flash bulbs.

SYNOPSIS: 
On December 14, 2012, a gunman walked into Sandy Hook Elementary School and killed twenty-six innocent souls before taking his own life. These twenty-six innocent deaths, like pebbles thrown into a pond, created ripples and vibrations that were felt far beyond the initial rings. This is the story of those vibrations.

Similar in style to The Laramie Project, playwright Eric Ulloa conducted interviews with members of the community in Newtown and crafted them into an exploration of gun violence and a small town shaken by a horrific event.

SHOW DATES:
Friday                      November 11th at 7:30pm

Saturday                 November 12th at 7:30pm

Sunday                   November 13th at 2pm

Thursday                November 17th at 5pm

Friday                    November 18th at 7:30pm

Saturday                November 19th at 7:30pm

The cast of 26 Pebbles includes Melissa Wilson, Nathan Pichette, Grace Nall, Blake Carlson, Nathan Lenz, Aidan Murray, Koyla Gonzalez-Wiler, Joseph Broadhurst, Mitch Wing, Jakob Duncan, Drew Harris, Aspen Cullen, Riley Hill, Abigail Zimmerman, Autumn Meiners, Jocelyn Caughlan, Stevie Astudillo, Mo Stuart, and Lexi Gibson. 

The production is led with direction by Sara Goff. Featuring costume design by Jessica Ray,  and scenic/lighting design by William Ledbetter.
 

DIRECTORS NOTE by SARA GOFF

“This is our first task -- caring for our children.  It’s our first job.  If we don’t get that right, we don’t get anything right.  That’s how, as a society, we will be judged.

And by that measure, can we truly say, as a nation, that we are meeting our obligations?  Can we honestly say that we’re doing enough to keep our children -- all of them -- safe from harm?  Can we claim, as a nation, that we’re all together there, letting them know that they are loved, and teaching them to love in return?  Can we say that we’re truly doing enough to give all the children of this country the chance they deserve to live out their lives in happiness and with purpose?

I’ve been reflecting on this the last few days, and if we’re honest with ourselves, the answer is no.  We’re not doing enough.  And we will have to change.” (Excerpt from President Obama’s speech at the Sandy Hook Interfaith prayer vigil on 12/16/12)

I was pregnant with my first child, a baby girl, when the shooting at Sandy Hook occurred. I vividly remember that Christmas, sitting in my father-in-law’s LazyBoy recliner in Detroit, Michigan. To the right of me was a copy of People magazine, and its cover had the faces of the twenty first graders and six staff members killed in that tragedy. I’ve never forgotten those faces. A few years later— after yet another mass shooting incident— I joined the Sandy Hook Promise, a nonprofit organization founded by some of the families who lost loved ones. I wanted to do something. I had to do something. 

On May 24th, 2022, I had two kids in elementary school when the massacre at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas occurred. In the weeks that followed, I walked my kids to school and waited outside until they were inside.  I often still do this, my purpose unclear, my fear enduring.   I can’t seem to stop.

But if my body still walked my children to school after Uvalde and stood in silent vigil, my head and heart and spirit stayed inexplicably empty.  I read and watched no news stories.  I avoided social media.   I was filled with neither the grief of 21 more lost and beloved faces nor the hope that we might recover differently this time and escape this epidemic of gun violence.

That numbness scared me. It shamed me. 

As the weeks went by, I remembered that I am a storyteller and that the power of story is that is can shine light into dark places. It can help heal. It has the power to bring people together in conversation and community. 

The decision to produce and direct Eric Ulloa’s 2017 docudrama, “26 pebbles”—to tell this story and ask college students to carry the weight of this play for months—was not easy. I’m not sure there has been a single rehearsal without moments of deep anguish. I’m profoundly moved by the work of Scarlett Lewis (mother of Jesse Lewis) and her “Choose Love Movement.” The words “Nurturing,” “Healing,” “Love” written phonetically (“Norurtin,” “helin,” “love”) by six-year-old Jesse Lewis on his chalkboard at home days before his murder have been etched in my heart and soul forever.  

I don’t know that I’ll ever feel like I’m “doing enough,” but the process of trying to choose love has helped me find more love, feel less suffocating anger than I had been. Working on this play has made me a more patient, forgiving, and loving person. I’m a better mother, teacher, and community member because of this experience. The work has anchored me more deeply in love and gratitude. I feel the tension between grief and hope starting to return to me again, and I’m so thankful for that.

In closing, I’ll leave you with the words Scarlett Lewis spoke at her son’s funeral: 

“People have been asking me since the tragedy what they can do to help. If you really want to do something to help, then do something that will help all of us by turning an angry thought into a loving one. This whole tragedy began with an angry thought, and that thought could have been changed to a loving one. If it had been, none of us would be here today to bury a child we all loved so much. So if you want to do something to help, then do what Jesse would have wanted you to do to honor his memory—take just one angry thought you have each day and turn it into a loving one…and with one loving thought at a time, we will change the world and make it a better, safer place for our children and our children’s children. 

If you want to help, then please, choose love.”

-Sara Goff