VCU Theatre: Let the healing begin

In the eyes of VCU theatre major
Olisa Enrico and Seattle-based theater
company The Conciliation Project, few
social issues are as harmful to society
as racism and sexism-central themes
in this week’s Shafer Street Playhouse
premiere of “Genocide Trail: a holocaust
un-spoken.”

“The definition of conciliation is to win
over from a state of hostility or to gain the
goodwill of,” Enrico said, paraphrasing
The Conciliation Project’s motto.

“The Conciliation Project is a nonprofit
theater organization whose
mission is to promote – through active,
challenging and dramatic work – open,
honest dialogue about racism in America
in order to repair damaging legacies.”

Enrico is passionately tackling these
damaging issues by directing the
play at the Shafer Street Playhouse’s
Newdick Theatre this Thursday through
Saturday.

“(‘Genocide Trail’) was written as a
part of a class at Seattle Central Community
College, using the form of ritual
poetic drama. It’s a very specific form that
is based within the African continuum
of community building and sharing of
a story,” Enrico said.

Enrico has drawn much inspiration
from her peers and mentors, such as
project founder and faculty member
Tawnya Pettiford-Wates.
Enrico said Wates’ creative method is
a noble one-one that involves in-depth
analysis and discussion to reach a common
perspective.

“What happens is we’re in the class
and we dive deep into the subject,
researching on many levels – interviews,
letters, reading, movies – and then we
share our research in creative forms and
we write-and we write,” Enrico said.

“Genocide Trail: a holocaust un-spoken”
addresses a deeply rooted negative
sentiment toward Native Americans and
is not the only work The Conciliation
Project has presented. This screenplay
is the second installment in a series of
six plays. Each one addresses prejudice
toward a specific group of people.
They are: “uncle tom: deconstructed,”
“Genocide Trail: a holocaust unspoken,”
“Yellow Fever: the internment,” “Stolen
Land: border crossings” and “Global
SeXXXism: unwrapped.”

The sixth piece – “The P.I.C.: the prison
industrial complex” – is set to premiere
at the Newdick Theatre in April.

“We separate (the groups) so we can have specific
conversations. It kind of gets together in ‘Global
SeXXXism’ a little more where sexism and racism
meet. Finally, with ‘The P.I.C.,’ there is a place where
racism and sexism is interwoven and combined,”
Enrico said.

Theater-goers and VCU students might remember
Enrico’s last presentation of a Conciliation Project
work.

” ‘uncle tom: deconstructed’ was performed two
years ago. That was my first directing project at
VCU. I was in the play back in Seattle. I was also a
part of a touring company that came to VCU before
I was accepted here,” Enrico said.

Since coming to VCU, Enrico has taken advantage
of her resources the best way she can, by keeping
her head up and her peers close. Although most
student-run plays are housed in the poorly maintained
Shafer Street Playhouse, Enrico has not let the location
get her down.

“I feel very blessed to have access to (The Newdick
Theatre). No, it’s not high tech. No, it’s not rich in
space, but it’s rich in spirit. The student theater that
gets done here has the heart and soul. It’s our black
box,” she said.

Enrico said the play is all about the message, not
the production value.

“The ensemble has given so much to the process,”
she said. “Everybody on the stage is a member of
The Conciliation Project, so they all have the mission
in their hearts.”

In spite of the spirited playhouse where she houses
her production, Enrico said there are tremendous
benefits to having such controversial content addressed
on a college campus.

“I think that the university environment is a great
fertile ground to begin to have these conversations
and begin to build community on another level-a
place where we begin to learn real information, to
interrogate, to become critical thinkers.”

Because of the sensitive nature of “Genocide
Trail,” Enrico stressed the importance of post-show
discussions with the inquisitive audience.

“After each show, there’s a dialogue-every time.
We do not do this without a dialogue, because,
without a dialogue, images alone could be damaging.
It’s with the conversation that the healing begins, that
the relationships heal and the conciliation happens.
There’s a lot of pain in our nation over the -isms and
the oppression. There are a lot of unspoken feelings,
and until we can even begin to speak our truths, we
cannot begin to heal. We must first recognize before
we can begin to restore.”

“Genocide Trail: a holocaust un-spoken” runs Thursday
through Saturday at 8 p.m. at the Shafer Street
Playhouse. Admission is free to the public.