Scene from "Meeting in Munich"

The Spring Arbor University Theater Department will celebrate Homecoming 2009, Oct. 9-11, by presenting two plays written and directed by Dr. Paul Patton, associate professor of communication and media. The plays have become SAU traditions and the settings of both “Meeting in Kansas” and “Meeting in Munich” take place during small, church prayer meetings, in which the parishioners must deal with serious issues that are impacting their congregations.

Patton describes the plays as rhetorical reenactments, in which the plays represent “a genre that dramatically presents conflicts that could have divided continents or as small a unit as a family. But both Kansas and Munich divided a planet.”

“Meeting in Kansas” takes place in 1858 in the fictional town of Marston, Kan. The plot follows the events of a prayer meeting at a Methodist Episcopal church dominated by abolitionists. Conflict ensues when two slave owners join the meeting, and the congregation must wrestle with the nature of slavery. Patton said this would be the first time that most of the audience will encounter the Southern intelligentsia that defended slavery.

Written 25 years ago, “Meeting in Kansas” premiered at the Trinity House Theater and is performed regularly at Spring Arbor University. The play stars Stephen Clark, Liz Sutton, Lillian Wilson and Kyle Rehnlund. The performance will take place at the Harmony Park one-room schoolhouse on October 10, at 3:00 p.m., and October 17, at 4:00 p.m.

“Meeting in Munich” takes place in 1933 in Munich, Germany, after the election of Adolf Hitler as chancellor. Hitler began funding churches and demanded that all youth groups be assimilated into the Hitler Youth. A small church is torn between following the edict of the government and protecting their children from Nazi influence, but Hitler’s spies are everywhere.

“‘Meeting in Munich’ asks its audience to consider the ‘price tags’ of solutions that sacrifice the soul for peace and equilibrium,” says Patton.

Written six years ago, “Meeting in Munich” premiered at the White Auditorium at SAU and is performed regularly on campus. Appearing in the play this year are Nikki Blackburn, Paul Drake, Ed Agee, Kaleigh Casey, Colette McKinney and Chad Johnson. The performance will take place on October 16, at 8:00 p.m. in White Auditorium.

For more information, or to reserve tickets, please call the SAU box office at 517.750.6500 or ext. 1500 on campus.

Article provided by English major, senior Chuck Monahan from Hudson.