Theater Students Prepare for International Trip

St. Augustine once said, “The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.”

This January, a group of seven students, one alumna, one professor, and one humanitarian will be exploring another “page”—Rwanda.

From January 4 to 18, as part of the Anne Frank Project, theater professor Drew Kahn will accompany Buffalo State students Kara Ashby, Shabar Rouse, Lewis Sepulveda, Julia Smith, Tieisha Thomas, and Brittany Wysock on an educational and artistic trip to Rwanda. Also going are Buffalo State alumna Eve Everette, '08, University of San Francisco student Stacey Maealani Johnston, and Columbia College Chicago student Paige Mount. Johnston and Mount are both film students who will be working on a documentary to chronicle the experience.

The entire group will travel through Rwanda with Carl Wilkens. Wilkens was the only American to stay in Rwanda and provide aid during the 1994 genocide.

The premise of the trip is for the students to engage in a cultural and theatrical exchange. Buffalo State students will share selections from American contemporary theater with students from the Mashirika Theater Company in Rwanda. In turn, Mashirika students will perform a piece of African theater that they have prepared. Hope Azeda, artistic director of Mashirika, and Kahn will collaborate to direct a performance that fuses both groups and styles together.

In addition to theatrical exploration, the students will also be immersing themselves in Rwandan culture and history. Included in the agenda are visits to museums, genocide memorials, orphanages, and hospitals. Buffalo State students will earn three credit hours for their participation. The group will be staying in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda.