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Illumination Project winter plays to start Feb. 5

Story by James Hill

On Tuesday, Feb. 5, performances of the Illumination Project kick off. Under the guidance of program coordinator Jeannie LaFrance, a diverse group of 21 student educators have produced original plays addressing racism. The plays are based on real-life experiences of the student educators. The Illumination Project will be performing at all PCC campuses and a few local high schools.

For the complete schedule, visit the Illumination Project’s Webpage.

PCC Sylvania’s Illumination Project addresses issues of oppression by presenting interactive forum theater in classroom and community environments. Because the Southern Poverty Law Center has found that college campuses are the third most likely place for hate crimes to occur, students in the Illumination Project feel that it is essential to raise awareness of this social issue.

The student educators empower their peers to recognize and confront acts of racism. The interactive theater performances allow audience members to ‘intervene’ in the scenario being presented, and change it for the better. Through active learning, student educators hope that audience members will learn how to challenge the problem of racism, so that all members of the community can be a part of the solution.

“People are aware of racism and they don’t want to be racist, but they don’t realize how real it is, how significant it is, how hidden it is,” says Korrina Rober, a student educator for the Illumination Project. “We go through our day to day lives, and if it doesn’t affect us, we don’t pay attention to it. With interactive theater, you get to participate in the scenes, so you can pick up some techniques for how to stand up and say something.”

The Illumination Project is a program of the Sylvania Women’s Resource Center and is also sponsored through the Sylvania Multicultural Center as well as the Sociology and Theater Arts departments.  All performances are free and wheelchair accessible. For more information, contact LaFrance at (971) 722-8149.