A one-woman show highlighting the effects of a school shooting on a community is premiering at Western Michigan University this weekend.
The performance is coming to WMU’s York Arena Theatre on October 16 and 17 at 7:30 pm, and October 18 at 2:00 pm.
“1225 Shelby Road” is written, performed and produced by Cricket Leigh — who notably plays Mei in Nickelodeon’s “Avatar: The Last Airbender.” The show is also backed by the Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo, and directed by Dr. Joan Herrington, director of the School of Theatre and Dance at WMU.
The show does not contain graphic images — instead, it deals with the social aftermath of a shooting.
“It just brings it home, not in a really horrifying, scary way, but just in a really, really human way, where you just think about how, when a terrible thing happens, how it disrupts from the biggest details of our life to the tiniest details. You know, the shooter's little sister, her best friend doesn't want to play with her anymore,” said Herrington.
After the matinee on Oct. 18, representatives from Interfaith Strategy for Advocacy & Action in the Community (ISAAC) and the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) of Southwest Michigan will host a talk-back with the audience to help process the play and answer any questions.
Leigh said she was inspired to write “1225 Shelby Road” because of a reoccurring dream she had where she played a school shooter. At first, she did not want to pursue the idea because of the intensity of the topic. Later she felt called to do further research and write from the perspectives of the community members in the play’s town.
“So, if inspiration struck and I didn't do anything, I'm not doing my duty as an artist and as a social worker and as a human. So, I was like 'no, girl, you're doing this,” said Leigh, who also has a career in social work.
“Live theater is a space in which we come together in community and we look at things and we talk about things and we laugh about things, and in this play maybe you cry about some things and you realize that you have a world that can sustain you," said Herrington.
Tickets are available online or at the door.
More details can be found on the Western Michigan University Theatre website.