A Voice from Beyond: My Name is Rachel Corrie

Our world is so much bigger than we realize.  There is more than going to school or work during the week and hanging out with friends on the weekend.  There is danger in this world that if we don’t live in that part of the world, we may never even be aware. My Name is Rachel Corrie is a story told by a young woman who became intimately aware of the danger found in the world when she chose to travel to the war-torn area of Gaza and speak for the people who needed to have their voices heard.  Growing up in the safety and security of suburbia, Olympia Washington, Rachel was a restless soul who longed for more in her life.  She just wasn’t sure what “more” should be. As a teenager she traveled to Russia and saw first hand that not everyone had the safety and security that we a normal part of her life.  Rachel’s experience in Russia lit a fire in her to do more for people that didn’t have what she had in her life.  She chose to travel to Israel, specifically the Gaza strip and surrounding areas, to meet the people and shine a light on the oppression that is happening to those living there.  Her story is told through her journal writings, phone messages home to her family and letters between Rachel and her mother.  Rachel speaks of her travels and her observations in the different towns and villages.  She speaks of the people and how they survive day to day with the threat of a bullet flying past their head, being run over by a tank in the street or having their home demolished by a bulldozer.  She wonders at the kindness of the people despite the anger all around them.  She is in awe of the bravery that they display as they go about their daily lives.  Rachel chose to join the people in protest. She marched in the streets, carrying banners.  She wrote home to let the people know what was happening, the things they might not hear about or see on the evening news.  She came face to face with the oppressors as they moved to destroy people’s homes and businesses.  In the end, Rachel lost her life to her chosen cause.  She was crushed to death by a bulldozer as she protested yet another move to destroy someone’s home.  But even in death Rachel’s voice is not silent.  This play, written with her own words and thoughts, gives voice to the struggle of the people in Gaza and offers hope that more people will join the fight to bring an end to the violence.

Arlo Welser plays Rachel.  She brings to life a young woman that we would otherwise only know through her words.  For almost two hours, Arlo speaks Rachel’s words and displays the emotions that are found in her writings.  Arlo becomes Rachel. The audience can feel her restlessness, then her resolve, her anger and her determination to help.

Kat Johns directs a very difficult production.  How do you engage an audience with a minimal set and only one actor?  Kat’s direction of Arlo allows the audience to feel what Rachel felt, to experience the life of a young woman who chose to focus on something bigger than herself.

My Name is Rachel Corrie is playing at the Historic Masonic Temple for two more shows, March 22 and March 23.  Tickets are available at the venue.