Columbinus to be Performed at UW-Waukesha

Current and past students of UW-Waukesha are presenting the play Columbinus on April 1 & 2 (7:30 pm), April 1 & 3 (2:00 pm) in the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre in the Fine Arts Center Building. Due to the subject matter, the play is for mature audiences.

The play was written by Stephen Karam, Sean McNall, and PJ Paparelli. It is based on interviews with high school students, transcripts of the 911 calls and interviews with people about their experiences of The Columbine High School Massacre.

The director, Steven Decker, said that one of the main points of the play is “to be the voice of people that aren’t here anymore.”

According to the actors participating in Columbinus, their hope is that it will bring more awareness to those who see it; awareness of the massacre as well as people’s own actions and how it affects those around them. It also strives to answer the ever-present question of why. Why did this happen? Why did these two guys act in this manner and how could it have been prevented?

The audience will get to ask this question and others as well. After each performance there will be a talk-back.

Jacalyn Nolan, who plays the character Perfect, says she’s most looking forward to this portion because it will allow the audience to ask questions of the cast. There will also be campus experts there such as crisis counselors to give the audience an even deeper understanding.

The most difficult part for the cast has been delving into the minds of the characters. Connor O’Hara, who plays Loner/Dylan Klebold, and Zach Ihn, who plays Freak/Eric Harris, have had the most issues with this since they are playing the murders.

O’Hara said that in order to try to understand you have to think about the lowest point in your life and try to stretch that sadness. In talking about some of the derogatory language that his character uses, Ihn said, “What do I picture that I hate that much?”

The cast also thinks that the audience will see themselves or their classmates from high school in the play.

Jordan Burac, who plays AP, said, “The thing I love about this play is the fact that it doesn’t reach out to just a specific target audience. This play reaches out to everyone.”

The play will explore human emotions and in addition to identifying with the characters, Chelsea M. Greene, who plays Faith, thinks that the audience will also wonder if they have ever mistreated people and force them to take a harder look at themselves.

Decker said that he hopes that nothing like this ever happens again, but if people come out of the show, “being kinder, more understanding and decent to each other, then we’ve done our job.”

The lighting and music are sure to add an additional emotional element to the show. Decker’s friend, Morgan Brenner from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York, will be doing the lighting. Decker believes this will add a lot of power to the show. The music chosen will also represent the characters.

Tickets will be sold for the hour before the show and can be purchased at the box office. It costs $10 per ticket for adults, $8 for students and senior citizens and free for UW-Waukesha students who bring their student ID. 

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