MOUNT VERNON — What spoke to you tonight? What touched you? Unnerved you? What’s true?
Those questions were asked after the local viewing of the Norwegian-based play
“An Enemy of the People.”
Last week’s show was a collaboration with the Public Library of Mount Vernon and Knox County, based on Henrik Ibsen’s play, which centers on two brothers, one a mayor and the other a renowned scientist.
Thomas Stockmann, the scientist, finds the town’s water supply is contaminated and wants the news to be published for the community’s sake. But Peter Stockmann, the mayor, disagrees.
Actors and community participants gathered at the Knox Memorial Theater on Saturday to read through Acts II and IV of the play, with Mount Vernon’s Mayor Matt Starr playing the role of Mayor Stockmann.
The play is part of Theater of War Productions, which is unlike traditional theater shows hosted by Kenyon College alum Bryan Doerries.
“We keep the house lights up during Theater of War Productions’ events because the audience is the main character in our model,” Doerries said.
“In An Enemy of the People, we encourage audience members to speak out and let their voices be heard. It can get loud and rowdy, more like a rock concert than a play reading.”
After the play wrapped, five local panelists discussed what they took away from the play and if there were any local comparisons that could be drawn from the 140-plus-year-old play.
“I believe that we can make a difference in our community if we know what the changes are we need to make,” Mount Vernon Nazarene University public health specialist professor Debbie Nabubwaya said.
“To identify with a community there needs to be a grass-root-level connections made.”
Bettye Mills, a retired Knox County administrator, and Adelyn Steinmetz, a member of the Mayor’s Youth Council, agreed on the importance of knowing what’s occurring in one’s community.
David Hall, an assistant director of public utilities, said he noticed a lack of leadership throughout the play, citing he’s worked with organizations that suffered those consequences.
“Leadership really does make a difference,” Hall said. “Stand up and be accountable.”
Gambier resident and Kenyon College professor Jerry Kelly drew comparisons to the Frasier Solar project, adding it’s a local issue within the county that sparks passion.
“I think that passion when it is thoughtful (…) directed carefully is obviously a powerful thing,” Kelly said.
Kelly also teaches a solar power class at Kenyon College and uses the Frasier Project as a learning experience for his class.
Kelly asked a farmer who opposes the project to meet with his class for a discussion, he said. The class eventually met the farmer at his farm, sitting on hay barrels.
“It was a real success,” Kelly said. “Everyone left with a smile on their face even though minds weren’t necessarily changed.
“I felt echoes of that in the play but except when it fails.”
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