UF students, all in black, stood in front of a screen. Behind them played footage from the Women’s March on Washington, as they mimicked the protesters’ chants and experiences.
More than 100 people came to see the “Voices from the March,” a multimedia theatrical experience, Saturday afternoon in the Reitz Union Rion Ballroom. About 10 UF students acted in the play, which was composed of 150 interviews about people’s experiences at the 2017 Women’s March in Washington, D.C.
Jeffrey Pufahl, the director of the play, said he wanted to show the UF community what the reality of social justice looks like and allow students to tell their stories of the march through art. UF’s College of the Arts donated $1,500 for the production.
“The students had to dig deep in themselves to find their story and to find what they wanted to say to the world,” Pufahl said. “That is a big step.”
UF’s Samuel Proctor Oral History Program; the Center for Gender, Sexualities and Women’s Studies and the Center for Arts in Medicine also supported the play, Pufahl said.
Andy Prescott, a 31-year-old UF master’s acting student and actor in the play, said he wanted the audience to learn that talking to people with different perspectives helps a community grow.
“(The theater) gets you talking,” he said. “It doesn’t matter who you are, what background, just go out and see some bizarre stuff and really just reflect on it.”
Thousands gather on the Ellipse near the back lawn of the White House at the conclusion of the Women’s March on Washington. Many of the marchers placed their posters along a few small fences to create “walls” near the White House.
