A man is separated from his wife.
As he desperately tries to come to her aid, she is raped and beaten by citizens of her own country.
Her screams of pain subside, and she gives up.
One final blow to the head ends her life, and her husband, helpless, is left with the memories of her final gaze of desperation.
This is one of many stories students from the UF's School of Theatre and Dance re-created in "Where Can We Run? Use Your Words!"
The educational performance was inspired by the people of Rugerero, a 500-person village near the western border of Rwanda. The actors performed to 105 people when the show opened Wednesday in the sold-out McGuire Pavilion's Black Box Theatre. The performance runs until Sunday.
After a two-week trip to Rwanda, the students in the play were able to recreate the stories of the 1994 genocide that left 80 percent of the country without an immediate family member and 56 percent of children witness to a killing, according to the United Nations Children's Fund. The performance includes portions of a documentary made on the trip.
In March, four students from the School of Theatre and Dance and six nursing students traveled to Rugerero. In a town hall meeting, UF representatives asked if they could share knowledge on health care, theater and art with the villagers.
"We were thrilled that our idea fit their interest," said Jill Sonke, director of the Center for the Arts in Healthcare Research and Education. "It was an incredibly warm welcome and really touching to be well-received in another culture."
Prior to the trip, the UF students raised money to provide health insurance to the villagers at $2 a year per person.
For the next two weeks, volunteers taught the villagers hygiene techniques, such as how to avoid infection and clean wounds.
Through acting, villagers expressed emotions about their past and gained an appreciation for art and theater.
"It took a lot to assimilate to the recent history of genocide in that culture," Sonke said. "I think they learned that theater is really fun, and engaging in creative activities can enhance your overall well-being."
UF students also learned much from the people of Rwanda.
"There is no way to describe how we felt after the trip," said Rachael Jones, a UF junior and actress in the performance. "It was very life changing and very moving."
In the theater, audience members learn how genocide reshaped Rwanda and about the estimated 800,000 who were killed in just 100 days, according to PBS.org.
"The underlying theme of this whole thing is not just an hour and 40 minutes of watching," said Nick Greene, a senior in the School of Theatre and Dance and actor in the performance. "It's a learning experience."
The performance parallels the genocide in Rwanda to the killing of 36 school children in Chicago's South Side in 2009. The actors compare the widely overlooked killings to cases such as the death of Caylee Anthony in Central Florida, which received national coverage.
"Hopefully, we'll have some eye-opening experiences for everyone," Jones said after her performance. "I think it will be hard for audiences to not be moved in some way."
The performance concludes with a question-and-answer session between audience members and the cast.
"I was very impressed by the individual performances by all of the actors," said Chase Den Beste, a sophomore telecommunications major. "I immediately went on Facebook and invited all of my friends to go see it."
The director, Mikell Pinkney, hopes the play will help people understand the healing involved after the Rwandan genocide.
"This is definitely a time for enlightenment and awareness," Pinkney said. "We're going to have to go through that process to forget about the past and move ahead to live in peace and harmony."
Tickets are $14 for the general public and $10 for students and senior citizens. They can be purchased at ticketmaster.com or at the University Box Office located in the lobby of the Constans Theatre. Nightly performances will run until Saturday at 7:30 p.m., with matinees at 2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
