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Theatre Department takes part in Ghostlight Project

By Rylee Carrillo-Waggoner ’19

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On Thursday, Jan. 19, the day before Trump’s Inauguration, the Hamilton Theatre Department took part in a world-wide event: the Ghostlight Project. In most theatre contexts, a ghostlight refers to a light bulb on a metal stand that a theatre places on stage when the theatre is not in use. The ghostlight serves as a safety light for cast and crew members first arriving to the empty, dark theatres, guiding them around the many obstacles in a theatre and preventing them from hurting themselves. The Ghostlight Project turned this into a larger metaphor. The project states that “On January 19, 2017 at 5:30 p.m. in each time zone across the country we will gather outside of theaters to create a ‘light’ for dark times ahead, and to make, or renew, a pledge to stand for and protect the values of inclusion, participation, and compassion for everyone regardless of race, class, religion, country of origin, immigration status, (dis)ability, age, gender identity, or sexual orientation.”
Professor of Theatre Sara Walsh, organizer of the event at Hamilton, expressed on behalf of the Hamilton Theatre department that, “We feel that it is incredibly important right now to gather as a community, however briefly, to stand for what we believe in,” to which Professor of Theatre Jeanne Willcoxon adds “It is a way for theatres and theatre people across the country to pledge that we will not only stand for but protect the values of inclusion, participation and compassion for all on the eve of the inauguration...when many fear that these values will be under threat with the presidency of Trump.” Emily Aviles ’19 further spoke to the importance of the event, explaining, “The Ghostlight Project is important because every haven in this world is created purposefully with that intention: to provide a place of refuge for people who are not safe elsewhere. The foundation of art is creation, and if we are not safe to create, we are not safe anywhere. The arts, the theatre, must be places where marginalized voices can be heard. Without them, we are presenting mutilated and corrupted forms of the human experience, that will never give us the answers we are looking for.”
The Ghostlight Project had a far reach. Large professional theatres, including Hamilton the Musical’s Richard Rodgers Theatre, as well as small school and community theatres across the country and the world took part in the event in order to emphasize the role of theatres as safe and inclusive spaces. Inspired by the scale of the project, Chris Williams ’17 stated, “I may be young, but never has tension surrounding the political climate ever seemed so palpable to me. Despite the threats to our well being that may come from Washington, there is immeasurable comfort in knowing that within the theatre there is community that will protect and embrace myself and those I care for. For many people the theatre serves as a type of refuge, where we can find a family that will support and encourage us regardless of what makes us different. I think the Ghostlight Project serves as an important reminder that the theatre community extends farther than we realize and that we can find that sense of home almost anywhere.”
At Hamilton College, students, staff and faculty gathered in front of the Romano Theatre in the Kevin and Karen Kennedy Center for Theatre and Studio Arts. Walsh introduced the event, having all participants fill out signs about who they are and for what they are fighting. Participants then placed these signs in a heart formation, which can still be found taped to the doors of the Romano Theatre. After this, participants took out phones, flashlights, headlamps and reading lamps, shining their lights out onto campus through the full length windows in front of the theatre.
Many of the active participants and majors in the theatre department attended the event, strongly supporting the message. Eliza Burwell ’17 commented, “the theatre world is a diverse, tight-knit community. Many of its members are also members of the communities targeted by Trump. It’s important to stand up for each other and continue to create art in the face of days to come,” to which Noelani Stevenson ’19 added “I think it’s really indicative of the overall culture of theatre. Theatre is very much a place for those on the fringes of society (obviously mainly the LGBT community I’m talking about), as well as full of superstition and tradition, and I think Ghostlight is a promise to ourselves to stay true and to keep fighting for our community as artists."

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