From the Congo to Jacksonville:
A Play About The Stories And Experiences
Of Local Congolese Immigrants
Sponsored by the Department of Theatre
©2016
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Forward ................................................................................................... 2
Introduction .............................................................................................. 5
Script ...................................................................................................... 8
Scene 1: Conversations Across Campus ........................................................ 8
Scene 2: Jobs In The DRC ......................................................................... 9
Scene 3: Language Barriers ...................................................................... 10
Scene 4: The Things They Carried ............................................................... 14
Scene 5: Cultural Differences .................................................................... 16
Scene 6: Traffic ..................................................................................... 17
Scene 7: Marriage .................................................................................. 18
Scene 8: Working In The Shadows ............................................................... 20
Scene 9: Politics .................................................................................... 22
Scene 10: The American Workplace Revisited .................................................. 23
Scene 11: The American Dream .................................................................. 24
Acknowledgments ...................................................................................... 26
Appendix: Program ..................................................................................... 28
1
FORWARD FROM PAUL FREEDMAN
I’m not an expert on the Democratic Republic of the Congo, but I have spent a good deal of
time there, especially in the Kivus. And every day that I was there, the things I saw boggled
and bent my mind. For years I had wanted to make a film about the wars that had erupted in
the Kivus — since the end of the Rwandan genocide in 1994 up to the presen t— wars that
had left more than five million Congolese dead. When I finally got my chance, I crossed into
Congo from Kamembe, Rwanda, and into the hillside city of Bukavu at the south end of Lake
Kivu — I crossed wide-eyed and, truthfully, a bit scared. Even a seasoned filmmaker (I had
previously shot in Darfur, Rwanda, Ethiopia, and Nigeria) couldn’t help but think about the
well-deserved names yolked to Congo: the Rape Capital of the World; the Deadliest War Since
World War Two; the Worst Place in the World to be a Woman, etc.
So while I clutched my passport tight, double checked the lock on my hotel door, and looked
under the bed more than a few times before I fell asleep that first night, my silly fears vanished
the following morning as I took breakfast on a terrace overlooking the lake. An enormous
Congolese man with a booming voice sat nearby manning several mobile phones at once,
slipping effortlessly from French to Swahili to English and back as he devoured several
omelets and a mango nearly the size of a football. This was Congo. Nor did I realize then that
everything I would see from that point forward would be, like the man, larger, louder, stranger
and more intense than any life I had ever imagined. My fears would turn to envy and awe, to
anger, pity and astonishment; they would reveal themselves in me through raucous laughter
and quivering tears. I didn’t know it at the time, but I was about to find out that nothing about
the Congo would ever make sense, and that’s all I needed to know.
I close my eyes even now and hear squeaks, rattles, and jarring thuds. The vehicle is bouncing
over boulders in the dusty road. And this wasn’t a bad road. You had to be careful not to relax
too much or your head could slam into the window, knock you out — it’s happened. That’s
how bad the good roads are. But I see him now, just like he was, standing alongside the
mountain road in the middle of nowhere. He is a motorcycle taxi driver, or a “moto.” He has
on bright purple satin trousers and polished shoes. Over his clean white t-shirt he wears a red
vest with a flower in the lapel. He is wearing his helmet. But what really gets me are the goldrimmed Elvis shades. He leans back against his moto, his arms folded. As we bounce pass in
the Land Cruiser, he nods vaguely at me, maybe acknowledging me, the “mizungu” or white. I
feel tiny, unimportant. He is cooler than I could ever hope to be. He is Congo.
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I remember this guy because of what he emitted. Like the guy at breakfast, he summed up
the crazy, the nonsensical, the good and the bad, the vulgar and the beautiful. He symbolized
this country where most of the people don’t have access to fresh water, or to power, or health
care. Where rape is the order of the day and justice has taken its leave. But he stands there,
defiantly, in his Elvis shades, because to not, would be giving up.
There were horrors too. One didn’t have to go far. I found myself interviewing victims of
massacres and displacements, sitting in tents made of torn plastic tarps pitched on razor
sharp lava beds. People were starving, crying, begging, dying. That too, is Congo. But I did sit
down with a Congolese colonel who was wearing golf shoes. And there wasn’t a golf course
for a thousand miles. My fixer was named Jack Bauer. To him, every day was an episode of
24. He would recite scenes between Jack and Chloe and had no front teeth and had seen
much death. He named his son after me.
When I left Congo the last time, I cried. For a change, I didn’t have an imminent date of return.
Back home, I felt disconnected from the usual crowd in California. I missed the decibel level of
the Congolese soul. It’s hard to find. Meanwhile, I took great joy and pride in releasing my film,
Merci Congo. It was a true labor of love. Screenings, speaking engagements, skype calls, and
emails keep me barely connected to that perfect sustenance, that soul, that inner pounding.
The film tries to hold the soul, and while mostly impossible, it’s hard not to feel it a little bit
even after watching it for the thousandth time.
But shadows shift, energy displaces, and odd things happen. So it was that I found myself in
Jacksonville, Illinois. Kids, students, they find me. They find my film. They want to know about
Congo. They think they want to help. I take it upon myself to say yes whenever I can as long
as they pick up the fare. That too keeps me connected. I never want to lose it. So I go.
It was a play, they said. “About Congo?” I asked, laughing. In the middle of a Midwestern
tostada that I would go on to finish. Yes. A play about Congo at Illinois College the day before
I screened Merci Congo there. That’s right: in tiny Jacksonville, Illinois, at a small liberal arts
college, the Democratic Republic of the Congo will be featured, twice. That doesn’t happen in
New York. This was as good and as surprising as golf shoes and Elvis glasses.
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As I settled into my seat in the college theatre, I was happy to be watching something other
than my film. I was told that the language of the play, performed almost entirely by IC students
(many non-theatre students) under the direction of IC Theatre Department chair, Dr. Nancy
Taylor Porter, was gleaned from interviews of local Congolese immigrants who live and work
in and around tiny Jacksonville. Tales of living and working in the United States. Reflections of
home, of family, of rejection, humiliation, strength and hope.
I hope you would read the play, or see the play. This is much more than a work of art. The
students playing the Congolese were all African, but not from Congo. (Remember, there’s
fifty-four countries on that big continent!) What I took away from that performance that night
was the presence of that big Congolese soul. It came out in the words of the Congolese
themselves. The Ghanian student actors and Nigerian student actors just had to say the words.
The Congolese did the rest, many of them watching from the audience. For the first time since I
had left Congo some months before, I felt reconnected to that amazing terrible beautiful place.
Paul Freedman
Award-Winning Filmmaker, Director, Producer
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INTRODUCTION
I have long been interested in theatre as a means for social justice. A couple of years ago I
went from assigning research merely with printed/electronic media to including field research
with the people at the heart of our project. Connecting to the theme of “Service,” we decided
to give a voice to a marginalized population. In 2013, it was the homeless in Jacksonville,
whom we interviewed at our local shelter, New Directions. We wrote and performed, The
Paths to Homelessness. It even got a reprise the following February as part of New Directions’
three-year anniversary. The project was such a success that I repeated it the next year, this
time partnering with Illinois College alum and local playwright/actor/director Ken Bradbury and
the local NAACP chapter to write about race relations in Jacksonville. This resulted in It’s Not
Black and White, which included Illinois College faculty and community members as well as
students.
Last summer, I got an email from Melissa Pantier, our Director of Corporate and Foundation
Relations, informing our faculty about The Facing Project, an organization that sponsors just
such projects as those I had done with the two previous first-year seminar classes. I was
eager for the opportunity to have more support and guidance from an organization devoted to
this kind of work. We applied and were accepted. I was excited to discover all the information
in the online “toolkit,” which helped me refine my plans.
But this project presented additional challenges. We were going to interview local Congolese
immigrants who had come to the United States through the State Department’s green card
lottery, a program designed to increase our country’s diversity. Some of them spoke French
predominantly. So we partnered with faculty in the French department, Devin Bryson and
Emily Adams, and Emily’s French 302 students, who had relationships with the Congolese as
language partners. Given the language barrier, we extended our interviews from 20 minutes
(which I had allotted on previous projects) to an hour, aided by the French 302 students as
interpreters and Emily as organizer of the event. The first-year seminar students also either
witnessed an English language learning session led by Devin in the apartment of one of
the immigrants, or they attended a service at the Congolese Baptist Church. My students
were fascinated by what they learned and awed by the tenacity of the Congolese, many of
whom worked in very difficult conditions at the meatpacking plant in Beardstown in order to
get the opportunity for a better life. They were surprised that these men and women, who
previously had professional jobs in the capital city of Kinshasa, left that for the hard labor they
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experienced here. But greater security both politically and economically are powerful lures. The
students were tantalized by issues they encountered in the interviews and did further research
on the DRC (Democratic Republic of the Congo) as well as the transition to life here, which
they presented to their classmates.
We then identified areas we wanted to illuminate and share with our audiences, and we began
writing. The students were highly engaged by this process, and our Facing Project coach,
Lorri Markum, gave us encouraging and helpful feedback. One of our challenges, however,
was casting. Most of the Congolese worked the night shift, when we would be rehearsing,
and many were still in the early stages of learning English. While students of any ethnicity
can play a homeless person, that’s not the case for the Congolese. When I did the play about
race relations, I brought in several African-American students from the theatre program to
play those roles. But most of our African-American students are relatively far removed from
their historical roots. I also wanted the sound of an African dialect without having to teach it
to first-year students, which would add a heavier load to an already compressed rehearsal
process. Much of the early part of the semester was spent looking at other documentary plays
or plays about immigration as models as well as conducting and transcribing the interviews,
then identifying, researching, and presenting information on relevant topics to broaden our
knowledge base.
I emailed Almut Spalding, director of global programming, to see if any of our African students
wanted to participate. A first-year student, Anima, was interested in the project and recruited
her friends. One of the original interviewees also had a work schedule and English skills that
allowed him to participate. While we initially thought we would have to use photos, voiceovers,
and scrims for much of the production, we ended up with eight Africans who played the
Congolese. There are significant cultural differences among students from different African
countries, but this was the closest match we could create considering all the needs of the play
and its performance.
I’m writing this several days before our show; however, the rehearsal process has already
been a moving and enlightening experience. If you did not have an opportunity to see the
performance, feel free to contact me and I will share a link to the video recording. Thank
you for your interest in this work. The project has been a reminder to us about the history of
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immigration in our country, for America was founded by immigrants. We hope From the Congo
to Jacksonville will prompt you to learn more about the DRC and Africa, to think about the
value of diversity, to admire the self-sufficiency and fortitude of this community, to not take for
granted the freedoms we enjoy—freedoms that Congolese are currently dying in the streets to
secure. May they inspire us in the United States to recognize our need to continually strive for
a healthy and well-functioning democracy, genuine equity, and justice.
Nancy Taylor Porter
Director
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SCRIPT
SCENE 1: CONVERSATIONS ACROSS CAMPUS
(Three pairs of students appear.)
MASON: What are you doing tonight?
MICHAEL: I’m watching Dead Pool. You want to hang out?
MASON: Sure. Sounds great.
(Lights shift to next pair.)
SIERRA: I just got back from the protest rally.
LAUREN: How’d it go?
SIERRA: It was good. I got up and spoke.
LAUREN: Really? What did you say?
SIERRA: I said we need to start listening to each other again. (Lauren nods in agreement.)
(Lights shift next pair.)
ANIMA: (enters distressed) Hateeyat!
HATEEYAT: What’s wrong?
ANIMA: My mom just called me from Kinshasa. My dad went to the election protest last night,
but he never came home.
HATEEYAT: (reaching to embrace her) Oh, Anima. I’m so sorry.
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SCENE 2: JOBS IN THE DRC
NARRATOR: Life is precarious in a number of ways in the Congo. About 2/3 of Congolese
natives live below the poverty line, earning less than $1.90/day. The average yearly salary
in the DRC is $400. Many don’t have enough money to rent let alone buy an apartment.
Although the government is supposed to pay for basic education, it does not, and many
families can’t afford it. Millions of children are in the labor force. They comprise about
40% of miners (scrim lights up on child with a shovel), working in dangerous, even lethal
conditions. Two of the primary minerals are cobalt and coltan, which are core ingredients
in cell phones and other electronic devices. (MASON enters happily texting). Some of the
workers are essentially slaves and forced to work at gunpoint. (MASON exits.)
MINER: (voiceover) My father died and had debts to pay, so I had to go to work in the mines.
I’m 10 years old and work a 12-hour shift to make $2. I wish I could go back to school
and get an education, but there’s no way to pay for my schooling.
(Crossfade to Doctor examining several patients behind scrim.)
DOCTOR: (voiceover) We are making good money in comparison to others, but our healthcare
system collapsed during many years of war here in the Congo . . . We have not received
money from the government in years, and there are hardly any doctors left. People are
sick, and we don’t have enough money for equipment or supplies to treat them with.
We are out-numbered. There are not enough of us to care for our people. We are some
of the best doctors out there—the most efficient—and all we want is to help, but we
have so little.
(Crossfade to Teacher behind scrim writing on a chalkboard with students sitting around
watching.)
TEACHER: (voiceover) As a teacher in the Congo, I have goals. My main goal is to give
students knowledge that they can use not only at school, but also in the outside world
in everyday life. We want the best for all of our students. I wanted to learn what I could
from America, to bring back more to them. But it wasn’t what I thought it would be. The
worst part of coming to the U.S was the first day, when I meet for my first time American
people. I mean, I thought I knew how to speak to them, you know. But they speak very
fast. Your language, English, is different. We learn English when we were in Africa. But, it
is different. Now I’m the student . . .
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SCENE 3: LANGUAGE BARRIERS
(Airplane/airport noise. MCABRAHAM enters, in America for the first time, and speaks to the
audience.)
MCABRAHAM: When I got to America, I first found it very confusing.
(Lights expand to the entire stage as several Americans in business attire/casual attire are
quickly walking all over the stage, imitating a busy airport.)
LAUREN: My boss has got me in a corner. I don’t know how I’m going to meet this deadline.
YUHUA: I know what you mean. I’m fighting to keep my head above water.
SIERRA: Starbucks has the most amazing bear claws.
MAKENZIE: Yeah, last time I got a latte mocha skinny chocolate frappe.
MASON: I told her, “Your job is easy. It’s like shooting fish in a barrel. How can you not
transfer the call?!”
MICHAEL: Yeah, I’m pissed at her too.
(Everyone but MCABRAHAM leaves the stage.)
MCABRAHAM: Everyone spoke English so quickly and used words in ways I didn’t
understand. I felt lost . . .
(Students and Teacher enter and form a circle. MCABRAHAM joins the circle. The group
is listening to the teacher. The teacher holds up a series of fruit pictures. Throughout, the
Congolese repeat the words in English.)
TEACHER: Apple. La pomme. Apple. Banana. It’s almost the same in French. And lemon.
JC: Le Citron?
TEACHER: Yes. Lemon. Alright, the class is finished for the day.
(Everyone in the scene freezes but MCABRAHAM, who faces the audience.)
MCABRAHAM: I have been taking language learning classes along with the other men and
women who came to America from the DRC. It’s helping a little, but the language barrier
is still a big part of our lives. The language is the key. Without English, you cannot
integrate into life here.
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(MCABRAHAM joins the scene as the Teacher begins to put away his lesson materials.)
TEACHER: Now, Professor Taylor Porter’s students are interested to know about your move
from the Congo to Jacksonville. Would it be okay if they asked a few questions?
(Group of Congolese students nod their head yes.)
SIERRA: We all are very curious to know, how has the language barrier affected your
opportunities here?
CEPHAS: English . . . to try to find a job. I have hard time to get good job. To get a job like
. . . like a job I have home, like I do in Africa, I would have to go back to school. I used
to work at U.S. Bank programming computers. To go to school again, I have to know
English. That’s why, uh, a lot of African, African people, they can work at JBS, the meatpacking plant. At JBS they don’t need people who speak English. They just need people
who will like, give their hands.
(Lights fade on the class. As MCABRAHAM stands up, the language learning class freezes
as he walks toward the audience. On the other side of the stage, a Congolese man
who represents MCABRAHAM enters the grocery store and begins to shop around. As
MCABRAHAM speaks, the action is performed in front of the audience by the past version of
MCABRAHAM [JEFFREY] and a Walmart employee.)
MCABRAHAM: In the beginning, every time I would go shopping, someone would come to me.
I would get so frightened because I didn’t know English. I would be shopping when the
worker would say:
EMPLOYEE: How can I help you?
(JEFFREY runs away, scared.)
MCABRAHAM: And I would be so afraid. Every time I see someone approaching me, I would
have to run away because I was scared. I was scared I wouldn’t know what to say if
they asked me a question in English. Now, if I go shopping somewhere, like Walmart
(JEFFREY enters the grocery store and begins to shop around again), I am not scared if
she asks me a question.
EMPLOYEE: How can I help you?
JEFFREY: Can you tell me where the red peppers are?
EMPLOYEE: In the corner of the produce section near the bakery.
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JEFFREY: Thank you.
(JEFFREY smiles at the audience and follows her direction, exiting with the employee.
MCABRAHAM smiles as he joins the class, and the class un-freezes.)
LAUREN: How about you? How has the language barrier impacted your opportunities?
HATEEYAT: Please?
LAUREN: How has the language barrier impacted your opportunities?
HATEEYAT: It’s English, the language?
LAUREN: Yes.
HATEEYAT: How it impacts me now, yes?
LAUREN: How is it affecting you, and your opportunities?
HATEEYAT: Yes, I don’t . . . I don’t know. I have forced myself to learn a little English.
LAUREN: If you’re trying to learn English, how do you balance studying with working?
HATEEYAT: If I’m trying to work and speak English? I’m stuck. The JBS work and English
learning too hard. I try and try but can’t get better. My job need no English.
YUHUA: How about you?
(The Congolese person looks confused. The teacher then asks him the question in French.)
TEACHER: La barrière de la langue vous a-t-elle affecté?
JC: C’est difficile de parler avec un traducteur. Parler avec un traducteur, on ne peut pas
s’adresser directement. Les gens ne se sentent pas liées. Dans certains contextes, ça
bloque entièrement la communication. Quand on peut communiquer facilement, ça ouvre
d’autres portes pour nous, autres horizons.
TEACHER: He said it’s hard to speak through a translator. Speaking all the time through a
translator, you can’t be direct. People don’t feel connected to you. In certain situations, it
completely blocks communication. Once you can communicate easily, that opens other
doors, other horizons.
YUHUA: If you are trying to learn English, how do you balance studying and working?
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TEACHER: Étudiez-vous l’anglais? Est-il difficile de trouver l’équilibre entre vos études et votre
travail?
JC: J’essaie d’apprendre l’anglais et j’étudie l’anglais, mais le problème c’est le temps. Je
reviens à la maison à minuit, minuit et demi. À une heure de l’après-midi, le lendemain, je
suis de retour au travail.
TEACHER: He said he is trying to learn English and is studying English, but the problem is
time. He comes home at twelve, twelve-thirty at night. By one o’clock in the afternoon the
next day, he is back at work.
JC: On n’a pas le temps de réviser les notes. Comment réviser? Il n’y a pas de temps. C’est le
problème. Mon cours d’anglais est dans ma communauté le samedi matin.
TEACHER: He says you can’t look back at your notes. How could you look back at your
studies? There’s no time. That’s the problem. So, they all have to do things such as this,
where even though it’s just a little bit and it’s just from time to time, little by little it helps
them progress. It gets better. They have this class, but it’s hard trying to find the time
outside of this Saturday morning English class.
from left to right: Lauren Mulacek, Cephas Omar, Sierra Gallegos, Michael Shereda
Photo by Samantha McDaniel, courtesy of the Jacksonville Journal Courier
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SCENE 4: THE THINGS THEY CARRIED
AKUA: What did I bring with me to the United States? I brought my passport. Yes. I think that I
left everything.
JEFFREY: I brought my family: my wife, my two children, and a new baby on its way. I brought
just what is necessary. I pretty much left everything. I brought my diploma. I was a
lawyer.
SUBOMI: I just bring my, my suitcase with just some . . . some clothes. That’s it. And the
rest of the things, I buy them here. You have just the time to take the things that you
really need. And the rest you just leave for your relatives or friends. Yeah. Just with some
money, you can start your life here.
(Lights shift to CEPHAS and SIERRA.)
CEPHAS: The time when I came because I went back to Africa, I brought some fish and,
uh, monkey.
SIERRA: Why did you bring a monkey to the US?
CEPHAS: I eat monkey. (Seeing surprised look) Not fresh, dead.
SIERRA: Oh, ok. You were bringing food.
CEPHAS: Exactly.
SIERRA: I thought you brought one on a leash. I couldn’t imagine how you got through
customs.
CEPHAS: Yeah, I don’t think they would let me in.
SIERRA: I don’t like fish personally, but I know you said you like fish. So how do you like your
fish cooked?
CEPHAS: My fish? Well, Americans cut the head off, and I don’t want to lose the fish head.
SIERRA: You don’t? You leave the head? You eat the eyes and everything?
CEPHAS: Everything.
SIERRA: What is that like—to eat an eye of a fish?
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CEPHAS: I have an American friend. The first day he saw me cooking fish, he said, “You eat
that?” I said, “Yeah. Just try it. Try.” And when he tried, he loved it.
SIERRA: You cook me a fish, I’ll try to eat it.
CEPHAS: Really? You will eat everything? The lips and the eyes?
SIERRA: I’ll try it. I’ll try whatever. I’m open to new things.
CEPHAS: Okay, we will see.
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SCENE 5: CULTURAL DIFFERENCES
YUHUA: Are Americans different than you thought they would be?
HATEEYAT: It’s always different from what you expect. People are always different. You always
have ideas, and then there’s reality. I’m hesitant to say. I do not want to offend anyone.
YUHUA: It’s okay. You can be honest with me. I won’t tell anyone.
HATEEYAT: Some Americans are very courteous and polite and kind, and some aren’t.
Sometimes people are unreasonably unkind and you wonder why. There doesn’t seem
to be a reason. But in general, the people are good. And the immigration system is good.
We came through the green card lottery. When you allow people to come from a hard life
to settle here, inside them, you are going to find a better person.
YUHUA: How do you think the US culture is different from the Congo?
HATEEYAT: Many different cultures exist side by side in the Congo, so we are already
used to cultural differences—different cultural values, religious diversities, different
dress, different music, different styles of dancing. All of that. There are 450 dialects.
So, Americans seem less diverse. They seem more like—all the same because here
everyone is speaking one language, and everyone is dressing the same. But one main
difference with Africa is we don’t have good infrastructure. Here, you can drive almost
anywhere. I was unable to work around Congo because there was just no road to get to
so many places. Only plane. Africa, I can say, stays as God created it.
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SCENE 6: TRAFFIC
ANIMA: In the US you leave cars unlocked and no one touches them—and everyone has a
whole car to themselves. You can leave a house unlocked and nothing happens. But
it’s not like that back home. There, if you left a car like that, it would be stolen. I’ve
noticed that about the US . . . I know there’s a lot of crime in Chicago, for instance, but
Jacksonville feels much safer than Kinshasa. Here, you respect the law. At intersections a
driver will stop and wait until the other car goes. It’s amazing! Here it’s good to drive, but
there it’s dangerous, because back home the drivers try to go as fast as possible to pass
through. And if they pass, they go, “BeepBeepBeep!!!!” You have to really listen for all of
the honking to know what the other drivers are doing. In Congo, you just go.
(ANIMA exits. Sound of traffic rises. SUBOMI enters playing with a ball, at first oblivious to the
traffic but gradually becoming more anxious. Students enter from various directions as if they
were cars, swirling around SUBOMI. We hear ANIMA call SUBOMI from offstage. Then she
enters and speaks to her in her native language, pulling her child away to safety.)
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SCENE 7: MARRIAGE
JEFFREY: In Africa how the family is is very different. Here what your family is is your parents
your brother and sister (Enter a small Caucasian family: a mother, father, and daughter
behind scrim). In Africa it not the same. In Africa the family is my father, my mother, my
brother and sister, my cousin, my nephew, my uncle, my aunt, my grandfa, my grandpa,
my grandma—all these are my family (Lights up on Congolese family entering behind
scrim one by one as they are mentioned). In the same way I take oft my mother—I
mean, how I take care my mother, is the same way I take care of my aunt, is the same
way I take care of my family.
In your family you are going to be kissed. You can be kissed by your aunt; you can be
kissed by your uncle. You understand what I mean? That’s why in Africa we are united.
Our families are very united. This is our force.
(Congolese family begins hugging and showing affection towards one another to represent a
close family. The Caucasian family pulls out electronic devices and is not interacting. Lights
out on scrim).
And marriage in Africa is not the same as US. Okay? For instance, in Africa a child will
leave his parent when he get enough money to get married. If you don’t get married, you
going to stay with your family, your parents in the same place. Because why? In order
to get married, you need enough money to buy gift and pay dowry to wife’s family. This
shows if you are able to take care of yourself and your wife. Before you get married, your
mother will advise you, your aunt again will advise you—how you can take care of your
children, how you can take care of your house, how you can take care of your future
marriage. And then my pa, my family will give me advice how I can live with my wife and
family one day. (To the audience) But in America, what do you do?
MARK: We just say, “Will you marry me?”
JEFFREY: Dang. That’s it?!?! That is all it takes to get married? You take a wife for free? Wow!
Yah, is good here! Just a word. Wow. That is such a way of getting married. Another
difference is in Africa if you get married, getting divorced is forbidden. We believe
marriage is from God—it is sacred—and our foundation is the Bible. If you get married,
you get married forever. But maybe I can have another wi–, I mean, can have a mistress.
Yah, I can have it, but I can’t put away my first wife.
(Pause)
18
I live in U.S. now, but I go to visit my family. It was a first priority to get the paperwork
for US immigration, to try to bring my family with me. I miss them very much. When I
become a citizen, I plan to bring my mother, to come here. Family is important. I want a
better life for us.
19
SCENE 8: WORKING IN THE SHADOWS
(NARRATOR begins and the cyc should light up with an ominous red color. The WORKERS are
behind the scrim.)
from left to right: McAbraham (Mac) AppiaKubi,
Akua Biaa Adu, Adwoa Anima Addo, and Rachel Sefah
Photo by Samantha McDaniel, courtesy of the
Jacksonville Journal Courier
NARRATOR: JBS is a meat packing factory in Beardstown, Illinois. Most workers have
ten-hour work days.
MCABRAHAM: I start work at two and I get off at midnight. I’m always exhausted.
AKUA: I have to attend classes in the mornings, and I can’t stay awake.
NARRATOR: They only get a fifteen-minute break every two hours. And they have to finish
lunch in only thirty minutes. Many of the workers get paid around $14 an hour.
ANIMA: Although we make a good living, it is like Hell in the factory.
RACHEL: Working here feels like being in prison.
NARRATOR: Every day they’re bombarded with horrific sounds and smells. Roaring machinery
pounds in their ears along with the squeals of hogs before they are butchered—1200 an
hour, over 18,000 a day.
MCABRAHAM: The summer heat makes the stench of death even stronger.
NARRATOR: The pigs begin knocked unconscious by carbon dioxide. Workers then have
to place the pigs on a hook. (MCABRAHAM strains to hoist a pig onto a hook to the
sound of a metronome.) The next worker has to sever the pig’s jugular vein. (AKUA
demonstrates.) It’s then drained of its blood and sent to the next group. These workers
tear the pig into pieces. (ANIMA and RACHEL tear the pig apart.) Then, workers have
to transport the pig remains onto the kill floor. In this room, temperatures can reach as
low as 35°F, colder than any temperature the workers had felt in Africa. But the smells
and temperatures fall short of the pains of labor. Because of their ten-hour schedule and
20
repetitive motions, the workers are often left feeling stiff and in pain.
AKUA: When my shoulder started hurting so bad all the time, I was told to just take ibuprofen
and get back to work. (AKUA mimes taking pills before returning to her job.)
NARRATOR: They are treated like machines and have to hook one pig every three seconds
(workers speed up with metronome) with pigs weighing on average 265 pounds. American
plants run at roughly twice the speed of those in Europe. (They speed up until they collapse.
Scrim lights out momentarily.) However, it is worth it to the Congolese workers. (The red
light transitions into a yellowish-orange. They slowly rise with scrim lights.)
ANIMA: Although it is always painful, I need to support my family.
RACHEL: The money I make is sending my son to school.
MCABRAHAM: As long as my children need help, I will keep working.
(Sound of a crowd. Light comes up on MICHAEL and MASON entering. MASON comes in
carrying two hotdogs.)
MASON: Hey, bro, here’s your hot dog.
MICHAEL: Thanks, man.
(The crowd roars, and they look excited. Projection of the winning moment of the
World Series.)
BOTH: Go Cubs!
(Sound fades and they exit. The workers are shown huddles behind the scrim for a moment.
Lights shift.)
HATEEYAT: Living in America, it is different. We work a lot more than I thought we would, and I
have little time to spend with family. All week long, I am at work, even on Saturday. The kids
are at school, and the daycare is not good. They don’t get out enough. We don’t see each
other very much, so that warm relationship with my kids—that is what I am missing.
The one day we have together is on Sunday, and we go to church. There, I can forget my
troubles. When I sing, it is like I am with Jesus, and that feeling helps me bear the burdens
in the rest of my life.
SPECIAL MUSIC — Gospel Quartet: Bonse Aba
21
SCENE 9: POLITICS
RACHEL: I like the American Government. I like it because they give the candidates the
opportunity to go to the media and explain the program to the people that they expect to
rule. That’s a good thing. But in most of Africa, they don’t do that. Our leadership, they
don’t have respect for their people. And they don’t even respect the rules, you know?
The government there is irresponsible, and they take advantage of their citizens. Joseph
Kabila—he’s trying to change the Constitution so he can remain president. The elections
are supposed to happen this December 19, but in Africa in general, the presidents get
into power, and they don’t want to leave. Instead, they try to consolidate their power. He’s
already done his two allowed terms—he’s at the end of his mandate, and he’s trying to
put off the elections until 2018. But the population is determined. They are trying to hold
him to this December. They’re going to take to the streets, to get him out of power. The
possibility is that he’s going to get the army to kill the people who are in the streets—
that’s the worry—but the people are determined. If he did somehow allow this election
to take place peacefully and leave his position of power, that would be the first time,
because it’s always a coup d’état. It’s always violent.
(Images of election protests and people on stretchers afterwards.)
SUBOMI: My relatives tell me people are dying in the streets—dying for the right to vote, to
choose a better leader. Many are afraid. They stay in their houses and don’t leave. This
should not be happening.
ANIMA: I think things in Africa could change. Like, if the United Nations put pressure on those
kinds of presidents, things can change. We need more pressure coming from outside.
United Nation, the United States, real countries for democracy. If they put pressure on
those presidents, things could change.
22
SCENE 10: THE AMERICAN WORKPLACE REVISITED
CEPHAS: There are two reasons people come to the US—for security and a better economy. I
no longer have to work at JBS. I now work at Reynold’s. And I’m not making the plastic.
I’m an instructor. They hired me to interpret English to Africans who speak French. I
explain to them how to work the machines, step by step. The English here, in America,
is different from how I learned it. It set me back a little, but America is a land where
people can advance. I started out as an average factory worker, but now I am a factory
translator, a factory instructor. I was able to start low and get better jobs later. This is one
reason why I came to America.
23
SCENE 11: THE AMERICAN DREAM
(Projection of the DRC and US flags.)
NARRATOR: America. Land of the free, home of the brave. Bombs bursting in air, and the
rockets’ red glare. A symbol of power for the world or an opportunity for better days.
For the citizens of America, we are often blinded, perhaps because of how comfortable
our lives are. For some immigrants, this is a land away from home, a safe space, but
only for the moment. They still long for their own homeland. For others, this country
is a promised land, a powerful, prosperous landscape that gives them a better life.
(MCABRAHAM and JEFFREY enter, standing on opposite sides of the stage facing the
audience.) For these two Congolese immigrants, the American Dream means different
things. (NARRATOR exits.)
MCABRAHAM: In Africa, many live with political and economic fear. Governments are corrupt
and unemployment among the younger generation is high. I got the chance to come here
by plane. But a thousand people will try to reach Europe, to cross the sea in a canoe.
With thousands of people, only maybe five persons are going to make it. All the others
are going to die because they are trying to find the good life, to find the peace.
JEFFREY: I used to watch TV and watch American movies like the movie Rambo, like Arnold
Schwarzenegger, so that make me dream to travel one day to United State. And the
government has a program that . . . it’s kind of lottery. If you win, you can get a visa
and come in America, live your life here if you want. So I was one of the people—I try
and I win and then ask for a visa and then I come here. So it was like my dream was
something that came a reality.
MCABRAHAM: You know, I have great experiences in my country and then to come here for
me is not good idea. But it has permitted me to see how other people live. I learned many
things here that I would never find in my country. Like the freedom . . . No one can arrest
you, no one can put you in jail or kill you for criticizing the president, okay? But in my
country, all is in the hand of the government. Here you’re free. The freedom, it’s rare in
my country. I can tell my people want to do their best to look for freedom in America,
because it is very important for you, for life.
JEFFREY: You know, most of the films I’ve seen show how America is great, how America
is forceful. Like if you watch the movie Rambo . . . you have an idea, like people from
the United State are stronger than everybody else, that the United State is the greatest
country in the world. You know when you see the weapons, it make you feel like I have to
be like that, like American people, powerful. That was the kick start that kept me wanting
24
to go to United State. America is so proud to be great. So people have to be great. I find it
very amazing.
MCABRAHAM: Here in America, you do not understand what is going on outside. You do not
know what happens in other countries. You think America is good, but America is not
always good. America is power. But they do not help when it is needed most. When I was
in my village, I see my father killed, I see my brothers and my sister killed. That is why I
came here. America should care about the people of Africa.
JEFFREY: America is a good place. This place is good to us—to me, this land. And you know
if you are in the United State, maybe you can’t realize that. But if you’re out of United
State, you’ll find that the United State is the most beautiful country in the world. Yeah.
MCABRAHAM and JEFFREY: I come to America for opportunity.
JEFFREY: I have a good life. I want to become a citizen and raise my family here.
MCABRAHAM: I want to go back. I have to take what I have learned and bring it back to my
people. I will never give up until we are free.
(Blackout.)
McAbraham (Mac) AppiaKubi
Photo by Samantha McDaniel, courtesy of the Jacksonville Journal Courier
25
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
To begin with, I would like to thank Professors Devin Bryson and Emily Adams, who have
established a caring relationship with this community. Without their support in a variety of
ways, the project would have been impossible. Similarly, the students in French 302—Deana
Carnaghi, Courtney Dietz (who also assisted with translating and writing), Jordan Howard,
Almiyahou Ngala, Jordan Rambo, Lauren White, Eduardo Zabala—provided invaluable
assistance by allowing us to communicate with predominantly French-speaking interviewees.
We owe them a debt of gratitude.
Thanks to Melissa Pantier, who wrote the grant, and to The Facing Project, especially our
coach, Lori Markum, who gave us guidance. Brooke Gronewold, Katie Bunner, and Bryan
Leonard assisted with advertising and marketing, and Brooke designed this book.
The production benefited from the creativity and technical skills of a number of department
members. Craig Steenerson and Squire Prince created the scrim, JA Kaufmann helped design
and engineer the sound effects, and Tyler Robles generously donated his time to creating and
executing the lighting design.
Thank you to my first-year seminar students—idea generators, writers, editors, and cocreators of the production: Joselynn Allen, Alexa Brant, Mark Brown, Noe Cornejo, Joanna
Cross, Brendan Curtis, Mason Durdel, Sierra Gallegos, Willem Kline, Yuhua Li, John-Christian
Moore, Lauren Mulaceck, Nick Nelson, Riley Pierce, Aimee Romo, Gloria Ross, Makenzie
Simmons, Michael Soracco, and Josh Wilcox. In addition, Michael Shereda played the French
instructor.
Many thanks to the African students who joined us to portray the Congolese: Adwoa Anima
Addo, McAbraham (Mac) Appiah-Kubi, Akua Biaa Adu, Oluwasubomi (Subomi) Olusola,
Hateeyat Salifu, Rachel Sefah, and Jeffery Tawiah. They added enormously to the credibility
and power of the performance.
I’m also appreciative of the (anonymous) Congolese woman who opens her home to new
immigrants wanting to learn English and who similarly opened her home to me and my
26
students. Thanks also to Rodrigue at the Congolese Baptist Church, who generously translated
the service into English for us and was very gracious and welcoming.
And finally, I’m grateful to the Congolese who consented to be interviewed: Andre, Aicha,
Cephas (who also performed in the play), Didier, Erno, Michel, and one anonymous
participant. They took precious free time on a Sunday—the only day most of them have to
spend with their families and take care of the rest of their lives—to share their experiences with
us. We were enormously enriched by this gift.
©2016
27
APPENDIX
PROGRAM
or Porter
eenerson
ry Swick
or Porter
eenerson
e Daniels
TH 130: Belonging
Through Theatre & Film
presents
From the Congo to Jacksonville:
A Facing Project
Based on interviews with: Andre, Aicha, Cephas, Didier,
Erno, & Michel
an
in
hereda
Directed by Nancy Taylor Porter
Sunday, December 4, 2016 7:30 p.m.
Sibert Theatre, McGaw Fine Arts Center
28
CAST
(in order of appearance)
Introductions ............................................................................... Nancy Taylor Porter, Devin Bryson
Mason Durdel ...................................................................................... IC Student, Traveler, Cubs Fan
Michael Soracco .................................................................................. IC Student, Traveler, Cubs Fan
Sierra Gallegos ............................................................................................ IC Student (Scenes 1, 3, 4)
Lauren Mulacek .............................................................. Narrator, Traveler, IC Student (Scenes 1, 3)
Anima Addo ............................................................... IC Student, Congolese Woman (Scenes 6, 8, 9)
Hateeyat Salifu ................................................... IC Student, Miner, Congolese Woman (Scenes 5, 8)
Rachel Sefah ........................................................................ Doctor, Congolese Woman (Scenes 8, 9)
Akua Biaa Adu................................................................... Teacher, Congolese Woman (Scenes 4, 8)
McAbraham (Mac) Appiah-Kubi .................................................... Congolese Man (Scenes 3, 8, 11)
Li Yuhua (Andy) ............................................................................. Traveler, IC Student (Scenes 3, 5)
Makenzie Simmons................................................................. Narrator, Traveler, Walmart Employee
Michael Shereda ....................................................................................................... English Instructor
Cephas Omar..................................................................................... Congolese Man (Scenes 3, 4, 10)
John-Christian Moore .................................................................................. Congolese Man (Scene 3)
Oluwasubomi (Subomi) Oluso ........................................... Congolese Woman/Child (Scenes 4, 6, 9)
Bonse Aba Quartet .................... D. Gabe Knott, Breahna Lesemann, Allen Miggins, Tamar Norville
EVENT STAFF
Production Design................................................................................................. Nancy Taylor Porter
Production Stage Manager ................................................................................................ Tyler Robles
Technical Direction..................................................... Tyler Robles, JA Kaufmann, Craig Steenerson
Rehearsal Stage Manager................................................................................................... Alexa Brant
Lighting Design ................................................................................................................ Tyler Robles
Sound Design/Engineer .................................................................................................. JA Kaufmann
Projection Design ........................................................................... Mark Brown, Nancy Taylor Porter
Projection Engineer, Director's Assistant ......................................................................... Mark Brown
Backstage Crew ............................................................................................................... Noe Cornejo
Light Board Operator ......................................................................................................... Alexa Brant
Sound Board Operator ..................................................................................................... Aimee Romo
Projectionist ..................................................................................................................... Willem Kline
Program Layout ................................................................................................................. Riley Pierce
Usher ................................................................................................................................... Gloria Ross
CAST BIOS
Adwoa Anima Addo (Anima) is a first-year, second-semester student who was born in Ghana. She
plans to double major in physics and computer science and minor in math. She hopes to go on to
graduate school in civil engineering. Although she has performed as a dancer and recited poems, this
is her theatrical debut. She is really excited to take this step because of the play's story—the reality
of it gives her goosebumps and makes her proud to be part of this project.
Akua Biaa Adu is a first-year computer science major from Ghana who loves her bed. When not
sleeping, she is often writing programs or awkward Japanese characters but not papers. She is a
member of the Diversity and Inclusion Club, Koine International Club, Japanese Club, and SAB.
She hasn't acted like this before—this is a new experience for her. So try to make sure you love the
play.
McAbrah
school he
try out for
Mason D
School M
Down Ca
Sierra Ga
studies wh
loves the
Yuhua L
participati
to the aud
John-Chr
grade sch
Congolese
Lauren M
Mac High
Alice@W
and biolog
experienc
Oluwasub
She took a
done som
Cephas O
to program
and the Ja
Hateeyat
minoring
experienc
people.
Rachel Se
first perfo
Makenzie
excited to
middle sc
Michael S
first play.
highlight
Jeffery T
from a sm
been doin
29
McAbraham (Mac) Appiah-Kubi is a first-year student from Ghana, West Africa. Back in high
school he got the chance to be in a play, but he had to improvise. When he came to IC, he decided to
try out for theatre. This will be his first time working with a script.
vin Bryson
Cubs Fan
Cubs Fan
nes 1, 3, 4)
cenes 1, 3)
nes 6, 8, 9)
cenes 5, 8)
cenes 8, 9)
cenes 4, 8)
s 3, 8, 11)
cenes 3, 5)
Employee
Instructor
s 3, 4, 10)
(Scene 3)
nes 4, 6, 9)
ar Norville
ylor Porter
ler Robles
Steenerson
lexa Brant
ler Robles
Kaufmann
ylor Porter
ark Brown
oe Cornejo
lexa Brant
mee Romo
lem Kline
ley Pierce
loria Ross
Ghana. She
o on to
poems, this
he reality
hen not
he is a
d SAB.
u love the
30
Mason Durdel is a first-year student from East Peoria, Illinois. His previous shows include: High
School Musical, Chicago, A Christmas Carol, Bachelor King, and Frankenstein. He’s appearing in
Down Came the Rain, a student-directed one act, next week. He also plays baseball.
Sierra Gallegos is a first-year at Illinois College. She plans to major in communication & rhetorical
studies while at IC. She then plans to attend Rush University to obtain her nursing degree. She also
loves the performing arts. This is Sierra’s first theatrical production.
Yuhua Li is a first-year student from China who plans to major in psychology. This is her first time
participating in a play, and she is very excited about it. She is trying her best to express ideas clearly
to the audience through her acting and to help picture the real lives of the Congolese in America.
John-Christian Moore is a first-year student from the south side of Chicago. He’s been in a few
grade school productions, but this will be the biggest role he has played. After interviewing the
Congolese, it is his pleasure to tell their stories on stage.
Lauren Mulacek is a first-year student from Girard, Illinois. Her favorite productions from North
Mac High School include The High-Schooler's Guide to the Galaxy and
Alice@Wonderland. Lauren is currently working towards pursuing a double major in psychology
and biology. She would like to thank Professor Taylor Porter for giving her this amazing
experience!
Oluwasubomi (Subomi) Olusola is a sophomore from Nigeria majoring in economics and finance.
She took an acting class last spring. This is her first time acting on stage at Illinois College. She has
done some minor acting in high school.
Cephas Omar was born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. As he says in the play, he used
to program computers for U.S. Bank. Here in the U.S. he has worked as a translator for Reynolds
and the Jacksonville School District. This is his first theatrical experience.
Hateeyat Salifu is a first-year student who plans on majoring in political science and double
minoring in French and criminal justice. She has a little bit of theatre experience. She says this
experience has been great because of what it has taught her and how it has helped her meet new
people.
Rachel Sefah is a sophomore who plans on majoring in biology with a minor in French. This is her
first performance, and she’s a little nervous, but she is excited to perform for everyone!
Makenzie Simmons is a first-year student at IC. She is undecided about her field of study, but is
excited to pour her passion into whatever the future may hold. This is Makenzie's first show since
middle school, and she is ecstatic to be involved in theatre again.
Michael Soracco is a first-year from Santa Barbara, California. He is new to theatre, and this is his
first play. He is grateful for this opportunity to tell the Congolese’s untold stories and to help
highlight the problems in Congo through their personal experiences.
Jeffery Tawiah is a sophomore from Ghana who has taken one acting class (TH 222). He comes
from a small family with both mother and father and four brothers. He plays the trumpet and has
been doing a little acting since age seven, all the way through high school.
, Sierra
kenzie
iah-Kubi,
l Sefah,
Scenes and Authors/Editors
Scene 1: Conversations across Campus Nancy Taylor Porter
Scene 2: Jobs in the DRC
Riley Pierce, Nick Nelson, Michael Soracco, Brendan Curtis
Scene 3: Language Barriers
Lauren Mulacek, John-Christian Moore, Noe Cornejo
Scene 4: The Things They Carried
Makenzie Simmons
Scene 5: Cultural Differences
Makenzie Simmons, Yuhua Li, Aimee Romo
Scene 6: Traffic
Mason Durdel, Yuhua Li
Drivers – Joselynn Allen, Brendan Curtis, Noe Cornejo, Mason Durdel, Sierra
Gallegos, Yuhua Li, Lauren Mulacek, Nick Nelson, Riley Pierce, Makenzie
Simmons, Michael Soracco, Josh Wilcox
Scene 7: Marriage
Joanna Cross, Alexa Brant, Gloria Ross
American Family – Joanna Cross, Yuhua Li, Nick Nelson
African Family – Anima Addo, Akua Biaa Adu, McAbraham (Mac) Appiah-Kubi,
Oluwasubomi (Subomi) Olusola, Cephas Omar, Hateeyat Salifu, Rachel Sefah,
Jeffery Tawiah
Scene 8: Working in the Shadows
Mark Brown, Joselynn Allen, Josh Wilcox
Scene 9: Politics
Makenzie Simmons
Scene 10: The American Workplace Revisited
Mark Brown
Scene 11: The American Dream
Willem Kline, Sierra Gallegos
Play Structure and Editor: Nancy Taylor Porter
Project Assistant: Courtney Dietz
31
THEATREWORKS STAFF
TheatreWorks Program Director……………………...............Nancy Taylor Porter
Designer and Technical Director…………………………………Craig Steenerson
Business Manager………………………………………………....…..Mary Swick
DEPARTMENT OF THEATRE
Fr
Department Chair……………………………………………..Nancy Taylor Porter
Associate Professor of Theatre…………………………………...Craig Steenerson
Assistant Professor of Theatre………………………..………...…...Aasne Daniels
Base
SPECIAL THANKS
Emily Adams and the students of FR 302: Deana Carnaghi, Courtney Dietz, Jordan
Howard, Almiyahou Ngala, Jordan Rambo, Lauren White, Eduardo Zabala; Devin
Bryson, Craig Steenerson, Tyler Robles, JA Kaufmann, Mary Swick, Michael Shereda
UPCOMING EVENTS
Student-Directed One Acts
December 12-13 @ 7:30 PM
ICEBOX Theatre
Making Merci Congo: Activism through Filmmaking
Monday, December 5 @ 11 AM
Rammelkamp Chapel
Film showing: Merci Congo
Monday, December 5 @ 7 PM
Sibert Theatre
Cloud Tectonics
February 25, March 2-5
ICEBOX Theatre
Angels in America
April 22, 27-30
Sibert Theatre
32
S
Sibe
Department of Theatre
1101 West College Avenue, Jacksonville, Illinois 62650
www.ic.edu/theatre