New play based on Flint arsons

In the opening scene of the Flint Fires Verbatim Theater Project, a student portraying singer-songwriter Hannah Fralick describes a night on Oak Street composing at the piano as a house burns across the street.

Fralick's is the first in a chorus of Flint voices that includes firefighters, professors, artists, nonprofit workers, urban farmers, students, a pastor and Mayor Dayne Walling. The play is based on people's stories of how arson has impacted their lives and neighborhoods. The project is the work of UM-Flint's Collective Playwrights Workshop led by Professor Andrew Morton.

As a verbatim theater project, the script of the play is being culled from interviews with local people, historical documents and found materials. The play follows the lead of UM-Flint's 2010 play, Glenwood Restoration of Spirit, which was culled from historical documents and performed in the historic Glenwood Cemetery. Like Glenwood, the project has received significant funding from UM's Arts of Citizenship Program. The project is a collaboration with the Urban League of Flint, Raise it Up! Youth Arts and Awareness, Hispanic Community and Technology Center and Kearsley Park Block Redevelopment Project.

Performances will take place in late August and September at different venues across Flint in communities most affected by the fire. Each performance will be followed by a dialogue session.

Morton said he found it important not to perform the piece at the UM-Flint Theater to the regular theater-going audience, but to bring it to different community spaces.

"I don't want this to be a play people watch and then go home. I want to give people the opportunity to participate in community dialogue," Morton said. "I'm excited about having actors working with different spaces, with different size audiences and with different acoustics. And it's valuable for students to try their skills in different places to get over their prejudices."

Morton and his students have been working on the project since January. The students began by compiling lists of people to interview. Auditions will be held in June.

Morton said he was inspired by "the unanswered questions surrounding the fires — the conspiracy theories behind it."

Each of his students conducted interviews with members of the community and wrote out transcripts now being compiled into a script.

For student Nic Custer, who has been involved as a playwright, creative producer and interviewer, the experience has been meaningful.

"I've been around. I've seen how these fires affect people. This is more than a show. It's an inspirational piece and an opportunity for important community dialogue. How do we break down the barriers? We want to invite people to share with us and decompress."

The project was not only a means of bringing together the voices of Flint, but a way of giving suburban students a gentle push toward interaction with the diversity of Flint communities.

"A lot of students have the experience of coming to Flint from outside communities with warnings and prejudices. Once they spend a lot of time in the city these ideas are proven false," Morton said.

UM-Flint student Jessica Flemming said the process has been rewarding for her.

"I have gained so much from this experience. Talking to the people in this community has been so fantastic. I have been touched by these people and have taken so much from this experience. It's been a learning experience."

Custer said the play has also created an outlet for people who felt their voices weren't being heard.

"People feel this is the only way they can have a voice. Many people aren't used to being listened to. The situation we're in is a travesty. No one has the answers and that's a fearful thing. But I've found that everyone is willing to fight for their stake in Flint. That inspires me," added Custer.

Morton said he is pleased with the way the play is shaping up.

"I started the project thinking we might end up with something emotionally heavy — emotional stress, lost homes, grief. But I've been really impressed by people committed to the city. All the activists and good people are working to negate the negative press the city receives. I hope the play represents both sides — the bad things that have happened and what the good people are doing and the strength they have."

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