A Drama to Challenge: Honoring Holocaust Survivors

by Alicen Arsenault · May 12, 2022

Aliyah Foote plays a Hitler youth in And Then They Came For Me: Remembering the World of Anne Frank. The multimedia production includes video and photos that play behind the performers.

The South Albany High School Advanced Acting class presents “And Then They Came for Me: Remembering the World of Anne Frank,” by James Still, this weekend.

The play will be held at Elizabeth Bentley Theater at South Albany High School, May 12-14 at 7pm and May 15 at 2pm. Ticket prices are $10 for adults and $5 for students and can be purchased at the door.

Live-stream is also available for the performances on May 13 and 14 for $10.

The play is a unique theatrical experience; Multimedia production combines videotaped interviews with Holocaust survivors Ed Silverberg and Eva Schloss, with live actors recreating scenes from their lives during World War II. Silverberg was Anne Frank’s first boyfriend, and she wrote about him in the beginning of her now-famous diary. Schloss was the same age as Anne Frank and lived in the same apartment building in Amsterdam.

Christy Anderson, director and acting instructor, chose the play because she wanted a really heavy drama to challenge the students. South Albany actors are traditionally known for doing comedies and sticking to lighter material. Anderson said, “I feel that it’s important to stretch those skills as actors and have a challenge that you can really sink your teeth into.”

Despite the heavy subject matter, she and the students want to pay tribute to victims of the Holocaust and what they went through. Honoring World War II ventrans and Holocaust survivors is especially important now since many people from that generation are passing away.

She read through the script multiple times before she pitched it to the students. She told them, “Let’s watch it, and tell me how you feel about it. I won’t be offended if you don’t want to do it.” It turned out that they were excited for the challenge, and it was the students’ decision to put on the production.

Anderson commented, “I don’t want history to be erased, and I feel like World War II was really important, and what the people went through is horrific.” She also lamented that students only get a general overview of World War II history because it is so horrendous. Her students have gotten the unique opportunity to explore these topics and talk about them despite the difficulty of the conversation.

For further questions and additional information, contact Anderson at (541) 967-4522 or christy.anderson@albany.k12.or.us.