Letters to Sala

by Arlene Hutton

Performance Dates: February 23-25

Performance Times: 7:30 pm

Performance Location: Tremper Studio Theater (Room 120)

Synopsis: Adapted from the book Sala’s Gift by Ann Kirschner and based on a true account, LETTERS TO SALA is a remarkable story of a young girl’s survival during wartime Germany. Five years. Seven Nazi labor camps. Over 350 hidden letters. Sala Garncarz Kirschner kept her secret for over fifty years, concealing her incredibly painful history in a Spill and Spell box. Everything changes when Sala reveals the cache to her grown daughter, Ann. LETTERS TO SALA draws from the emotional journeys that begin for both Ann and Sala when the letters resurface. Through scholarly research, Ann discovers that her mother has made a historically significant impact on Holocaust documentation. As Ann processes her own reaction to her mother’s story, her daughters, Caroline and Elisabeth, also realize for the first time the weight of their Jewish heritage. Simultaneously, Ann’s study of the letters throws Sala into the past again. She relives her youth, recalling her naïve desire for adventure, the disillusionment of her life in the work camps, and her loss of communication with the outside world as the war progressed around her. Playwright Arlene Hutton drives the two stories to a single question: What is to be done with these letters? If Sala risked her life to hold onto them as a young woman imprisoned in a work camp, are they merely the emotionally rich relics of her past life? Or are they worthy and important historical documents that demand to be shared with the public? Three generations of Kirschner women must work together to sift through the past and come to terms with the true gravity of Sala’s letters.

PRODUCTION GALLERY

Cast

Dana Lehman

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Sala

Bianca Gonzalez

Ann

Roberta Keller

Caroline

Rebecca Keller

Elisabeth

Renee Grotthuss

Young Sala

Brenna Standish

Raizel

Melissa Alvarado

Blima

Cameron Giampietro

Chana/Gucia

Julia Sturino

Ala

Mark Gerlach

Nazi Guard

Haley Sheedlo

Bela/Rachel/Laya Dina/Rozia

Lianna Taylor

Sara

Lily Mojonnier

Frymka/Zusi

Alvaro Gutierrez

Chaim/Nazi Guard

Janae Claussen

Lucia

Emma Untershine

Elfriede

Danny Swanger

Herbert

Jaedon Bain

Harry

Logan Gaal

Sidney

Crew

Renata Orth*

Director

Ash Whitaker

Stage Manager

Emma Henry

Lighting Technician

Marci Bernier

Sound Technician

Brooke Halvorsen*

Properties Master

Erin Dillon

Construction Crew

Faith Flores

Construction Crew

Mikey Kok

Construction Crew

Sam Kuchta

Construction Crew

Chris LeValley

Construction Crew

Jesus Puente

Construction Crew

Kelsey Robinson

Construction Crew