Thursday, August 20, 2015

Summary of Sending Down the Sparrows


The play, a work of historical fiction, bears witness to the systematic persecution and extermination of the handicapped by Nazi Germany through the character of Viktor, a young man who is a reluctant member of the Hitler Youth.  Viktor has a secret: a mentally handicapped sister who is the ward of a state institution.  Viktor soon finds himself caught between the Nazi ideologies of racial and genetic purity and the love of a sister for whom he feels shame. As the play unfolds, he must choose whether to continue protecting this secret and himself or to come to the defense of his sister.
 
Laura Lundgren Smith, a native of Texas, lives in Fort Worth.  She holds a Bachelor of Arts with Honors in Theatre and English and a Master of Arts in Theatre from Texas A & M University at Commerce.  Ms. Lundgren Smith has an extensive background in theatre and has directed, designed and performed in numerous productions.
 
I am excited to work with Ms. Lundgren Smith because she will give my students such insights into the play and the perspective from which she created it.  It is not often that a theatre class can communicate with the playwright.

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