At the end of October the OHS Drama Club performed their fall production, Rowing to America. For those that haven’t seen this moving show, Rowing to America was a show consisting of small one scenes written by some of the student-actors and distinguished playwrights to tell the stories of those immigrating and emigrating within the United States. While both sad and comedic the students were able to to tell the stories of the people that make up America aka, the Land of Immigrants.

The show began with a mix of monologues and scenes, the opening scene being a story of a young man who had immigrated from Europe and his drive to become an American citizen, accurately reflecting what many immigrants who come to this country for a better life feel, (written by students Charles Blaha and yours truly). The first act was filled with heavy dramatic scenes describing the struggle in which many immigrants went through to come to America; some who were forced to come the United States and those who were forced to leave against their will while facing hardships such as sexual abuse. The portrayal of many of these scenes according to some of the actors said that it was bit difficult to portray these characters having never had to come to terms with this type of situation. Many agreed that they couldn’t imagine what it would be like to move to a strange new country and face the issues and struggle that immigrants face. On the other hand there were few that said they asked their relatives who had immigrated to the United States what they felt; providing research and personal background to some of the characters.

The second act included more light-hearted and comedic scenes than the first act showing the more positive but, deep meaning side of the immigration process before closing the production with a beautiful montage of faces of those who had first gone through Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty with her poem spoken by, three select cast members whose characters had portrayed three different eras and types of immigration and emigration. With the cast of Rowing to America being diverse, the portrayal of the characters were accurate regarding emotion and character interaction. A round of applause to Ms. Beattie and the OHS Drama Club for putting on such a moving and relatable production.