Controversial play to debut at Pitt Wednesday

Sometimes one actor is all it takes to bring attention to a cause.

At 8:30 tonight, Courtney… Sometimes one actor is all it takes to bring attention to a cause.

At 8:30 tonight, Courtney Nassar, a graduate of Point Park University, will star in the one-woman play “My Name is Rachel Corrie,” which depicts the life and death of an American who was killed in the Gaza Strip in 2003.

The play, which has been a source of controversy since it debuted in London in 2006, tells the story of the 23-year-old American peace activist who was killed by an Israeli bulldozer in the Gaza Strip.

“It’s very dark. It’s very controversial. But it’s also very human because it’s about this one woman,” said Ryan Branagan, president of Pitt’s Students for Justice in Palestine.

SJP will host the play, which will be free and open to the public, in Room 125 of the Frick Fine Arts Building.

Branagan said that the play, originally edited and directed by Alan Rickman, is entirely written in Corrie’s own words. It is based on her correspondences and diaries.

Branagan said that Nassar starred in the play at Pitt in 2009.

Corrie died attempting to shield the house of a Palestinian family from destruction by an Israeli bulldozer in Rafah, a city in the Gaza Strip. This Friday will mark the ninth anniversary of her death.

“My Name is Rachel Corrie” has provoked controversy because of what many view as its uneven portrayal of the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.

Sam Mellits, the president of Panthers for Israel, said that he believes the play presents a narrow picture of the conflict.

While Mellits called Corrie’s death “tragic,” he emphasized that the play does not provide context for what happened leading up to it and only focuses on her perspective.

“[Corrie] entered a designated military zone and threw herself in the middle of an Israeli counter-terrorism operation,” he said, explaining that at the time, it was part of Israel’s counter-terrorist doctrine to bulldoze houses of suspected terrorists.

He said that Corrie’s death occurred during the Second Intifada, a period of widespread bloodshed between Israelis and Palestinians.

Now, nearly a decade later, Mellits said that the situation has changed and that the play gives a misleading and outdated portrayal of the situation.

Branagan disagreed with the assessment of those who, like Mellits, criticize the play as one-sided. Branagan called such criticism “disingenuous.”

He argued that the way the play portrays the Israeli presence in Gaza and the West Bank is still relevant.

“It’s about how an American peace activist approaches a very difficult situation, and that’s something we don’t need to create an artificial ‘other side’ for,” Branagan said.

Branagan said that the play cost $725 to organize, which came from the Student Activities Fund. Of the amount, $500 will go to Nassar for her performance, while the remaining $225 went to purchasing the rights to stage the play.

Nassar could not be reached for comment.