Performance troupe takes inventive approach to raising domestic violence awareness

On Christmas Eve we were supposed to drive five hours to my parents’ house, but my fiancé came home drunk. After we finally got on the road, he pulled the car over in the middle of nowhere and tried to force me out because "he was sick of me." After I begged and pleaded, he let me stay. For me, the emotional abuse was worse than the physical.

This is just one of the stories told by the Troubling Violence Performance Project. The group, consisting of University of Missouri-Columbia faculty and students, has found a way to make domestic violence real, down-to-earth and hard to ignore.

The group performs monologues based on real cases of domestic violence depicted in English Professor Elaine Lawless’ book, Women Escaping Violence: Empowerment through Narrative (University of Missouri Press, 2001), winner of the Curators' Prize for Publishing Excellence in 2001. Lawless along with Heather Carver, professor of performance studies in Theatre, created the project as a way to raise awareness about domestic abuse. The performers each portray a true story, but not all of the monologues are from the book.

"Our goal is to open up dialogue and get people talking about a topic that has always been taboo," Lawless, project producer, said. "Sometimes after we perform, women say they want to help and tell me their stories. I think it makes them feel better to know that their experiences can help prevent violence for others."

Carver, the director of the troupe, began rehearsing the performances in August. Some of the performers, both graduate and undergraduate, had never performed before. The project continues to grow. Carver said sometimes after performances people ask if they can help.

"All of our volunteers are taking part in this project for activist reasons," Carver said. "They’re doing this because they feel strongly about helping women escape abusive and violent relationships."

The troupe performs all across campus and plans to expand its message to women’s clinics, faith-based communities, and other interested groups throughout the community. Troubling Violence hopes to take its performances to other parts of the state and across the nation.

"It’s a wonderful tool," Kylene Diller, a graduate student of social work at MU said about Troubling Violence. "It smacks people in the face and makes the violence more real for people."

For more information, contact Heather Carver (phone: 573-882-9263; email: CarverH@missouri.edu) or Elaine Lawless (phone: 573-882-6885; email: LawlessE@missouri.edu).

Additional links:

English Department
Theatre Department

<< back to news
<< back to archives