The sting of the Orlando Pulse Nightclub shooting has not been forgotten; its impact still exists in the minds and hearts of not only those directly affected by the shooting and the LGBTQ+ community but also students and activists across the country.

As a contribution to the international response to this horrific tragedy, the Brandeis Department of Theater Arts put on a series of five-minute plays, entitled “After Orlando,” a collective of student-directed short performances that touched upon matters surrounding the Pulse shooting: the heinous event took place June of 2016 in Orlando, Florida in which a security guard took open fire to a gay nightclub killing dozens and incapacitating more. Some themes discussed in these pieces included gun control, LGBTQ+ rights, the Latinx community, homophobia and racism. Prior to the start of the play, donations were inquired; the money raised would go to counseling and support for injured victims from the shooting and also to the loved ones of victims whose lives were taken.

The actors performed with incredible passion. Plays “Gone Silent,” directed by Matt Hoisch ’19, and “These Wings are Meant to Fly” directed by Ayelet Schrek ’17, portrayed the reactions of those directly related to victims and both felt chillingly authentic — so much so that it seemed the students really were linked to the shooting. Despite the short time span, the actors exuded raw emotion. This feat was especially noteworthy as the plays did not rely on many props or costumes. The smaller environment in Spingold’s Laurie Theater allowed the plays to feel extremely intimate and personal. A common emotion expressed in each piece was an intense, mourning anger; the general emotions throughout “After Orlando” seemed in accordance with the five stages of grief. For example, in “You Have To,” directed by Ben Astrachan ’19 and Gabe Walker’s ’19 anger grew into violence. In this scene, two lovers are so overwhelmed with the aftermath of the shooting that their physicality becomes non-consensual and dangerous. The skits presented multiple different scenarios. For instance, “The Gun Collector,” directed by B.T. Montrym ’19, was more of a monologue piece, where one woman expresses her disgust for such weapons and how she wishes that all guns — toy, water or fake — would disappear. “And Then the Music,” directed by Becca Myers ’18, featured a larger cast with actors portraying the reenactment of the scene as carefree clubgoers dancing and enjoying themselves until they hear gunshots — with each shot, one dancer fell down.

The artistic merit of the directors was particularly outstanding. They presented the complex, delicate subject with professional awareness. The “Director’s Talk” forum, hosted at the end of the reading, allowed the directors and cast to not only discuss their creative process but evaluate the ultimate importance of these plays about the Orlando shooting and how each person felt connected to the subject matter. The audience was also able to receive insight behind the meanings of some of the pieces through this question-and-answer.

The directors all agreed that one of the major efforts of “After Orlando” was to dispel the idea of the shooting as exclusively “the 49” (for the 49 victims of the shooting). Rather, the plays aimed to make it about the “49 individuals concretely or abstractly,” according to Andrew Child ’19. The directors and cast members discussed how it remains important to really recognize the repercussions by becoming aware that for each numerical victim, a real human life was taken, rather than evaluating the tragedy as simply more mass shooting data.

One question brought up was the overall impact making these plays had on the shooting. Actress Gabby Lamm ’17 weighed in on the topic, expressing “I saw all of the cold statistics and the news articles that were coming through that were saying this is how many people died, this is who it was, and I didn’t have a space to process it.

So this, for me, was an opportunity to process it again and ... explore the impact of it on my community, on other communities, on everyone around me.” Ben Winick ’17 also added, “I didn’t really have the time to mourn, but I think also what these plays can do is absolutely provide us a space to mourn.”

“After Orlando” showcased the passion and connection that Brandeis students have to this horrific tragedy. It’s amazing to think that through the vehicle of playmaking, these students created a space for themselves, as well as those watching each play, to mourn and process.