Harsh reality of assault plays out on UH stage

By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Editor

•	'Unspeakable Acts' 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, 3:30 and 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the Architecture Auditorium, University of Hawai'i-Manoa; 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Campus Center Ballroom, UH-Manoa Free 956-9977 Also: A discussion follows each performance.

"Unspeakable Acts," a drama she's directing about collegiate sexual assault, combines both elements of her life in a compelling way. The show has a three-day run next week on the Manoa campus.

"It's part of my MFA work, to get a degree in youth theater," Zwicker said. "It's also a means to reach more people, through drama, about various aspects of sex abuse and date rape. It brings the message out much better than a brochure."

Zwicker said she was able to stage the play after her boss, Beverly McCreary, a gender equity counselor, obtained a grant from the campus Student Activities and Program Fee Board. The Student Organization of Theatre & Dance is assisting the play, which is based on case studies.

No names are mentioned by the cast of six actors (three women, three men) who are in some compromising situations in the six vignettes comprising "Unspeakable Acts."

"The target audience is the campus population, with certain classes coming to see the play," Zwicker said. "But I hope that the play will grow behind this first showing, maybe touring high schools, and even incorporated into student orientation programs for freshmen and athletes here. It's not only entertainment, it's education."

Date rape, and how it affects women, is a key underlying issue of the work, she said. There's a she-said, he-said take, too, where both perspectives are visualized. "You see how an athlete, who doesn't think the issue applies to him, learns about what the laws say. Even though he is not accused of rape, he could have been."

The segments bear titles such as "A Word With My Rapist," "What a Night," "Just a Guy," "Wrongfully Accused" and "Learned the Hard Way."

The actors are Troy Apostle, Miyuki Hill, Christiana Miller, Gilbert Molina, Rick Murakami and Alma Pasic. They play victims, perpetrators, friends and family members in various incidents.

The source of material included real client situations and dialogue, so there's an edge of honesty and relevance to the play.

"Probably the harshest one, the angriest segment, is 'A Word With My Rapist,' " Zwicker said. "It's about a victim who takes five years to come to terms with her anger. She is quite angry about how rape has taken everything away from her life, how she can't confront her rapist, how she can't get on a bus or go to a restaurant. As she relates it, (his) friends cheered him on."

Discussions will follow the hour-long performance, which is devoid of props and sets. "The focus is on the acting, the situations," Zwicker said.