Terezin Performance Connects GUS Students, Faculty + Alumni
Back in June of 2024, I was approached by the playwright Anna Smulowitz to collaborate and direct Terezin: Children of the Holocaust, a “theatrical play that follows a day and night in the lives of six children held at Camp Theresienstadt in the Czech Republic. The camp, also known as Terezin, imprisoned many thousands of European Jews, including over 15,000 children during the Nazi era.” Written over fifty years ago and performed by young actors all over the world, the central message of this show is to take a stand against “othering.” It educates about the Holocaust while calling upon audiences to prevent hatred and violence. The show travels and performs at a variety of locations and venues throughout the school year. Last month, seventh and eighth graders had the opportunity to attend a live production in the Nance Room.
Honored by the opportunity to participate in something larger than myself, I joined the project. I cast Meara Reeder ’27, a current sixth grader with a strong moral compass and a gift for acting, as Celia, a wide-eyed little sister who stands up for herself. Ciaran Mohan ’21, was cast as Aaron. Aaron is the son of a musician brought to Theresienstadt to play Verdi’s Requiem during a Nazi propaganda stunt intended to dispel rumors about the extermination camps. He is a complex character who briefly loses touch with his humanity due to the harsh conditions and actions of one other character in particular. Ciaran’s depth and sensitivity, paired with his instincts and dedicated work towards the craft of acting, secured his place as Aaron. The rest of the cast was rounded out by incredible actors from the Merrimack Valley community. This performance was an embodiment of GUS community members coming together to further our DEIJ work.
In 2022, alum Ciaran Mohan ’21 joined a cast of Terezin that performed Off-Broadway in New York City and at the Firehouse Center for the Arts in Newburyport, as well as a number of local schools and other venues. When he heard the show was coming to GUS, he jumped at the opportunity to reprise his role of Aaron while balancing his very full schedule as a senior at Pingree School and preparing for Into the Woods. It has been a real gift to have Ciaran return to GUS and generously bear his soul onstage in a role.
“I had the honor of performing at a local assisted living center for an elderly audience, which included six Holocaust survivors whom we met with before the show (one woman was in the same cell as Anne Frank). The cast was able to see one man’s family photos from the Holocaust time period, which he had brought to share with us; some family members had survived, some had not. Hearing their stories and witnessing them as they watched us tell this story was incredibly moving and something I will hold onto forever.”
After getting to know Ciaran in our work together, I took the opportunity to talk to him about his time at GUS and how he feels it helped prepare him for high school (and beyond!).
“While starting a new school is never easy, I felt confident and prepared in many ways beyond academics. As a senior now, and reflecting on my school years leading up to this point, I feel so grateful to have had my time at GUS. Through close bonds with many of my teachers each year, I became comfortable asking questions and seeking extra support, advocating for myself, and taking risks where I hadn’t felt confident doing so before. The teachers at GUS supported the development of my leadership skills, as well as my skills for working collaboratively with my peers. One example of this is when my two friends and I founded an environmental justice club. An idea we had after a long walk on the nature trail turned into weekly meetings, poster making, letter campaigning to local representatives, and trash clean-ups on campus, all encouraged by our teachers who volunteered to assist us. GUS teachers helped me to believe in myself and to understand myself as a learner.”
A graceful yet powerful actor, and a tremendously articulate agent of social justice, Ciaran is well-poised to finish his time at Pingree and embark on his next adventure: attending the prestigious drama program at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts.