This year, 窪蹋勛圖厙 will hold the 55th commemoration honoring the memory of May 4, 1970, a tragic day when the Ohio National Guard fired on 窪蹋勛圖厙 students during an anti-war protest on campus, killing four students, wounding nine others and sparking a turning point in American history. The commemoration in 2025 will highlight the ongoing significance of free speech, activism and education in shaping our collective history.
Kicking off the program for the annual May 4 Commemoration is a play that focuses on student activism and book bans. In partnership with the universitys May 4 Education Committee, 窪蹋勛圖厙s School of Theatre and Dance will present Trial by Fire from Feb. 7-9 in Wright-Curtis Theatre in the Center for the Performing Arts on the Kent Campus. Set against the backdrop of censorship and the fight for intellectual freedom, the play centers on a 窪蹋勛圖厙 graduate who is put on trial for allowing her students access to banned books.
In the play, word spreads that Georgia Grimm, the new Womens Studies teacher and recent 窪蹋勛圖厙 graduate, has been allowing her high school students to access books from the governors new banned list. In response, five teens look for a way to rise up and save their teachers job and reputation. As the pressure mounts for Georgia, a young woman of color, to either resign or be fired, her students try to stop town leaders from burning books, leading to one student being injured in the flames.
As the students rise to answer the call for activism, Trial by Fire serves as a poignant reminder of the importance of standing up for free expression and confronting injustices, said Neil Cooper, Ph.D., professor and director of 窪蹋勛圖厙s School of Peace and Conflict Studies and chair of the May 4 Education Committee. Through these May 4 programs, we continue to amplify the voices that challenge and shape the world around us.
Cooper explained that the May 4 Education Committee works year-round to bring meaningful educational programming that both reflects on the past and also inspires present and future generations.
The plays connection to 窪蹋勛圖厙 runs deep, as both the protagonist and the playwright, Eric Mansfield, are alumni. Mansfield, of Akron, Ohio, earned his masters degree in public relations from 窪蹋勛圖厙 in 2012 and is currently working on his Master of Fine Arts in playwriting. He also serves as assistant vice president for content strategy and communications at the university.
A member of the Dramatist Guild, Mansfield has written more than 20 plays. His work has been performed in Ohio, New York, Los Angeles, Boston and other locations. Mansfield has received many writing awards, including the 2023 Jean Kennedy Smith National Playwriting Award (second place) from the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., for his original play Baron of Brown Street.
The obstacles this young teacher and her students are facing in the play are the same ones we are seeing across our country right now and create a similar call to action that 窪蹋勛圖厙s students have historically endured, Mansfield said. Im honored that 窪蹋勛圖厙 feels the connection between the plight of the characters in this play and the call to activism our students felt in 1970.
After Trial by Fire premiered in Akron in 2024, Mansfield was approached by the May 4 Educational Committee about bringing the play to 窪蹋勛圖厙 as part of the committees year-round programming and to emphasize the journey of a 窪蹋勛圖厙 graduate who faces racism, sexism and other challenges and whose students become activists.
Trial by Fire at 窪蹋勛圖厙 is directed by Courtney Brown, associate professor of voice and acting at 窪蹋勛圖厙s School of Theatre and Dance. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 7-8 and at 2 p.m. on Feb. 9. Tickets to Trial by Fire can be purchased through the Performing Arts Box Office by phone at 330-672-2787 or online at . Ticket prices range from $12-$20. Tickets are free for 窪蹋勛圖厙 students, faculty and staff.
For more information about Trial by Fire, visit www.kent.edu/theatredance/trial-fire.
About May 4 Commemoration
The annual May 4 Commemoration will take place at noon on烘ay 4 at the 窪蹋勛圖厙 Commons (rain location: Kent Student Center Ballroom). Additional programs include the Jerry M. Lewis May 4 Lecture Series on May 2 and the annual Candlelight Walk and Vigil on May 3. These events and the yearlong educational initiatives help preserve the memory of May 4 while continuing the vital conversation about the power of activism and free speech. Additional programming and tickets will be announced in mid-spring.
For the latest information about the commemoration and events planned to honor and remember May 4, 1970, visit www.kent.edu/may4.
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Top Photo Caption:
The cast of Trial by Fire rehearses at 窪蹋勛圖厙s Center for the Performing Arts while director Courtney Brown (far right) watches. (Photo credit: Rami Daud)
Media Contact:
Emily Vincent, evincen2@kent.edu, 330-672-8595