NGU Skyliner

Kyra Alexander
Staff Writer

On Thursday, April 23, the theatre department opened its major spring production, The Miracle Worker. The compelling story of Annie Sullivan and Helen Keller is both lighthearted and touching. This production is the third play to appear on the North Greenville University stage under the direction of associate theatre professor Corrie Eddleman. 

The Miracle Worker tells the story of Sullivan, a young, impudent graduate of the Perkins Institute for the Blind, played by senior theatre major Leah Thomas. Her first pupil is  Keller, played by Becca Kosobucki, sophomore theatre.

“The Miracle Worker has been such a beautiful challenge that has solidified my love of theatre and life,” Thomas said. “It’s unforgettable.” 

Sullivan, who was also blind before a number of operations, is boldly confident, stubborn but insecure in her lack of experience. Her brash personality is a challenge to her relations with most people but proves to be an asset when dealing with Keller.

Keller was left blind and deaf by a disease at eighteen months of age. The Keller family is torn between love for their child and the inability to cope with her tantrums. On the verge of giving up and sending Keller to an asylum, the family summons  Sullivan to help them with their disabled child. 

Sullivan arrives and declares Keller the tyrant of the house. The Kellers treat her like fragile glass. She has never been disciplined or made to obey. Sullivan finds Keller living more like a wild animal than a human child. 

The ensuing confrontation between the two stubborn women results in Sullivan moving Helen from the Keller home.  She requires Keller to depend upon her for everything she needs.  In the end, she succeeds in teaching the girl obedience, but more importantly she gives the girl language. 

The last scene is the most moving and heart-wrenching of all. Keller wrecks the table for her homecoming supper, and Sullivan makes her fill up the water pitcher she knocked over. As they pump the water, Keller starts to try to talk. Sullivan keeps spelling into her young pupil’s hand ‘water,’ and Keller starts to say “wa wa.” They both hug, and Keller starts to understand everything.

“It’s gone very well, and it’s been an experience unlike any other. It has been a learning and fun experience,” Kosobucki said.

“The set was based off of the original Keller home, Ivy Green,” said Ted Thomas, scene designer and technical director. “It was a challenge because the set had to be skewed thirty degrees to see in the house.” 

“This show has been an amazing experience as my senior project,” said Daniel Reith, senior theatre. “It took a lot of work, and the end result has been amazing. I used a quote from Matisse, a French painter, guiding me as a light designer, ‘my choice of colors result on any theory, only observation, feeling, and experience.’ This is the basis for everything I have learned as a light designer.” 

“It’s been a huge challenge to portray real people,” Lindsay Ross, senior theatre, said.

Tags: Spring 2009, Vol. 108 - Issue 11

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