Once on This Island

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The past month I have been at Villanova University during the day, but on the island of Haiti after hours. I am in a musical called Once on This Island which is based in Haiti. I play the role of a story teller, where I switch from being a native Haitian peasant sometimes, to a wealthy upperclass "Beauxhomme"- a family that stayed after the revolution and built a hotel on the island. The musical is primarily about a young peasant girl who falls in love with a rich Grand Homme, but they can not be together because of their differences in class/skin. It has some historical aspects, like one number which is a "history lesson" telling about how the "peasants fought against french and they hated napolien, they fought for their island and finally won!" When the Europeans came to Haiti they enslaved the indiginous islanders. Naturally over time, the races started to blend and mix, and a new mixed race was created. The islanders fought for their freedom in a very bloody revolution, which in the end gained freedom from the european enslavement and colonization, but some white people were left on the island and continued to oppress the indiginous people.
When switching between playing the role of a native peasant and a rich french woman, I see the differences money, class status and technology can have on a person and society. Simply in body language, as peasants our director told us to hunch over more, to show our orientation with the earth, and as a beauxhomme we are told to hold our heads high and look down at the peasants. "Polish up the mercedes!" is something one of the beauxhommes yells at the peasants. Technology such as cars is stunning to the peasant people, and they see cars as romantic, and scary. The peasant girl who falls in love with the beauxhomme son has fantasys about driving away in a car "silver as the moon." When a car is on stage the peasants react to it in such away that either shows they dont care, are astounded by it, or frightened. To me, an equivalent type of technology for my life would be a rocket, haha, which sounds stupid, but I can't really comprehend traveling to outerspace, so it is astounding, i dont think about them often/they arent a part of my everyday life so I ignore them, and also if I were to see one, or to be invited to travel to space, I would be scared.
The musical Once on This Island is opening tonight and will be showing in St. Marys Auditorium on Feb 17,18, at 8pm and 19th at 2pm then also the following weekend Feb 23,24, at 8pm 25th at 2pm!!

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