The cast members rise from their seats, smiles emerging on each one of their faces. Singing is what brings them together as they grasp for each other’s hands and harmonize in their common language with ease. Their voices are hopeful, but tinged with sadness as they come to the front of the stage.

This powerful scene was a result of “Cry For Peace: Voices From the Congo,” written by Ping Chong and Kyle Bass, and produced and artistically directed by Timothy Bond. The play is a theatrical documentary piece and was presented at Syracuse Stage. The play runs through Sept. 23.

Bass began his writing journey after being approached by a Congolese member of the Syracuse community, Cyprien Mihigo, who wanted to share his story. The idea reached Bond, who knew to call upon Chong. In the past 20 years, Chong had worked on 39 other pieces also involving groups of people that have been marginalized in society.

“Cry For Peace” told the story of five individuals with strong ties to the Congo, giving the audience what Chong called “real people, real stories, real theater.”

The five cast members — Cyprien Mihigo, Emmanuel Ndeze, Beatrice Neema, Kambale Syaghuswa and Mona de Vestel — come from different tribes and backgrounds of the Congo. They find in common the experiences of the many terrors and hardships that end up strengthening their relationships.

Songs were poignant features of the play that tied the cast together. As they sang, their personal conflicts or stories faded into the background and there was a serenity that fell across the stage. While in song, smiles propped up throughout the audience. It proved the play’s success in seamlessly guiding the audience from harsh, violent stories of rape to cheerful past times.

The sound emphasized the rhythmic power of music and tradition, not unlike the power and harmony that the art of theatre brought to these stories.

Humor also played a role in the array of emotions that the audience felt along with the cast. The cast finished a story of harsh reality, and then switched to talking about a handmade soccer ball before all coming together to say, “Life is good.” These instances were always followed by a chuckle, experienced simultaneously by the cast and audience.

The moments on stage when the cast spoke in unison and the audience noticed its struggle opened windows for understanding. As Chong explained, “All islands connect under water.” It is the vision of one man wanting to tell his story and those of his community that can elicit a response in a larger context.

“Cry For Peace” was also part of something larger than itself. Eat Together for Peace is aSyracuseUniversityinitiative involving a contribution of original artworks from the Illustration Program in the College of Visual and Performing Arts, and is sponsored by SU Arts Engage. Working in the Arts Engage program, Carole Brzozowski said the office has “nurtured this project.”

Although the audience gets to hear and connect to the history of these particular individuals who have faced immense hardship in their country, the show also gives its viewers a “history of mankind,” as Chong puts it. Through focusing on the very real and personal stories of the Congolese community, the audience can truly empathize.

As Bass and Chong agree, it is this empathy toward another human being that connects us to something larger and beyond the immediate community we live in. After not just seeing but experiencing this production, I could not agree more. Bond, who can see the benefits of the piece to both theSyracusecommunity at large and the students who attend the university, encourages the importance of this broadened perspective.

Bond, Bass and Chong accomplished what they had hoped in sharing with SU the stories of the Congolese members in the Syracuse community. The historical background and personal narratives made the writer and artistic director’s goal in bringing empathy and understanding to the Syracuse Stage audience possible.

Published on September 17, 2012 at 3:04 am

Contact Lily: ljfeinsr@syr.edu