Published: February 2008
Ashley’s Purpose, a play conceived by associate professor of theater Scott Cummings (seated, above), is inspired by the real-life story of Ashley Smith—a 26-year-old woman who in March 2005 was held hostage overnight by an armed fugitive. Earlier that day he had killed four people in escaping from the courthouse where he was on trial for rape. Ashley was released unharmed the following morning, and her captor surrendered peacefully. The young woman became a media sensation when she described her night of captivity at a news conference one day later.
For Cummings, author of seven plays, the event was a “springboard for an original piece of theater combining images, actions, and vignettes to explore such themes as telling one’s own story, crime as entertainment, privacy versus celebrity, and finding one’s purpose in life.” He assembled imagined conversations, verbatim interviews, dramatic scenes, and other materials for possible inclusion in the production, and the play’s student performers and theater department staff collaborated over the course of rehearsals to create the final product. Above, at a January 11 rehearsal in Robsham Theater, Cummings and choreographer Amanda Engborg ’08 (right) work with the cast. Ashley’s Purpose, a “collage” of dramatic scenes, dance, and a performance of traditional spirituals by Voices of Imani, will be presented February 20 to 24 in Bond Theater.