Every year at Tuscarora High School, two major theater productions are put on by Titan Stage: a play in the fall and a musical in the spring. Both are usually lighthearted in nature and sometimes even comedic, such as the Spring 2023 musical production of “Mean Girls.” The play for Fall 2023, however, marked a noticeable shift in tone compared to the usual Tuscarora theater fare.

“The Amish Project” ran for three nights in November and featured a talented cast of Tuscarora students. Portraying the events before and after the West Nickel Mines shooting in 2006, a tragedy that resulted in the deaths of five Amish girls, the play’s somber subject matter was handled amazingly by the performers and the crew. Many audience members were deeply moved by the play, some even openly weeping. Junior Aubree Robey, The Titan Times’ photo design editor, was also affected by the performance.

“You could see how hard each actor and crew member worked on getting this play up and running,” said Robey. “I felt very sad during certain parts.”

Before the play’s debut and subsequent resounding praise, however, some members of Titan Stage had mixed feelings about being involved in a production of such heavy subject matter.

“There’s been mixed feedback,” said Ms. Moore, one of the two theater directors of the Titan Stage program. “Some students have really taken it as an opportunity for them to take on as performers a more serious topic… It’s scary as a performer to get on stage and be able to portray certain characters, especially characters that [students] don’t want to relate themselves to, such as the gunman. [That] is a very difficult role to portray.”

Many Titan performers saw “The Amish Project” as a great yet challenging opportunity to utilize their skills to spread a wider message of gun violence awareness.

“It is so hard to be like bright and bubbly and [have] that reprieve you need when… basically every other part of the show is so dark,” said Megan Andes, a sophomore who played Velda.

We’re very excited to see what will be coming next from the Titan Stage.