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Abusive
Acts
By Jenny Jones
On Christmas Eve we were supposed to
drive five hours to my parents’ house, but my fiancé
came home drunk. After we finally got on the road, he pulled
the car over in the middle of nowhere and tried to force me
out because “he was sick of me.” After I begged
and pleaded, he let me stay. For me, the emotional abuse was
worse than the physical.
This is just one of the stories told by
the Troubling Violence Performance Project. The group, consisting
of University of Missouri-Columbia faculty and students, has
found a way to make domestic violence real, down-to-earth and
hard to ignore.
The group performs monologues based on
real cases of domestic violence depicted in MU English
Professor Elaine Lawless’ book, Women Escaping Violence:
Empowerment through Narrative. Lawless along with Heather
Carver, professor of performance studies in the MU Theatre
Department, created the project as a way to raise awareness
about domestic abuse. The performers each portray a true story,
but not all of the monologues are from the book.
“Our goal is to open up dialogue
and get people talking about a topic that has always been taboo,”
Lawless said. “Sometimes after we perform, women say they
want to help and tell me their stories. I think it makes them
feel better to know that their experiences can help prevent
violence for others.”
Carver, the director of the troupe, began
rehearsing the performances in August. Some of the performers,
both graduate and undergraduate, had never performed before.
The project continues to grow. Carver said sometimes after performances
people ask if they can help.
“All of our volunteers are taking
part in this project for activist reasons,” Carver said.
“They’re doing this because they feel strongly about
helping women escape abusive and violent relationships.”
The troupe performs all across campus and
plans to expand its message to women’s clinics, religious
youth groups, and other areas throughout the community. Troubling
Violence hopes to take its performances to other parts of the
state and across the nation.
“It’s a wonderful tool,”
Kylene Diller, a graduate student of social
work at MU said about Troubling Violence. “It smacks
people in the face and makes the violence more real for people.”
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Copyright © 2007 — Curators of the University of Missouri
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Last Update:
November 15, 2007
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