Live on stage: We Own This Now is Nov. 10 at Manchester University

By Press release submission

Oct 20, 2022

What if the land you love was stolen?

Starring Ted Swartz and Michelle Milne, We Own This Now is a play by Alison Casella Brookins that looks at love of land, loss of land, and what it means to “own” something.

The live performance is 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 10 in Cordier Auditorium at Manchester University North Manchester. It is free and open to the public.

The story: Chris has farmed the land his grandmother settled in Kansas after fleeing Russia almost 100 years ago. Riley, his daughter, is learning more about the people who were on that land before her Oma arrived, and the jarring connections she has to the fate of those people. Chris and Riley navigate their changing relationship to each other, the land they’ve been living on, and the stories they tell.

They — and the audience — learn how the Doctrine of Discovery (the legal framework that justifies theft of land and oppression of Indigenous peoples) has been used for centuries and still causes harm today.

This play by Ted & Co. comes to Manchester as part of the Values, Ideas and the Arts series, which offers students opportunities for academic enrichment. This performance is made possible by the Christian Leadership Endowment Fund and William A. Atkins Lectureship Memorial Fund.

Focus on Faith Week

This presentation is part of Focus on Faith Week at Manchester, Nov. 7-14, organized by the Campus Interfaith Board. Faith-based activities feature “A Walk Through World Religions” fair and include an interfaith show-and-tell, Bible study and drum circle.

There will also be a traveling exhibit at Funderburg Library called Dismantling the Doctrine of Discovery. Originally designed by Ken Gingerich of the Mennonite Central Committee, this version has been adapted to include Church of the Brethren history. It is also free and open to the public.

Manchester is one of six colleges across the nation grounded in values and traditions of the Church of the Brethren, a Christian denomination recognized as a historic peace church. Welcoming religious diversity, Manchester embraces those from all faith traditions and provides opportunities for students to explore, develop and nurture their own faith in an environment that respects the infinite worth of every person.