Hope becomes host for interfaith theater consortium
HOLLAND — After helping found the organization, Hope College now hosts the Big Bridge Theatre Consortium.
The BBTC is a collection of colleges and universities commissioning plays “dedicated to peace and interfaith dialogue.” The consortium includes founding members Hope College, Carroll College, George Fox University, Seattle Pacific University and the University of Portland, alongside Gonzaga University, Gordon College, North Park University, Notre Dame and Point Loma Nazarene University.
The group was formed in 2017 by theater departments at member colleges and universities in response to a rise in xenophobia, sectarianism and racism within the U.S. It seeks to combat those issues by commissioning plays dedicated to “personal and political experiences of interfaith conflict.”
The group was initially headquartered at George Fox University, but relocated to Hope this school year with founding artistic director Rhett Luedtke, who joined the faculty as an associate professor after 19 years at George Fox.
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In addition to relocating, the BBTC commissioned its third original play in 2023. Award-winning playwright Margot Connolly was selected to write the play, scheduled to debut during the 2025-2026 school year. It'll explore issues related to antisemitism.
“Margot is an exciting up-and-coming artist,” Luedtke said. “She just completed a playwriting program at Juilliard and has her MFA from the University of Iowa, which is one of the top playwriting programs in the country.”
Connolly was previously named the winner of the Jewish Plays Project for her piece “Belfast Kind.” Her other works include “Hello, World,” “Quiz Out,” “The Twitch” and “Tough.”
Connolly will develop the play over the next two years. The concept involves two student organizations, one Jewish and one Christian, at a Midwest college, and how each group is affected when the local synagogue is attacked and the Jewish students’ Rabbi is killed.
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“What I’m most looking forward to with this project is the chance to explore the ways new generations navigate centuries-old issues to build a better future,” Connolly said.
“I’m really passionate about writing roles for young people — they’re just as interested and engaged with the world around them as full adults but they’re rarely taken as seriously, and I love giving students an opportunity to push back against that stereotype and take up space.”
— Contact reporter Mitchell Boatman at mboatman@hollandsentinel.com.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Hope becomes host for interfaith theater consortium
