The Amish Project

by Jessica Dickey

The Amish Project is a fictional exploration of the Nickel Mines schoolhouse shooting in an Amish community, and the path of forgiveness and compassion forged in its wake.The Amish Project made its original debut at the New York International Fringe Festival in the summer of 2008 and instantly generated buzz in the theatre community. The Amish Project went on to a workshop production at the Cherry Lane Theatre in New York City, and on June 10th, 2009, officially opened Off-Broadway at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater to rave reviews - due to its success, the run was extended.

Genres: Plays, Theatre, Drama, Historical Fiction

54 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2010

Reviews

[Joy Pouros]

I am conflicted. It's a good play and very interesting, but I disagree with her method of writing it. She openly states that she purposely never interviewed anyone from the shooting. I feel like that is a little exploitative, as she's capitalizing on their tragedy and they don't even have a voice at the table. That being said, I think she thoughtfully wrote it, I just disagree with her line of thinking in her method.

[Caroline Bock]

Powerful drama of shooting at Amish school.
From a writer's point of view -- interesting that it can be performed as one-person or ensemble.

Thinking of conflict, tension as a writer...and reading plays....

--Caroline
Carry Her Home

[Loralee Arbanas]

A painful, powerful puzzle that pieces itself together.

I appreciate the quick pace and overall rhythm of the writing, as well.

[Noa]

"The Amish Project" by Jessica Dickey, based on a nonfictional shooting at an Amish schoolhouse in Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania, was originally written to be performed as a one-woman show. The actor personifies numerous different characters--both male and female--that were involved in the shooting. The script tells the story of Eddie, a non-Amish man and the milkman for the Amish community nearby, who one day, for a cause not completely understood, shoots several young Amish schoolgirls and then commits suicide. The story begins after the shooting has taken place, and Dickey approaches the situation from numerous viewpoints of different people of different occupations and ages. As I read the script for this heavy show I was able to see the heart wrenching effects of the event on each and every character. One of the most relevant figures to the story is Carol, Eddie's non-Amish wife. Carol's character is one of the main things that really drew me into the story. The reality of Carol's emotions--exhaustion, frustration, confusion--was one of my favorite aspects of the book. I also enjoyed the physical format of the text; it was written like a poem instead of in paragraph format. The difficult topic of a shooting, in which people lost their lives, is hard to approach. But Jessica Dickey is able to handle this dismal event through her eloquent writing and her magnificent portrayal of the multiple characters involved.

[Ben]

Jessica Dickey is an incredibly talented writer, tackling a difficult and potentially dangerous topic. She manages to avoid many of the pitfalls that other writers who address similarly tragic and visceral events by acknowledging that she cannot capture who these people really are, and instead creates the characters completely out of her imagination. An absolutely stunning piece, in which she takes on the imagined personas of people on all sides of the Nickel Mines shootings: two of the girls who were shot, two local non-Amish women, a local historian and friend of the Amish, the shooter's wife, as well as the shooter himself. Though these characters, Jessica delves into how such a tragedy affects the families of the victims, those around them in the larger community, the family of the shooter, and even helps us to see how such an event--which may seem so far away from us--can touch us. In the same sense, by recreating the characters of some of the victims and the shooter, it helps us to move beyond the moment of violence, and to explore who these people *could* have been, and, more importantly, how human both they, and those that survived, all are. One of the best plays I have ever read, and it has only gotten better with the work Jessica has put into the play recently.

[Jeni]

Dickey approaches a difficult subject with grace, not flinching from the violence, but not reveling in it, either. A very refreshing approach in a society chock full of "ripped from the headlines" sensationalized crime shows. As someone who grew up in Lancaster, Pa, I also appreciate how Dickey acknowledges the uniqueness (oddness) of the Amish without making them out to be freaks. I look forward to seeing this play performed at some point--I'm completely intrigued by one actor playing 7 parts while dressed in traditional Amish garb. I have a feeling it would be goose-bump inducing.

[Meggie]

Powerful and moving. I was particularly moved by the characters of the little six-year-old girl, curious and chatty, and of the shooter's wife, who ping-pongs from sadness to anger to inappropriate laughter. Grief is not a linear process.

A local theatre is presenting the ensemble version this fall, and I'm looking forward to seeing it.

[Jack Phoenix]

In a world of division reinforced by media bias, "The Amish Project" is a necessary read.

[Wade, Rosario, and Marco]

Rosario read this one for college and really liked it.

[Barbara]

Excellent short play based on true events.

[Indira Wolf]

eh, read for school.

[Paige!]

I think by now, it’s safe to say I have read this play. I have now been in the process of bringing it to life for a little over four months, and (hopefully) we will be taking to our state theatre competition in just two days, weather permitting. Playing Anna has been an amazing first acting experience, and one I will treasure forever. The show is just such a gorgeously woven quilt of stories that are tragic and uplifting all at once. And the relevance is astonishing, with all of the shootings happening in the country. I want to touch people with this piece that my troupe has worked so hard to bring to life and that I am so very passionate about. Thank you, Jessica Dickey.

[Caroline]

A quick play looking at the Amish school shooting. It was well written and I enjoyed the character perspective-taking.