Can theater inspire change after Uvalde school shooting? This TCU professor hopes so.

Members of the Uvalde and TCU communities connected Saturday for a virtual conversation and a staged reading of an play inspired by last year’s shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde.

The play, intended as art to inspire social change, was written and directed by TCU theater professor Ayvaunn Penn. The goal is to “give voice to the frustrations of parents and loved ones” of the shooting victims and initiate action to make schools safe, according to promotional materials.

The staged reading of “For the Love of Uvalde: A Play Inspired by the May 24, 2022, Robb Elementary School Shooting in Uvalde, TX” included monologues, poetry and songs that connected the perspectives of survivors, politicians and others related to the deadliest mass shooting in the state.

“Stone in my throat, tears on my clothes, God has called another one home,” sang Sheran Goodspeed Keyton, director of Children’s Opera Theatre Production and Civic Impact for the Fort Worth Opera.

The reading also included a reenactment of the testimony of Uvalde pediatrician Roy Guerrero to the U.S. House.

“Those mothers’ cries, I will never get out of my head,” Guerrero was quoted as saying in a performance by TCU theater professor Thomas Chavira. “I know I’ll never forget what I saw that day.”

Penn, who also wrote “For Bo: A Play Inspired by the Murder of Botham Jean by Officer Amber Guyger,” said the play on Uvalde is in development for one day having a fully staged production.

The performance was presented by the TCU College of Fine Arts in conjunction with El Progreso Memorial Library in Uvalde.

Penn performed a monologue titled “A Classroom Speaks.”

“No backs, no arms, no hips leaning on me on that day ... only feet tucked under heinies, knees pulled into tummies, backs curved arched into soft turtle shells,” she said. “Crimson markings of the worst kind on that day.”

The reading was immediately followed by a community discussion about the impact of gun violence, navigating trauma and reflecting through art.

Jonathan Benjamin-Alvarado, TCU’s chief inclusion officer, said it’s important to understand that the problems related to mass shootings are political as well as societal.

“Vote for people that you know have the best interest in society at heart,” he said.

Mendell Morgan, director of El Progreso Memorial Library, was grateful for what he said was a compelling performance.

“You shared so many stories from so many points of view,” Morgan said. “You raised those awful questions about the 77 minutes and the lack of action and the things that tormented all of us.”

Penn said her heart was full for everyone who rallied around the performance.