April 26, 2016

Brown/RISD Hillel

Brown University’s Department of Theatre Arts and Performance Studies, University of Rhode Island’s Center for Nonviolence, and Trinity Repertory Company presented a reading of The Oldest Boy, the recent play by Sarah Ruhl ’97, ’01 MFA, to raise awareness about 2015’s 7.8 magnitude earthquake in Nepal.

The earthquake that struck Nepal on April 25, 2015 was described as the deadliest earthquake on record to have hit this region of the world (Reuters, 2015). Tibetan communities in Nepal and Tibetan settlements in remote areas of Nepal reported enormous destruction.

Playwright Sarah Ruhl ’97, ’01 MFA initiated a national reading of her play The Oldest Boy, as a fundraiser for the victims of the earthquake in Nepal. Brown University and University Of Rhode Island (URI) students, along with Trinity Rep actor Angela Brazil, performed the reading at Hillel. Thupten Tendhar, a Geshe Buddhist Scholar, and Dr. Paul Bueno De Mesquita, both faculty with the Center for Nonviolence and Peace Studies at the University of Rhode Island, led a discussion after the reading.

Ruhl originally wrote the play based on stories she heard from her children’s Tibetan nanny, Yangzom. In the story, a family from Boston is visited by monks who proclaim their child as a “tulku,” a high-ranking lama who can choose his own rebirth. Ruhl’s story explores Tibetan Buddhism, and the Tibetan community in exile, along with questions about intercultural marriage and family relationships.

“I am so moved by how theaters are coming together to support a relief effort in Nepal,” Ruhl says. “Many people are still suffering in that part of the world. I’m so happy The Oldest Boy can be a very small part of reaching out to Tibetans affected by the earthquake in Nepal.”

The Oldest Boy Benefit was produced by Melissa Crespo.