Distant Survivors
Distant Survivors is available for touring to religious organizations, educational institutions, and other venues.
Contact us by phone at (347) 668-7666 or by email at juneprager.mirage@gmail.com for more information.
"Conceived and adapted for the stage by director June Prager, Distant Survivors is based on poetry by William Heyen. The inspiration for this play came from several volumes of Holocaust poetry by William Heyen – Erika; Falling from Heaven; and Shoah Train. He has created a most prolific and powerful body of work on the subject, confronting man's attempt to fathom the evil that spurred it, the responsibility for that evil, and insight into the nature of man.
William Heyen is Professor of English/Poet in Residence Emeritus at SUNY Brockport. A former Senior Fulbright Lecturer in American Literature in Germany, he has won NEA, Guggenheim, American Academy & Institute of Arts & Letters, and other fellowships and awards.
E-copies, print and production copies are available for purchase via Blue Moon Plays.
William Heyen is Professor of English/Poet in Residence Emeritus at SUNY Brockport. A former Senior Fulbright Lecturer in American Literature in Germany, he has won NEA, Guggenheim, American Academy & Institute of Arts & Letters, and other fellowships and awards.
E-copies, print and production copies are available for purchase via Blue Moon Plays.
Trailer for 2019 Zeiders American Dream Theatre production
Honorary Committee
- Susan Sarandon (actress and human rights activist)
- Rabbi Jon R. Haddon (Congregation Beth David)
- Reverend Cameron Hardy (Associate director of College Counseling, Chaplain of Millbrook School)
- Jerry Jacobs (Chairman and Executive Producer, Interfaith Committee of Remembrance)
- Judith Knauss (Social Justice Committee, Unitarian Universalist Fellowship)
- Dr. Michael Panitz (Rabbi, Temple Israel)
- Gerald Sorin (Professor of American & Jewish Studies and Director of Louis & Mildred Resnick Institute for Study of Modern Jewish Life, SUNY/New Paltz
- Pastor Daniel B. Ward (St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church- retired)
Past Successes
Most recently, Distant Survivors was presented at Zeiders American Dream Theater (The Z) in a two week run from January 24 - February 3, 2019. A talk-back was held with actors and a local Rabbi coinciding with International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
The play was also presented as part of a Spring 2016 Mid-Hudson Valley tour at the Parker Theatre at SUNY/New Paltz sponsored by the Resnick Institute; the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Poughkeepsie; and the Chelsea Morrison Theater in the Holbrook Arts Center at The Millbrook School co-sponsored by Congregation Beth David and St. Peter's Episcopal Church
A staged reading was presented with Mirage Theatre’s collaborating partner, the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Poughkeepsie. Scenes from the play, in commemoration of Yom HaShoah, featured performances by Ralph Cashen, Lew Gardner, Phillip Levine, Linda Roper and Roger Hendricks Simon.
Distant Survivors was also presented at the Jewish Community Center/ Hudson Valley Community Center on April 26th and 27th, 2014, and at the St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church on August 24th, 2014. Performances featured Matthew Bahl, Ralph Cashen, Lewis Gardner, Phillip X. Levine, and Linda Roper with live music by Carol Elkins.
The play was also presented as part of a Spring 2016 Mid-Hudson Valley tour at the Parker Theatre at SUNY/New Paltz sponsored by the Resnick Institute; the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Poughkeepsie; and the Chelsea Morrison Theater in the Holbrook Arts Center at The Millbrook School co-sponsored by Congregation Beth David and St. Peter's Episcopal Church
A staged reading was presented with Mirage Theatre’s collaborating partner, the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Poughkeepsie. Scenes from the play, in commemoration of Yom HaShoah, featured performances by Ralph Cashen, Lew Gardner, Phillip Levine, Linda Roper and Roger Hendricks Simon.
Distant Survivors was also presented at the Jewish Community Center/ Hudson Valley Community Center on April 26th and 27th, 2014, and at the St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church on August 24th, 2014. Performances featured Matthew Bahl, Ralph Cashen, Lewis Gardner, Phillip X. Levine, and Linda Roper with live music by Carol Elkins.
“Distant Survivors is quintessential Heyen poetry; incendiary, intransigent, challenging and provocative.”
Joyce Carol Oates
