Ames to host one-man drama illuminating untold stories of conscientious objectors
Ames audiences will soon encounter a rare blend of history, object theatre and rural storytelling when Swander Woman Productions brings “Coop,” the newest play by award‑winning author and former Iowa Poet Laureate Mary Swander, to KHOI Community Radio.
The one‑hour performance, starring veteran Iowa actor Rip Russell, begins at 2 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 18, in Studio C of the radio station, 622 Douglas Ave. The play will be followed by a community talk‑back.
“Coop” transforms little‑known histories of Amish, Mennonite, Quaker and other conscientious objectors during World War I and II into a vivid, intimate theatrical experience. The play centers on the true account of a young Amish farmer drafted during WWII who, along with other draftees, boarded a train believing they were headed to Colorado to fight forest fires.
Instead, they were interned in a chicken coop and held under guard for the duration of the war.
Iowa Poet Laureate Swander spent a decade working on ‘Coop’
While the internment of Japanese Americans is widely recognized, Swander’s research reveals a parallel story about German‑speaking pacifists who faced suspicion, humiliation, and sometimes violence for their refusal to bear arms.
Swander spent a decade gathering oral histories, church documents, family archives and community memories, much of which was shared by her Kalona Mennonite neighbors, to build the play’s narrative foundation.
Russell performs the entire drama as a one‑person object theater piece, animating everyday items, such as traffic cones, dusters, balloons and clothespins to be characters. His pantomime unfolds against a soundscape of narration, archival audio and a cappella hymns recorded by a quartet of Kalona Mennonites.
Swander Woman Productions, known for touring works rooted in food, farming, and rural life, frames “Coop” as both a historical reckoning and a contemporary conversation.
“It presents topics that are a vital part of contemporary discourse,” KHOI volunteer Lynne Carey said in a news release.
Sunday’s performance is open to the public, with doors opening at 1:30 p.m. A suggested donation of $10 supports the production, funded in part by Humanities Iowa, the State Historical Society, the Ames Commission on the Arts and local sponsors.
Ames Tribune reporter Ronna Faaborg can be reached at rfaaborg@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: ‘Coop’ brings WWII conscientious objector stories to Ames’ KHOI radio
Reporting by Ronna Faaborg, Ames Tribune / Ames Tribune
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