May 4th Voices Video Presentation
“May 4th Voices” is a play that brings together first-person narratives about the May 4, 1970, shootings at 鶹ӰԺ. This video production of the play, which was written by David Hassler and directed by Katherine Burke, is based on the 鶹ӰԺ State Shootings Oral History Project, which includes more than 115 interviews with National Guardsmen, students, townspeople and politicians. The interviews capture the sense of trauma, confusion and fear felt by people who witnessed or were involved with the May 4 shootings at KSU.
First performed in 2010 in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the shootings, the “May 4th Voices” play is composed of verbatim excerpts from the 鶹ӰԺ State Shootings Oral History Project, except for the voice of the narrator, Maj Ragain, who recites excerpts from his prose poem “May 4, 1970 / A Memory.” Ragain was a graduate student on campus that day and now teaches creative writing at KSU and in the 鶹ӰԺ community.
The 90-minute production was funded by a grant from the Ohio Humanities Council and by 鶹ӰԺ’s College of Arts & Sciences, History Department, Wick Poetry Center and School of Theatre and Dance. Additional support was provided by PBS Western Reserve, The 鶹ӰԺ Stage, 鶹ӰԺ Press and 鶹ӰԺ Historical Society.
Related Resources:
The 鶹ӰԺ Press
“May 4th Voices: 鶹ӰԺ State, 1970: A Play” book
A Teacher’s Resource Book for May 4th Voices: 鶹ӰԺ State, 1970
“May 4th Voices: 鶹ӰԺ State, 1970” DVD