Karski

Author(s): Marc P. Smith
The intense and chilling story of Jan Karski, hero of the Polish underground, sometimes referred to as "the man who tried to stop the Holocaust." He not only viewed firsthand many of the horrors of the Nazi regime within his own country, but committed himself to bearing witness by reporting directly to Allied leaders in England and the U.S. His reports were generally received with disbelief as being too outrageous to be true. He remained in the U.S., teaching at Georgetown University until his death in 2000. President Obama posthumously awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012.
Format: Full-length drama, written to be presented as staged reading.
Cast Size:3M/3F
Character breakdown:

Karski, male, 25-35 years old
Actor 1, male, Interviewer & other roles
Actor 2, female, various roles
Actor 3, male, various roles
Actor 4, female, various roles
Actor 5, female, various roles
Appropriate for grades 7 through adult

Notes:

Study guide planned; selected programs from previous performances including playwright/director’s statement; roster of excerpted comments on the play.

Snapshot

Original or Prominent Production:
U.S., April, 2009; Wroclaw, Poland, August, 2009.
Original Source Material: Story of a Secret State, by Jan Karski; KARSKI How One Man Tried to Stop the Holocaust, by E. Thomas Wood & Stanislaw M. Jankowski, plus email correspondence with Tom Wood.
Nationality of Author: U.S.
Original Language: English
Production Rights Holder:

Susan L. Smith
Visit the website: http://www.thekreisauproject.com

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