26 Pebbles

11/06/2024

С�Ŵ�ý’s fall play, “26 Pebbles.”

Honoring the Sandy Hook Victims and Community

Dr. Melissa Friesen, Mary Nord and Joseph Ignat endowed chair in theatre at Bluffton University, will direct Bluffton’s fall play, “26 Pebbles.”

“26 Pebbles” tells the true story of the aftermath of the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. The play honors the lives of the 26 victims and explores how the community came together in the wake of unimaginable loss. Through documentary-style monologue and reflective storytelling, the production captures the voices of the survivors, first responders and community members as they navigate grief, hope and healing.

“I chose this play because, unfortunately, this topic is still very relevant in our society today,” said Friesen. “The theme of community and unity also ties into the play, which are especially important values here at Bluffton.”

Six months following the shooting, “26 Pebbles” playwright Eric Ulloa conducted more than 60 interviews with the residents of Newtown. Of those interviews, Ulloa chose 19 individuals to highlight in his play. Bluffton’s production has seven actors who play multiple parts during the play.

While the cast is busy practicing lines and determining their blocking, the production team is busy working behind the scenes on set production, costumes and technology. The play is staged with limited props and simple costumes for the actors. The set is a silhouette of a town’s skyline, and the buildings are painted with chalkboard paint, allowing the actors to write on the set pieces.

“Our set is very minimalistic, which is intentional,” said Friesen. “This really draws on the theme that if this event happened in Newtown, it could happen anywhere.”

Performances of “26 Pebbles” will take place at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 14-16 and 2:30 p.m. on Nov. 17 in College Hall’s Ramseyer Auditorium. Tickets are $8 for adults and $6 for senior citizens, Bluffton faculty and staff and non-Bluffton students. Bluffton University students can enjoy the play for free. Tickets can be purchased or reserved at

Following the Nov. 14 performance, audience members are invited to stay for an optional “talk-back” with the production team and faculty and students in Bluffton’s Master of Social Work (MSW) program.

Arts at Bluffton events are made possible due to generous support from donors including James ’83 and Rhonda (Louis ’84) Fox, Lowell ’62 and Martha (Badertscher ’62) Hostetler and the Krehbiel-Raid-Pankratz Endowment.