Ottawa University

Ottawa University Presents "The Hindu and the Cowboy"

OTTAWA, Kansas - "The Hindu and the Cowboy - and Other Kansas City Stories" is a play based on real stories collected from individuals in the Kansas City area of diverse cultural and faith traditions.  The play will be offered free to the public at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, November 15, 2007, in the Ottawa University Chapel, 1001 S. Cedar, Ottawa, Kansas.

The hour-long play is sponsored by Ottawa University campus ministries and is produced by Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre (MET) of Kansas City, Missouri.  The Ottawa performance marks the first time the play has been offered outside the metropolitan Kansas City area.

Erika Marksbury, Ottawa University's campus pastor for internal relations, saw the play in Kansas City last year and is excited to bring it to Ottawa. "Since this play is based on true stories and real encounters, I think it's an amazing opportunity to grow in understanding of what matters most deeply to people," Marksbury said.

"The Hindu and the Cowboy," written by playwright Donna W. Ziegenhorn, is inspired by selected stories collected in more than 80 interviews. The project was initially launched in 2002 by a group of people aiming to foster understanding and connection among diverse religious and cultural backgrounds.

In the title story, a cowboy and a Hindu share suspicions about each other when land in Shawnee becomes the site for a Hindu temple. Other stories include a Muslim's surprise encounter with New York firefighters following 9-11; an Auschwitz survivor and the life she led afterward; and an African American pastor and the influence of his once enslaved grandmother.

Karen Paisley, artistic director of Kansas City's Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre, directs the multi-cultural cast. The play has drawn enthusiastic responses in performances to college, church, peace conference, seminary, youth, community and corporate diversity audiences.

Kansas City interfaith activist Mahnaz Shabbir said, "It makes us laugh, cry, and pulls us into the hearts of others and depths of our own souls."

Alvin Brooks, former Kansas City Mayor pro tem, calls "The Hindu and the Cowboy" moving and meaningful. "We all need to hear these stories," Brooks said.

The performance is one event of several scheduled during the first annual Kansas City Festival of Faiths (FOF). The two-week festival is offered to draw attention to the area's numerous efforts toward inter-faith education and understanding. The complete FOF schedule is available at http://www.festivaloffaithskc.org/.

For more information about the OU performance, call 785-242-5200 x5084 or visit http://www.ottawa.edu/.

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Founded in 1865, Ottawa University is a comprehensive, not-for-profit educational institution. Ottawa University's educational mission brings together a residential campus in Ottawa, Kansas, and adult campuses in Kansas City, Missouri; Phoenix, Mesa and Tempe, Arizona; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Jeffersonville, Indiana; as well as multiple international instructional sites.  For more information, visit http://www.ottawa.edu/.