15,000 Butterflies for 15,000 Children
Think spring by creating a handcrafted butterfly to help the College of Southern Maryland stage I Never Saw Another Butterfly.
The play tells the story of Raja, one of 132 survivors from the 15,000 kids who went to Terezin. Nazis disguised the World War II concentration camp with flowerbeds and concert venues to deceive International Red Cross inspectors.
There Raja created an imaginary world with flowers and butterflies to give him and other children hope of surviving. Butterflies became a symbol of defiance for the children, helping them live.
Three-quarters of a century later, the College of Southern Maryland asks you and your family, friends and neighbors to help reach the goal of 15,000 handmade butterflies, one for each child in Terezin. The butterflies will be displayed along the walls of the Fine Arts Center in remembrance.
Find two butterfly templates and a submission form at www.csmd.edu/arts/broadway.html.
Watch the college theater company bring the play to life — and find your butterfly — Feb. 14-16 and Feb. 21-23 at the La Plata Campus, $15 w/discounts: 301-934-7828; www.csmd.edu/arts.