- November 28, 2024
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The long-awaited, long-debated Flagler Palm Coast High School production of “To Kill a Mockingbird” took the stage Thursday, Feb. 24, through Saturday, Feb. 26, at the Flagler Auditorium.
The drama, which was supposed to be performed in the fall, was delayed after student safety was called into question for the use of the N-word by certain characters.
Director Ed Koczergo addressed the issue in his director’s note, in the play program.
“I hear the ‘N word’ every single day in the hallways at FPCHS,” Koczergo wrote. “I loathe the word. It is demeaning, degrading and filled with hate. ‘Mockingbird’ is literature; our hallways are not.”
Koczergo continued: “Literature isn’t just words that our students read; it enhances understanding; it reveals truth.”
The message of the play is stated by Atticus Finch just after his first appearance: “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view — until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.”
To better understand the play, a discussion panel followed the opening-night performance. The panel included a video introduction by former School Board member Jim Guines, who introduced the live panel, which comprised current School Board member Colleen Conklin, FPC Assistant Principal Kevin McCarthy, Harper Lee expert Jack Cowardin and English teacher Delphine Williamson.
Members of the cast also participated in the panel discussion. Some of them explained that the N-word is sometimes used casually at school. The students also vowed to change that practice as a result of what they learned from the play.
To see more photos from the production, click here.
