MIRACLE IN RWANDA to be Performed at the 2009 IB Conference of the Americas

Leslie Lewis Sword
MIRACLE IN RWANDA
Directed and Co-created by Edward Vilga

The true story of Rwandan Genocide Survivor Immaculée Ilibagiza

Leslie Lewis Sword brilliantly transforms herself into a host of characters to tell the incredible story of Rwandan Genocide Survivor Immaculée Ilibagiza, a real life messenger of hope. Last year, performer and writer Sword traveled to Rwanda with Immaculée to develop this unique piece of theater. In fact, this return of Immaculée to Rwanda was the subject of a 60 Minutes segment last December, bringing international attention to the story of MIRACLE IN RWANDA.

Immaculée’s family was brutally murdered during the three-month slaughter in that began in April 1994. Miraculously, Immaculée managed to survive. For 91 days, she and seven other women huddled silently and cramped together in an undiscovered extra bathroom in a local pastor’s home. Immaculée’s terror escalated as hundreds of machete-wielding killers searched the house repeatedly for her without success, determined to find and butcher her. Ultimately, Immaculée moves beyond intense fear and rage, to find a deeper connection to God than she ever thought possible.

With an uplifting message of forgiveness and compassion, in MIRACLE IN RWANDA Leslie Lewis Sword, directed by co-creator Edward Vilga, chronicles these dramatic events through the interior life of Immaculée. The message is one of personal empowerment, of overcoming all obstacles through the power of faith, and ultimately finding peace of mind amidst unbelievable hardship. As our generation's Anne Frank—who thankfully survived this holocaust—the true miracle of Immaculée's story is her ability to forgive. After workshops in New York City developed by Ms. Sword and director/co-creator Edward Vilga, MIRACLE IN RWANDA was first seen in Naples, Florida at TheatreZone/artistic director Mark Danni.