This page is focusing on Erik’s work with media education and the production of Haiti Held Hostage. This production started from an assignment in Dr. Heble’s course Literature and Social Change. The class assignment was to make or use a piece of literature and create social change. The Haiti Held Hostage group decided to create a play which would help create social change. The group acquired the rights to the play The Noam Chomsky Lectures which was written by Daniel Brooks and Guillermo Verdecchia. The group of seven students; Brendan Arnott, Emma Arppe- Robertson, Cailey Campbell, Andrew Hawkins, Farren Mancuso, Dawn Worton and Erik Mortensen re-wrote the play. It was altered to focus on the issues of Canadian Haitian relations as well as Noam Chomsky’s theories on the media. The production is a two person play and performed by Brendan and Erik and they play themselves.
The first production was done at War Memorial Hall in Guelph in March of 2006. The Hall was packed as full as it could go and the show was met with a great reaction and strong support. Word about the production even reached back into Haiti and the group became actively connected into HAG, Haiti Action Guelph and CHAN, Canada Haiti Action Network. The show was than taken to Windsor University and opened the International Media Education conference it was hosting. The latest performance that the group accomplished was on Wednesday Feburary 20th at Lula Lounge in Toronto in 2008. Once again the show was very well recieved and was performed with an updated and revised script. More details about Haiti Held Hostage and future productions of it will be posted as they become available.
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