Gina Scott/Winonan

The Winona State University theatre and dance department presents its first main stage production of the year, “Elephant’s Graveyard,” Oct. 14 through 17.

“Elephant’s Graveyard” was written by George Brant and published in 2010. Based on true events, the play follows the story of a traveling circus in 1916 as it reaches the town of Erwin, Tenn. In the nearby town of Kingsport, Mary, the lead elephant, kills an unqualified trainer.

Erwin hears about the incident before the circus comes to their town. They decide the elephant should be tried as a human for murder, and order Mary to be executed. The railroad provides the town a crane to hang her by.

This play explores relationships and interactions between animals and humans as well as the interactions between different groups of people. According to Jim Williams, the director of the production, the play is all about these interactions and what happens when they converge.

“The play is really about the juxtaposition, or the collision, of the railroad, the circus and the town,” Williams said.

While viewing the play, the audience will be able to reflect on the peoples’ actions and decisions and decide who is in the right versus the wrong.

“As the back of the script reads,” Williams said. “[This play is] exploring the deep seed American craving for spectacle, violence, and revenge.”

This production has a sizable cast, including many actors who are new to the Winona State stage.

“We’ve got a diversity of talent for this show,” Williams said.

“Elephant’s Graveyard” is a different style of theatre; the actors are not acting in real time but rather recounting previous events in front of the audience.

“The script is structured as one big storytelling,” Williams said. “Part of [directing] is getting the actors not just to recite their lines, but to actually be in the moment of whatever they’re describing.”

Part of this storytelling is getting the audience to see how the actors react to one another. The way the actors must react to each other’s story telling shows one of the main concepts of this play, one of which is human nature, according to Bekah Bailey, the stage manger for the show.

“I think a takeaway from this show would be the idea of human nature itself,” Bailey said. “You see how the different groups of people interact with each other.”

There is no intermission in the show. All set changes must be made while something is happening on stage. In this production, there is a band consisting of a guitar, drums, and a balladeer that serve as sound cues and transitions.

“[Set changes] happen quickly under other actors’ lines and there is never a break in the show,” Bailey said.

The tragedy of Mary the elephant’s death inspired the theatre and dance program to give back. Recently, they have decided to adopt an African elephant named Flora through the Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee. Flora is an orphaned elephant from Zimbabwe.

After retiring from the circus, Flora moved to the sanctuary and has been there for 11 years. The sanctuary’s mission is to provide a safe place for elephants in need, and to educate the general public about the endangerment of elephants.

During each performance in the Performing Arts Center, the Theatre and Dance Department will be accepting donations that will go to the Elephant Sanctuary as part of Flora’s adoption.

“Elephant’s Graveyard” will be performed from  Oct. 14 through Oct. 17 at 7:30 p.m. in the Vivian Fusillo Theatre in the Performing Arts Center. General admission will be $12, and student tickets are $6.