“Ellis Island: The Dream of America” cast.
For more than two decades, “Ellis Island: The Dream of America” has been a collaboration between the Department of Theatre and the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra (FWSO). Directed by Professor of Theatre Harry Parker, Ph.D., the multimedia performance blends orchestral music, historical narration and imagery to tell the stories of immigrants arriving in America through Ellis Island in the early 20th century.
Composed by Peter Boyer, the orchestral work features live actors performing real-life immigrant monologues drawn from the Ellis Island Oral History Project. Between each story, the orchestra plays interludes paired with projections of historical photographs curated by Boyer. The piece culminates in a moving recitation of “The New Colossus,” inscribed at the base of the Statue of Liberty, which includes: “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.”
“Some of the stories are funny, some are tragic, but all of them are filled with deep respect and hope about what America and freedom can mean,” Parker said. “It’s a thrilling story.”
Composer Peter Boyer with Professor and Director Harry Parker.
The project first came to life at TCU during the 2005 College of Fine Arts Gala. While the work is typically presented with two actors reading from music stands, the Department of Theatre transformed it into a fully staged performance, with student actors memorizing every line.
“We decided everybody would be off book, as we say, and really embody, personify and play the roles themselves,” Parker said.
A few years later, the FWSO featured the work as part of its regular season and invited Department of Theatre students to perform alongside the orchestra. The collaboration soon evolved into an educational outreach program through Performing Arts Fort Worth, the symphony’s educational arm. Each fall, thousands of fifth graders from Fort Worth ISD and neighboring districts are bused to Bass Performance Hall to experience the production, often their first time hearing a live symphony.
““They’re the perfect age for it,” Parker said. “I’ve had student actors say it’s thrilling to see how the students are hanging on every word, how excited they are to be there and how they’re listening to these stories.”
Each year’s cast brings together TCU faculty, alumni and current students, including Department Chair Jennifer Engler and Professor Alan Shorter. Two current theatre students are always invited to join the cast, gaining invaluable professional experience performing alongside the FWSO.
Boyer recently returned to Fort Worth to attend the performances, noting that no other orchestra has presented “Ellis Island: The Dream of America” more often than the FWSO. “He told us, ‘It still works,’” Parker said. “And it does — it moves audiences every single time.”