AROUND THE GREEN
Campus Life Just an Illusion
Jeff Barker has completed his trilogy of books telling the life story of missionary nurse Arlene Schuiteman, who spent 33 years in Africa. Zambia Home was published in March. It covers Schuiteman’s final decade of service in Zambia, then follows her as she returns home to Iowa, faces a major health crisis, and experiences the death of a dear friend and colleague. Barker, a professor emeritus of theatre at Northwestern, began a relationship with Schuiteman 16 years ago when he wrote a play about her first assignment in Africa, titled Sioux Center Sudan. Two more plays, Iowa Ethiopia and Zambia Home, followed. The plays were based on Schuiteman’s journals, in which she recorded—nearly daily—the events, relationships, and spiritual questions and insights she had experienced. When Schuiteman turned 90 years old in 2014, she entrusted Barker with complete access to her journals. He began work on her biography in 2016, publishing the first book of the trilogy in 2018 and the second in 2019. All three volumes are available on bookseller websites such as Amazon.com and Christianbook. com, as well the publisher’s website, Henrickson.com.
LEM MAURER
Before performing his large-scale illusion “Metamorphosis,” junior Jett Skrien brings two audience members onstage to chain his hands together and inspect a trunk that he will soon be trapped inside. Skrien steps into a velvet bag, which his assistant draws up over his body and ties above his neck with a rope. With a graceful flourish, she locks him in the trunk before climbing to stand on top, where she wields a red curtain that briefly obscures her from sight. Immediately, the curtain freefalls to the ground, revealing not the assistant but the magician standing there—with a smile that says he’s just as pleased as the audience that is screaming for more. “This cool thing called magic can bring genuin genuine joy and happiness to people,” Skrien says. “Y “You can be fully present in the moment, look oout and see everyone smiling. It’s the best feeling feeling.” Ins Inspired at an early age by a magician who b brought him onstage, Skrien has been perfo performing since the age of 10. The theatre majo major takes his card tricks and grand escapes acros across the country and internationally, finding that language barriers disappear at the sight of a signed dollar bill that leaves its owner’s han hands and shows up inside a piece of fruit. N Now 21, the Marshall, Minnesota, native estim estimates he’s presented nearly 1,000 shows. He plans to move to a bigger entertainment sce scene after graduation. During the pandem demic, Skrien searched out venues close to No Northwestern, including a performance for an Orange City Bible study that revealed th the secrets to his faith. “I can get you to believe many things, bu but they’re just clever illusions,” Skrien sa says. “Truth is true whether you believe in it or not.” Northwestern encouraged Skrien’s p passion from the start, providing space ffor his trailer and rehearsals. He looks fforward to performing on campus once p pandemic restrictions vanish into virusfree air.
A Story Completed
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