St. Mary’s Drama Class Brings Community Stories to Stage
What’s in a name?
Identity.
Purpose.
History.
At St. Mary Catholic Secondary School, students in the Drama Leadership class brought important community issues to life through its latest production, “Each by Name.”
The powerful performance highlighted homelessness, poverty, and marginalization in Hamilton while strengthening students’ connection to service, compassion, and Catholic social teaching.
Running every two years, the class provided Grade 11 and 12 students with the opportunity to explore social justice issues through theatre while actively engaging with the Hamilton community. This year’s production was created in partnership with St. Patrick’s De Mazenod Door, a local organization that supports individuals experiencing homelessness and poverty through daily meals.
The play opened with student Kyle Hall, playing Father Jarek of St. Patrick Church, explaining how the De Mazenod Door came to be.
Initially serving a sandwich and drink to 20 or so people a day, the door quickly grew to expand its efforts, now serving 500+ hot meals every single day.
“The whole concept of the De Mazenod Door is that you meet people at the door,” said Hall.
“That’s the place when you welcome them... when you ask ‘what's your name,’ when you have a conversation... it's about human dignity... it's not just feeding the poor it's recognizing their dignity and who they are and that's how it started.”
Teacher Kathryn Newberry explained that the idea for the play came from observing a growing need within the community.
“When I do a leadership play, I always try and look around and see where there is a need in the community,” she said.
“I reached out to the people at De Mazenod Door, as they are experts on the topic, and they were more than happy to have us come by and partner with them for this project. Our experiences with them have been really eye opening.”
A significant portion of the play was created using verbatim theatre, incorporating sections of the script drawn directly from interviews Newberry and the students conducted with guests at De Mazenod Door, as well as with the organization’s staff and community members.
“Using verbatim material in a play gives it honesty, and authenticity,” said Newberry.
“I can't write as a person who is poor or unhoused, because I am fortunate enough to have never lived that life. I can't speak like someone who has struggled with addiction, because I don't know what that's like. I also don't want to put words in people's mouths... but if I use their own words, the audience gets to see them as they really are, in their own words. It's very powerful on stage.”
The creation of the play was a months-long process, explained Newberry, who began compiling ideas and connecting with De Mazenod Door in April 2025.
“People were very happy to speak to us. Many of them were very excited to share their stories. The students who are playing those roles developed a real connection with the people they are playing and even wrote their cards and notes the last time we went. I was elated as I was worried that no one would want to talk to us about their struggles - which is completely understandable. But I was wrong. People were happy to talk, to welcome us into their community, and to share their lives with us. It was incredible. Of course, none of this would have happened without the De Mazenod Door. The staff there arranged for us to speak to people, and also shared their experiences and wisdom with us as well.”
“I couldn’t be prouder of our students and staff for the creativity and dedication they poured into scripting and producing this performance,” said Principal Sofia Palermo.
“One of our school’s key goals this year has been to expand our services and supports to our local community, and this production beautifully reflects that commitment. It not only strengthens our Catholic identity but also celebrates the dignity of every person, a message that resonates deeply within our outreach efforts.
In the concluding scene, Hall stepped out again.
“Say hello.”
“Because many of them are living on the streets, they haven't heard their name spoken for years. People will look at them, some people will throw money at them, but their name... they haven't heard their name spoken for years. Call them by their name, it makes such a huge difference. Call them by their name.”
“Each of them...by name.”
Photos by Frank Zochil and Maddyn Jenilek
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