Every July, the UVA volunteers who spend 30 hours providing free healthcare in southwest Virginia leave with many stories, some tragic, some uplifting. Emergency room nurse Tim Cunningham has turned those stories into a powerful one-man play.
Cunningham, according to a University of Virginia story, “conducted intimate, anonymous, one-on-one interviews with more than 30 patients” at the 2009 Remote Area Medical (RAM) clinic in Wise County. He used those interviews to create 11 characters that he portrays in his play, “Out of Their Way.”
I’ve volunteered at RAM for three years and saw Cunningham’s play just before last year’s clinic. It was often poignant, sometimes funny, and I don’t think I was the only one tearing up at the end. This is well worth the 85 minutes out of your day.
Want to go?
The play is Thursday, April 19 at 4 p.m. in McLeod Hall Auditorium. (Driving? You can park in the Central Grounds Parking Garage or at the Corner; the McLeod garage is permit-only until 5 p.m.) It’s free and open to everyone.
Read More about the Remote Area Medical Clinic
We’ve got photos, volunteer stories and more from the 2011 clinic.