Refugee children, mainly recruited by Sellars from the International Center at Cambridge Ringe and Latin School, portray Herakles’ exiled children. International Center Director Arnold Clayton describes Sellars’ presentation to the students as “mesmerizing.”

“He told them the world needs to see them for who they are,” he says.

At a dress rehearsal last Friday, the 26 young participants—who speak different languages and represent almost every continent—ate pizza, joked and braided each others’ hair.

One 16-year-old student from Haiti says talking with Sellars convinced him to be part of Herakles.

“This show is good for immigrants,” he says. “The U.S. should be waiting for immigrants with open arms.”

According to Clayton, many of these children work up to 40 hours a week, to support their families in America and abroad.

Most of them say their greatest challenge coming to America was learning English.

Femida Sheikh, 18, says she struggled in school when she emigrated from India five years ago.

“I cried a lot,” she says. “I didn’t know what the teacher was saying.”

Anayit Hailu from Ethiopia says the language barrier makes it “difficult to meet someone, to meet a friend.”

Sheikh and Yasmin Dugla, 16, are both Muslim, and say they have felt discriminated against post-Sept 11.

“No one really said anything, but the way they looked at us,” Sheikh says, pausing. “Strange.”

Bringing it Home

The staging of Herakles allows for a wide variety of interpretations, according to Sellars.

The set is sparse, consisting only of a small altar and microphones. The cast wears minimalist modern clothing: jeans and t-shirts, or business suits.