GADFLY: Sam Steiner Dodges the Draft

Sam Steiner, a quiet, retired Librarian and Archivist of over 30 years at Conrad Grebel University College, has a wild past as a 1968 draft dodger resisting the Vietnam war. The story of his struggle with pacifism is brought to life this weekend in the play “Gadfly: Sam Steiner Dodges the Draft”, performed at the Conrad Centre for the Performing Arts.

From self-proclaimed racial bigot to liberal left enthusiast, Sam seeks to find the balance between his conservative Mennonite upbringing and the political realities of the day. “Gadfly” explores one man’s journey to pacifism during the “peace-loving hippie” era, standing in stark contrast with the violence and injustice surrounding the Vietnam War and Civil Rights movement.

Still amazed that people find his draft dodging days so interesting, Sam believes that stories of peace continually need to be told. “Forty years ago we heard many stories of those who resisted serving in the military in World War II. For Canadian Mennonites, especially, there has been a long gap since of such stories,” Sam explains. “A Vietnam-era story helps fill the gap and might better reflect the issues we face in the modern wars Canada has fallen into.” 

Drawing on the wealth of resources in the Mennonite Archives of Ontario, coupled with extensive interviews with Sam, Rebecca Steiner has illuminated interesting characters and captured issues faced as a conscientious objector to the Vietnam War. As a uWaterloo student, Rebecca focused on pursuing acting and directing courses through the Drama program. These have led to directing a collaborative script, "Open, A Story of Refugee Claimants in Canada”, co-writing and performing in “Life as a River”, and now writing, directing and acting in “Gadfly”.

“I have really enjoyed the process of workshopping "Gadfly" in classes at University of Waterloo and most recently with the other members of Theatre of the Beat,” said Rebecca. “It has been so rewarding to see a play come alive from the first initial thought to the last draft of the script! The opportunity to develop it in workshop with other creative minds has been amazing.”

This original play, produced by Theatre of the Beat, will include a soundtrack from a fantastic live band featuring songs from Gram Parsons with an authentic Flying Burrito Brothers sound. Gram Parsons was at his prime in 1968 and his songs reflect questions Sam was asking himself.

In addition to learning that a quiet librarian has such a riveting story, Rebecca says that “it has been a very rich experience to see this bit of history come alive again, through the lens of Sam Steiner's journey. I have been challenged to think about how peace and active pacifism can be lived out in my own life, and I hope that the audiences can be similarly inspired.” Reflecting on the entire process of researching, writing, and producing Gadfly, Rebecca has learned that” in order to inspire change, we must look critically at our own communities, for that is how we will grow. It is involves wrestling and dancing with challenging questions, but becomes an enriching and necessary act of peace if we can stay with it.”

The event is a fundraiser to generate support for the Mennonite Archives of Ontario construction project. Housed at Conrad Grebel University College in Waterloo, the new archives will be more accessible to the community, be able to store many more pieces of history, and become a more vital part of the College’s academic program.

Gadfly is showing at the Conrad Centre for Performing Arts in Kitchener. On Friday, April 20^th (sold out!) and Saturday April 21^st at 2:00 and 8:00.