Q&A With Bystander 9/11 Actress Colette Sciotte

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FRAMINGHAM – On September 11, 2021, Framingham Public Schools and atac (Amazing Things Theatre) will present Bystander 9/11, a powerful play on the 20th anniversary of the attacks on September 11.

Directed by Donna Wresinski, the play features several Framingham Public School employees, Framingham High alumni, and a couple of local politicians.

The performance is scheduled for one-night only in the intimate downtown theatre for September 11 at 8 p.m.

While the live in-person performance is sold out, the play and the after-play discussion can be viewed on Facebook live at the Framingham Public Schools Facebook page.

SOURCE is doing a Q&A with the cast members

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Colette Sicotte

Sciotte is an English teacher at Framingham High and an actress in the play.

Lives in: Framingham

Your acting experience: I love theater, but this will be my first time ON the stage.

Favorite actor/actress:  Anyone who makes me forget their name and think of them only has the character they are playing. 

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Where were you on Sept. 11? On September 11, 2001, I was at FHS, in room F203. I had 23 sophomore honors students with me and my department head knocked on the door and quietly told me that a plane had hit the World Trade Center.  No one knew what was happening, but the students and I watched things develop, and we grew more uncertain and scared with each new image and detail. I remember that class of students so clearly, even twenty years later. 

Why did you want to be a part of this production?   I think we all feel something as the calendar clicks to September 11th each year. For me,  as an educator, I see with each passing year how the day is a history lesson for my students, instead of the visceral memory that is my experience. I thought being part of the play was  the perfect opportunity to pause and reflect in a very purposeful way AND help younger people understand what we experienced that day.
How does this play speak to you?   I was a bystander too. I wasn’t in NYC, nor were any of my loved ones, thankfully. I didn’t breathe in the debris and live in the aftermath. I watched the events unfold like many Americans did– on the TV. It was a truly memorable day filled with confusion and fear, but like so many of us,  I was just a bystander. 

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What do you wish the audience takes away from this performance? For those who have their own memories of the day, I hope it speaks to them and gives them the space to reflect. For those who weren’t alive on 9/11/01, I hope it helps them understand the day beyond  what can happen in our classrooms. 

The arts in Framingham are truly awe-inspiring! 

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