For many students, the assignment was more than just an acting lesson.

Members of the Acting with an Accent class at Kansas University were assigned to talk with someone from the Middle East and write a short monologue based on their life. They performed the monologues Friday in Murphy Hall.

Sarah Homan, an Overland Park junior, was paired with Mina Jaberian, a Belton, Mo., resident and native of Iran.

“I never got a chance to talk to someone from the Middle East since Sept. 11,” Homan said. “I was nervous. I’m still nervous I’m not doing the accent right.”

Paul Meier, professor of theater and film, assigned the project to help students learn more about different accents and other parts of the world.

Jaberian, who runs a roofing company with her husband, said she was always eager to explain that people from the Middle East weren’t that different from Americans.

“People have no idea,” she said. “People learn we’re from Iran and relate us to Osama. We try to encourage them to learn about the real news, not just what you see on CNN — to study more about religion and cultures.”

Several common themes emerged from the 15 three-minute monologues. Many of the subjects missed their homelands, several weren’t interested in politics and many hated the cold Kansas weather.

Elisabeth Ahrens, a sophomore from Topeka, performed her monologue based on a conversation with fellow student Moushumee Amin, who was born in India and grew up in Zaire.

“It’s always good to get a different perspective on the world,” Ahrens said. “It makes me see more clearly how the world works — and not just your world.”

Christopher Drake, a Kansas University senior from Eugene, Ore., performs his monologue during Acting with an Accent class in Murphy Hall. Students in the class interviewed Mideast residents living in the area and wrote monologues about their experiences in the United States. Some of the people interviewed for the class attended Friday's performances.

Ahrens’ performance was a slightly embellished tale based on Amin’s decision not to wear her traditional Indian sari — and instead wear clothes bought at Gap — while going to school in Zaire.

Amin, a senior majoring in business, said she felt similar struggles in the United States.

“Values are a big thing, family is a big thing” in India, she said. “You do things to fit into society, but on the inside you might be thinking something else.”

¢ 6News video: Students get more from project then accents

Meier said he chose a different region each year for his students’ final project. This year he selected Middle Eastern nations because of world events.

“It’s a real cultural immersion,” Meier said. “It gives actors a chance to walk in their shoes. It’s so important for Americans to get to understand people from the Islamic world. It’s theater meets politics.”