Few can erase one haunting image in particular that beamed into our living rooms from Beijing, China’s Tiananmen Square in the spring of 1989 showing a non-violent objector standing defiantly in front of a military tank to see who would blink first.

This single lens perspective would prove to be the least horrific visual portrait that the world would witness illustrating the pro-democracy crack down against a banded group of students, intellectuals, and activists believed to have resulted in anywhere from 200 to 3,000 casualties.

One thing was certain: Not for a moment did this social uprise resemble anything like the civil disturbance at Ohio’s Kent State University in 1970 claiming the lives of four students in this part of the world. What’s more, the international community would not be poised to allow the tragic event go unrecognized.

Flash-forward to the spring of 2009 where playwright Marjorie Chan pays homage to those subdued in the united stance on the footstep of the carnage’s 20^th anniversary.

Throughout her years of research into the event she became increasingly inspired by the youth movement’s gallantry and sacrifice caught on camera and recorded interviews with survivors.

Her newest work, The Madness of the Square, originated as a monologue and serves as the most mainstream piece that she’s composed. The drama gravitates around four students who participated in the Tiananmen Square demonstrations and examines how the tragedy altered their lives

Marjorie Chan was half a world away when one of history’s darkest blemishes unfolded. Her passion behind the play is a heartfelt reflection of the pain felt here at home for those who suffered in delivering a peaceful message for change.