HOCKINSON — Greg Saum’s theater students at Hockinson High School refer to themselves as a “dramily,” or “drama family.”
“In theater, these guys, they have to put themselves out there, and they’re at that age where it’s uncomfortable to do that,” Saum said. “I want to create an ensemble feel among the students to help with that. My feeling is, when they become a dramily, they’re in that for the long haul. Lately, we’ve been saying ‘dramily for life.’ ”
The students and Saum, director for the Hockinson High School Theatre Company, are now trying to help a dramily member, John Crawford, 18, who graduated from Hockinson last year. On Jan. 7, Crawford and his brother, Justin Crawford, 21, were involved in a car crash on their way back to Washington State University in Pullman. Their friend Dashiell Mortell, 19, of Bainbridge Island died in the wreck.
The troupe will donate proceeds from Wednesday’s winter show to the brothers, who are now recovering.
If You Go
• What: Hockinson High School Theatre Company’s winter show, which features five one-act plays all directed by students. Money raised at the show will be donated to Justin and John Crawford, Hockinson High School graduates who were in a car crash earlier this month.
• When: 7 p.m. Wednesday.
• Where: Hockinson High School, 16819 N.E. 159th St., Brush Prairie.
• Cost: $5 general admission, $3 seniors and kids under 12. Tickets at the door.
To Help
To donate money to the family, visit www.gofundme.com/2f-john-and-justin-crawford-fund
The Crawfords have been at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle since the wreck — Justin Crawford came home to Vancouver on Saturday, but is returning to Harborview today for more treatment — and have received an outpouring of support from family, friends and the extended families in the Hockinson and WSU communities.
So far, Hockinson’s basketball teams have raised money for the family, and the boy’s basketball team wrote John Crawford’s Twitter handle on their warm-up jerseys. A GoFundMe page set up for the family has brought in more than $45,400 from 400-plus donors in the last two weeks. Others have stopped by to bring the family supplies, food and whatever else they need. Roxy’s Dog Ranch in Ridgefield cared for the family dog, Zeke, after he got sick on a trip to the Seattle area.
“It’s really nice to know that there’s a village around our family,” said James Crawford, Justin and John’s father.
Justin Crawford will have to wear a neck brace for about three more months, said James Crawford. Justin has been able to communicate with friends more, which has helped him in recent days. After the crash, throat injuries and irritation to Justin’s throat made communication difficult and delayed his release from the hospital. After today’s trip back to Harborview, he’ll return home to Vancouver and continue his recovery process. His father wasn’t sure about what kind of physical therapy he might need or how long it could last.
John is still in acute care at Harborview after the crash, which severed his spinal cord. On Friday, he posted a note on Twitter to thank everyone for their support and said he has no feeling in his legs and can’t use them. For John to walk again, “it would take a miracle or really good science,” James Crawford said.
When Jack Broer, 16, heard about the crash, he was shocked.
“It’s devastating that a few months ago, he was onstage here dancing and now he’s paralyzed,” said Broer, a junior at Hockinson.
Broer and his older brother, Jared Broer, 18, are close friends with John Crawford. Jack Broer and John Crawford performed together last year in Hockinson’s production of “Guys and Dolls,” the first play John Crawford performed in while at Hockinson.
“He was full of energy,” Broer said. “I’ve never seen him down. He’s everybody’s friend.”
Broer said his brother received a text from John Crawford once he had enough feeling back in his hands to use a phone.
Saum brought up the idea of donating proceeds from the winter show to the family last week.
“It gives us that much more initiative to go out there and do our best,” Broer said.
Saum said everyone was eager to help out, even though funds from the winter show are used to put on the spring production.
“They were all very enthusiastic about it,” Saum said. “There was not one single moment of hesitation among any of them.”
The show will feature five one-act plays, all directed by students. Saum said a portion of proceeds from concessions will go the family, along with money from a raffle drawing and donation boxes placed around the theater.
Multiple people who know John said he was always very active, and they can’t imagine the accident changing that. In his message posted on Twitter, John Crawford wrote, “I have no doubt I can overcome this challenge and still be able to live life to the fullest.”
Saum wouldn’t expect anything else from him.
“He’s fairly soft-spoken, but he has this inner strength that you can clearly see when he’s playing basketball or performing,” Saum said. “He’s very confident. It’s going to help him in his new challenges ahead. In those ways, I’m not worried about him. He’s going to do just fine.”
James Crawford said his son will figure out a way participate in sports in the future.
“John’s basketball coach (at Hockinson), Manny Melo, his saying was ‘next play,’ ” James Crawford said. “That has been stuck in my mind since day one. We can’t fix what happened, but we’re always looking at the next play.”
