Tragedy and inspiration describe the story of a young Jewish girl who wrote about her experience of living in a “secret annex” during the Holocaust. Anne Frank’s diary was an outlet of the secret life she was forced to live during the mid-1940s.

In her diary, she wrote of the relationships she developed with the people that lived with her in her “home” behind a secret bookcase in her father’s business building. Anne’s father, Otto Frank; her mother, Edith Frank-Hollander and her sister, Margot all lived with her. In addition, Mr. and Mrs. van Daan, their son Peter and Mr. Dussel joined them in their secret home to hide. Acquaintances of the Frank’s, Miep Gies and Mr. Kraler had also secretly helped the two families get food, clothing and other necessities.

Theta Alpha Phi Fraternity and Hillel, a Jewish Organization, are putting on a joint production of “The Diary of Anne Frank” in the courtyard across from Founders food court. The props, sets and costumes used in the production, were donated from the Department of Theater and Film.

The director, Hanna Meussling, held open auditions and began the project back in December.

The idea to use the courtyard in Founders was proposed by Theta Alpha Phi and Hillel last year.

With the busy schedule of the Department of Theater and Film, Theta Alpha Phi and Hillel decided to have the production this weekend, so that the play will not overlap with the departments future productions.

Theta Alpha Phi and Hillel wanted to work together, and chose “The Diary of Anne Frank.”

“‘The Diary of Anne Frank is “a very moving story,” Bob Russell, committee head of Theta Alpha Phi and program coordinator of the play, said.

The play was recently revived by Wendy Kesselman in 1999 on Broadway, Russell said, and as a result of new information found, the characters were changed to add depth and realism.

The play encompasses the factual events of Anne Frank’s life while she was in hiding. She wrote of love, her relationship struggles with the other people in her “home” and the bond she had with her family.

The growth and development of Anne Frank is shown through her writing. Her ability as a writer develops more completely as she continues to show interest in becoming a writer as an adult. She had aspirations of a new life outside of the Holocaust. And showed strength, hope and high spirits relating to her confinement from the outside world.

“No matter what you face,”Russell said, “if you stick together as a family you can get through it.” The extreme circumstances of what Anne Frank and her companions went through was awe-inspiring during World War II.

The Frank family, the van Daan family and Mr. Alfred Dussel lived together for two years, dealing with each other’s fears, inspirations and quarrels.

While living in the secret annex, they had to be as “quiet as baby mice,” Anne Frank has said.

They were not allowed to look out of the window, make loud noises, go outside or try to contact people outside. Their confinement began to infuriate everyone and they began to irritate each other. They expressed negative thoughts because they believed that “the whole wide world were waiting and many of them were waiting for death.”

“The Diary of Anne Frank” performance was compelling and dramatic, and extracted the audience into the mind of this young girl.

“Unlike most, she continued to believe in human goodness [while] being held prisoner of the time,” Meussling said.

Anne Frank was a remarkable girl and a wonderful writer. She touched many readers with her words.

“I’m 20, she’s 13, it’s harder to play someone younger,” Kate Gibson, who portrays Anne Frank, said. “It’s definitely a confidence booster.”

This is an incredible story of a girl who invites the audience to delve into her mind during the most difficult moments of her life. “I want to go on living after my death,” Anne Frank wrote.

The performance will be Saturday at 8:00 p.m. and Sunday at 2:00 p.m. The price will be $4 at the door. The proceeds will go to the Anne Frank Center.