Want to know where Clooney is? His heart is in Darfur

Sometimes I feel for celebrities whose passions pale next to their megastar personas.

Take, for example, George Clooney. The actor is in St. Louis shooting his latest flick, “Up in the Air.” In true “Where’s Waldo” fashion, the town is abuzz about Clooney.

“Where will he eat?”

“Where will he sleep?”

“Where can we see him?”

If the goal is to catch a glimpse of Clooney, local honchos ought to take the man seriously and perhaps champion his humanitarian causes.

Clooney recently returned from his sixth trip to Darfur and Chad. Fighting has escalated in the region since 2003, with an estimated 300,000 people killed and nearly 2.5 million displaced. Clooney, a U.N. Messenger of Peace, recently visited camps in Chad, where some 250,000 refugees struggle for daily survival.

After meeting with President Barack Obama last month, Clooney matter-of-factly outlined what’s needed to address the crisis, including a White House envoy in the region and pressure on China to help prevent further atrocities.

“It’s not about needing American troops,” Clooney said at the time. “It’s about needing what we do best — what we have done best since the start of this country — which is good, robust diplomacy all across the world.”

So you want a glimpse of Clooney? I’m wagering the actor might make a appearance at a massive local “Save Darfur” event aimed at furthering his call for action.

I suppose it’s easier to talk about the whereabouts of Eye Candy Clooney than to adopt his mission or follow his lead.

Believe me, I’m on no high horse. I haven’t written nearly enough about the genocide in Darfur. My woeful ignorance about the generational, racial, religious and military factions have given me pause.

This attitude is part of the problem. At least that’s what Cecelia Nadal, executive director of locally based Gitana Productions Inc., believes.

“The conflict involves Muslims and Africans in a country most Americans know little about,” she said. “In this economy, there are so many darts coming at us anyway. When we get into the complexities of the Darfur crisis, we tend to forget about the humanity.”

In an effort to connect people with the issues in Sudan, Gitana commissioned “Complacency of Silence: Darfur,” a play written by area playwright and director Lee Patton Chiles. Chiles interviewed refugees and aid workers from Darfur, then wrote a play based on their personal accounts.

“It was the hardest play I’ve ever researched or written,” Chiles told me Wednesday. “I felt a burden to get it right — not to just tell a story about victims, but to show families who ate together, slept together and prayed together, then show all that has been removed and taken away.”

The play about a Sudanese family in the midst of the crisis was nominated for five Kevin Kline Awards in January. Of equal significance, Nadal and Chiles say, are the high school and college students who were inspired by the play and started organizations dedicated to publicizing the crisis in Darfur.

“That’s why you write a piece like this,” Chiles said, “to inspire action.”

Originally, the play’s title was “Complicity of Silence.” Nadal doesn’t regret the change, but she insists the original title still applies.

“There’s a circular effect in the universe. If we walk away from these issues, then we can very easily become the issue,” she said.

Chiles won’t have to play the “Where’s George” game. She auditioned and won a three-minute speaking part as a real estate agent talking to Clooney in his movie.

“When my agent called and said it was a movie with Clooney, I said, ‘I have to do this,’” Chiles recalled.

Some of her thespian friends who have completed their shoots told her what to expect from Clooney. “When he talks, they say, he talks about his passion — Darfur.”

Since she shares Clooney’s passion, Nadal also hopes to connect with the actor. She and Chiles have been trying to drum up the resources to take “Complacency of Silence: Darfur” on a national tour.

Powerful messages need powerful messengers, Nadal said. And Clooney has taken command of his humanitarian role, she said.

As a woman, Nadal said, she totally understands why the city has gone ga-ga over Clooney.

“Oh, he’s a gorgeous man, no doubt,” Nadal said, with an embarrassed laugh. However, she quickly added, Clooney has other qualities.

“You know, this man could be just looking out for his Hollywood career and soaking up the adoration,” she said. “But what’s so outstanding about Clooney is, for some reason, he connected with the story of humanity in Darfur and uses his stature and influence to help people with less.”

Regardless if they collaborate or not, Nadal said, she will remain attracted to Clooney’s real persona:

“Beyond his physical charm, there’s the quality of his soul.”

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