I have a history with The Laramie Project in both of its iterations, which colors my views on this piece. For me, even though the plays focus on a specific incident of violence against an individual because of sexual orientation, there is still a universality there. Violence is a universal concept, as is power. Both of these are part of Matthew's story. While Tectonic has chosen to deal with one specific incident to tell the story of a hate crime, there are many other stories that could be told, and should be told. There are artists who are working on human rights stories every day, using many different media, not just theatre. There is something about live theatre, however, that can have a deeper and stronger impact on the audience. If just one person leaves the theatre looking at an issue from another viewpoint, then in my opinion the work has been successful.
Another reason the play and the incident has resonated with me so deeply is because Laramie could be Ottawa, Kansas. The prejudices run deep there as well. Kansas is 99.99 3/4% conservative, mostly Republican, and in small communities all over the state, the biases against anyone who is perceived as the other, show themselves in varied ways every day. When I was in The Laramie Project there were people who would approach me in Wal-Mart and ask why the university was putting on this production and what kind of behavior was I modeling for my daughter by being in the show. Needless to say, I was astounded by these types of comments, and could never come up with anything in reply at the time. I always thought of snappy comebacks much later. To me, this indicates that this type of theatre experience is still relevant and needed.
I am also drawn to works that speak to me about social justice issues, which this play does. I like fluff just as much as the next person, and I was in the audience when the touring show of Legally Blonde came to Lubbock, but I also want works that talk about bigger issues. In my writing I try to tackle some of those issues. I feel we have a tendency as a society to try and shove these things behind a door and never open it. It's the out of sight, out of mind theory of dealing with issues. It doesn't work because the issues don't go away. They just grow larger. Finally they grow so large that it seems almost impossible to deal with them.
I know I'm on my soapbox, and I apologize if I have offended anyone. These are issues I feel very strongly about, which is why I want to work with a non-profit arts organization. I believe that the arts have a vital role to play in social justice issues. Sometimes they are the best way to reach people and get them to think about the issue at hand from a different viewpoint. To me The Laramie Project, and other types of documentary theatre, raise interesting questions to which there are no easy answers. Laramie and Matthew Shepard are a part of our history as Americans whether we are from Laramie, Wyoming or elsewhere. I don't think it's a bad thing to be reminded of our past once in a while, lest we repeat it too often.
It's funny you mention Legally Blonde. I'd love to come back to that and Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark at some point.
ReplyDeleteI see the potential in even the fluffiest pieces. Do you think that Blonde could be deconstructed or restructured as a strongly feminist piece? Is the potential there? What ideas could be brought out in mass marketed theatre that maybe have just been missed? Could all theatre focus more on social justice?
Just curious about your thoughts as both a playwright and dramaturg.
Jeanne:
ReplyDeleteYour post has outlined for all the people in the class the purpose of documentary theatre which is a kind of theatre that many people are unfamiliar with and sometimes dislike for that very reason. The origins of documentary are in anthropology and Tectonic has written an ethnography of Laramie through their two plays. While the account is honest, purposeful and often very critical it is imperative that it be written.
Another often forgotten fact is that the play is a "collective" not an individual creation and hence has a purposeful multicentric agenda. Not all members of Tectonic are gay but all feel as strongly about social justice issues as you do.
I agree--there is universality in the constructs of Laramie; people can relate and apply to multiple circumstances surrounding hate and hate rhetoric. What I will never understand is why, instead, in the curricula of k12 English and History departments we tend to study events that are canonical and central to the building of the American identity and psyche, but not so much to the contemporary application and sustaining of the health of the American identity. That is, we're not rhetorically savvy as an educational system, moving with the needs of our people, as other cultures try to do--and as some cultures historically have done--and as a result we are destined to repeat.
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