TheatreOCU is known for producing excellent theatre. But often times, the subject matter is deep, dark, and depressing. The 2014-2015 season has been especially dark. After seeing The Trojan Women, a tragic play about the battered women of Troy, and Night, Mother, a play about suicide, I wondered why we produced so many sad shows. So I asked.
Many of the dark shows performed at OCU are Stage II productions. Hal Kohlman, (Professor of Acting and Directing) is in charge of Stage II productions. He selects plays that directors (student and faculty) submit and produces many of the dark shows for which TheatreOCU is known. Most of the submissions he receives are dramas. When asked why the department doesn’t often produce comedies he replied, “Comedy is hard to direct and good comedic scripts are hard to find.” Directors’ visions also play a part. Kohlman anticipated that the recent production of The Marriage of Bette and Boo, “would be a bigger comedy than it turned out to be. But directors’ visions sometimes change a way a play is perceived.” He also makes the point that “directors submit plays that somehow want to make a point, find relevance to the real world, and change people’s perception of the real world.” This was definitely something D. Lance Marsh (Professor of Acting, Head of Performance, and Artistic Director of TheatreOCU) had in mind with his production of The Trojan Women. Though Euripedes’ play was produced in 415 BC, Marsh’s staging invoked the modern Middle East, and brought to life the struggles of women in battlefields across the world today. Marsh’s concept made audiences realize that despite the classic language of the piece, the issues these women go through–loss of family, sexual violence, and the struggle to move forward after incredible loss–are happening across the world right now.
The rest of the season is not much happier. But this is not by design. This 2014-2015 season is a result of opportunities. The season opener, The Grapes of Wrath, a story about economic depression and loss, was co-produced with CityRep (Oklahoma City Repertory Theatre) as a celebration of the 75th anniversary of the Steinbeck novel. The upcoming production Two Birds and a Stone, a new play that sheds light on the effects of war on women and children, is the result of the opportunity to work with a living playwright. It is purely coincidental that most of our shows this year deal with depression. But D. Lance March doesn’t think that is such a bad thing. “America is going through a fairly dark patch right now. Even OCU is dealing with uncertainty about prioritization. Every director is choosing serious material to work on. I don’t think it’s a bad thing.” We are privileged to live in America and to attend such an acclaimed school as OCU. We are not constantly aware of the struggles and sadness in the world. TheatreOCU’s season is forcing us to look at it. And that’s not such a bad thing.
Theatre allows us to experience and explore things that we may not choose to look at otherwise. Judith Palladino (professor of Theatre and Theatre for Young Audiences) makes the point that “being in the theatre with a serious play gives you permission to be sad; permission to feel that which society frowns upon.” Palladino is a native of New York City and describes the theatre community’s reaction to 9/11. “People stopped going to the theatre. So theatres began calling patrons, asking if they were coming back and what they wanted to see. They expected audiences would want to see musical comedies and were surprised to hear that people wanted to see dramas. Watching a serious play gives you permission to be sad. In New York at the time, you almost felt guilty for being sad. Especially if you had not experienced a loss.” Oklahoma City experienced its own tragic loss 20 years ago this coming April. TheatreOCU will be producing a play to commemorate the event. Most of the actors involved are not from Oklahoma City and some were not even born at the time of the bombing. This is the magic of theatre. Artist from different backgrounds who have no direct connection to the tragedy whatsoever, will come together to grieve, to honor lives lost, and to celebrate the community of Oklahoma City. This play will give our community permission to be sad.
Theatre can do many things. It can take us to a whole new world, entertain us with fantasy and satisfy us with a happily ever after. But theatre can also force us to look at the world and to see the things to which we turn a blind eye. TheatreOCU may do sad shows, but TheatreOCU does good shows that are entertaining, thought provoking, and in some cases life changing.
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