Verbatim theatre represents a vital movement in theatre as far as I'm concerned. Through it we enable writers, artists and audiences to experience an event or topic through the eyes of those that initially lived it. We live in a complex, brutal, beautiful and constantly changing world. This is obvious. What is interesting is what stories or events strike a universal chord and whose ripples persevere in the wider swath of humanities collective memory. It is my opinion that when verbatim theatre is done well it serves to present not only a relatively factual retelling of events from a variety of perspectives but through these perspectives we arrive at a wider and more articulated understanding of what the event was and represents. It also inevitably leads to run on sentences. But I digress.
In the play Exonerated, Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen interviewed over 60 people who had spent anywhere between two to twenty five years on death row. Capital punishment is undoubtedly a contentious issue and one that splits the country essentially right down the middle- half agreeing and half opposed. What so often gets lost in this conversation however is the significant issue and prevalence of wrongful conviction. We are taught from a young age that justice is blind and that if one is found guilty then there was undoubtedly sufficient evidence to convict. We are well acquainted with the notion that guilty people get off scot-free but hesitate to confront the reality that thousands of people every year are put behind bars for crimes they did not commit. Some of course are even sentenced to die for lies and malfeasance implemented by the state against them.
By taking a documentarial approach the audience inevitably takes the content more seriously because we know that these are REAL people's lives that have been ruined being told on stage. When that happens there is a different level of empathy that kicks in with most people. When it's fiction there is a tendency and invitation to enjoy the performance, digest it and go on with your life. When it is true accounts, and when the material is handled respectfully by the artistic team, the material stays with the audience longer. This is crucial because another key component to effective verbatim theatre is to motivate the audience to not ignore the issue they have just confronted but instead to hopefully get involved in some way to reform the problem being addressed. Social justice and the Arts share an important relationship. Effective verbatim theatre is one of the most useful tools to capture the imagination of a wide audience and direct the conversation to issues affecting us all.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRjUpjZYsYI
Tim Robbins made a movie in the late 90s starring his lady love Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn. It was called DEAD MAN WALKING and it was about capital punishment. I watched it for an acting class several years ago. It's well done- great acting, solid direction, etc. But admittedly, it does have moments of sentimentality (or heavy-handedness) when it comes to the point of view of the movie. Which, was fine by me- I'm anti-capital punishment and have always asked the question, "Why do we kill people who kill people to show that killing people is wrong?" But I remember watching the movie with another classmate- who, turns out was pro-electric chair and thought the movie was crap. Never mind that it was nominated for and won Oscars and other awards. He called the movie "hippy-dippy."
ReplyDeleteThat memory came up as I was reading your blog. I had heard of THE EXONERATED, had seen clips on YouTube, etc.- but I never thought about it in terms of Verbatim Theatre versus the "based on a true story" of DEAD MAN WALKING. In the interview with the playwrights, I found it fascinating that their aim wasn't to have an agenda and to be "neither left wing nor right wing." By simply staying out of the way and letting people tell their story, they could transcend ideology with (wait for it!) fact! What a concept.
And you make a good point- when we know that these are not only real people's lives, but real peoples' words as well, the connotation becomes more crucial. In actor terms, the stakes have been raised, the sense of urgency has become increased, and the scene ultimately becomes more weighted. If Verbatim Theatre can be done in this manner, I agree that it could change the conversation more than a fictional narrative might. I guess I could argue that there are still those people who don't want to think or be challenged at the theatre (notice that PHANTOM OF THE OPERA is still running- sigh). But I guess I can also understand the pull of escapism and wanting to suspend my disbelief or be transported to another reality for a few hours in my seat in the dark. Verbatim Theatre forces us to deal with the things we'd rather not or talk about the things we've always kept to ourselves. It is a great, powerful, and logical tool. So, of course, most Americans aren't going to embrace it. I guess it’s our job as artists to redirect the conversation and advocate for more shows like THE EXONERATED. It's just gonna take some time. But, I'm patient. And hopeful.