The Shame Project was an incredible experience for those of us who built it and collected shame for the week it was up. People who visited were so generous in their outpourings of fear, grief, self-consciousness, inhibition; and the responding supportiveness of other visitors was overwhelming and beautiful.
I was so moved by the graciousness and openness of the participants--those who were brave enough to leave their stories behind (and there were so many!) created a monumental and fascinating work of empathy, compassion and endurance. Many people came back every day, and some stayed for hours, soaking in your words and breathing love and acceptance.
If my language is getting sappy here, forgive me. It was an emotional week.
This is what I realized at the end of the week, after the shame had all burned to the ground: that it was the best piece of theatre that I'd ever been responsible for, and that the reason it was the best was that the stories contained in it came from real people, from real, heartfelt places, from real agony and triumph. This isn't a brand new idea; Nebunele began with a desire to honor real stories, with the Secret Ruths of Island House, which, despite being our first play, remains an example of our most powerful work.
Theatre deals so much with fiction, and fiction is important. One real and important gift of theatre is the gift of impartial empathy; it is safe to project ourselves onto stories that do not implicate us; it is enlightening to bear witness to raw nerves, exposed & worn down humans, without our own emotional defenses engaged as they are with our own loved ones and adversaries. But fiction is hard to write. Real people are so complex and messy and they are all smarter and more devious and more honorable than this humble playwright can encompass. So as one moves into the realm of myth, archetype, imagination, though always striving for some level of universal truth, things can get cloudy.
Borrowing the stories of our audience is cheating. The words ring true because they are true. It takes a dynamic skill and craft to develop a powerful fictional story; to present a real story only takes good listening.
Ultimately, though, we're not in this to be impressive (right, guys?) We're in this to share stories. For the good of humanity! And while we're at it, I don't see any reason not to share your stories. After all, you're the ones who will appreciate them.
All of this is to give you a little teaser about Theatrepoems 2012. Like Theatrepoems 2011, it will invite a crowd of diverse Seattle artists to make small works. Unlike Theatrepoems 2011, it will all be about your, our audience's, stories. I know I've been miserly with updates, but it's coming, I promise. Watch this space for a link to an application where you will be invited to send us a poem that has had an impact on your life, and the story of why. We will be forging an intimate microtheatre this summer, and you are the playwrights.
Love!
Alissa
P.S. Here's a lovely two-minute video of the shame project midweek, before it burned: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSsYxg3qaF0 Many thanks to Mark Day for making it and Beth Haase for passing it along!
Wednesday, March 28, 2012 at 12:39AM