| | The Ultimate Twin
I realized this morning that my plays tend to have twins, whether literal or figurative.
Alma & Blanca (Braided Sorrow)
Juanita & Paola, Jared & Jacob (Woman on Fire)
Fatima & Soraya (American Triage)
Amara & Dalila (Heart Shaped Nebula)
I guess the way I get characters to connect is to literally mirror each or to see a reflection of themselves in one another. Perhaps that's what's at the heart of "good" social justice theatre, and by "good" I mean that the play humanizes "the other" for the audience, gets them to empathize with the protagonist and see themselves in those characters.
"The other." I used this term because so often social injustices occur because a society de-humanizes a population. It's easier to mistreat someone if you don't consider them an equal. In the case of my first three plays "the other" is the illegal immigrant. How do you get citizens who don't sympathize with illegal immigrants, to care about their plight? My answer has been to put a name and face to that immigrant, to show their struggles, their hopes, their dreams--the very human qualities we can all identify with.
I guess what I'm trying to say is, the audience is the ultimate twin in my play. I'm always striving to conenct them emotionally to my characters.
-M
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| | Posted 3/13/2009 9:15 AM - 48 Views - 2 eProps - 1 Comment
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