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"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead
September 11, 2001 - the day the Twin Towers fell, plunging the nation into a state of anger, despair and helplessness. It was a seminal event, one that shaped and defined this generation, much like the Kennedy assassination or the bombing of Pearl Harbor. People will always remember where they were when the Towers fell, when their complacency turned to terror, when their vision of the world exploded and rained down upon them in a black cloud of ashes and acrid smoke. Along with the sadness came the questions: Who would do such a thing? How do we deal with our pain? More importantly, what do we do now?
If you're a member of the Romero Theater Troupe, you take to the stage. The troupe, founded by UCD history teacher Jim Walsh, has crafted a play that deals with the aftermath of 9/11 and the overall themes of warfare and deception. Titled 9/12, the play is their latest offering of organic theater, and it runs Jan. 24 and 25 at the Oriental Theater.
What is organic theater, you may wonder?
The flyer tells you that it's based on a "collective vision," and that it's "raw, unpredictable, and fluid." Simply put, the members are the play. They write sketches based on their personal experiences, and the group offers suggestions and support. Strict adherence to scripts is less important than being in the moment and expressing the truth of your emotions. The end result is a cohesive presentation that draws its energy from the spirit and passion of its creators, none of whom are professional actors. Most had never been on stage before joining the troupe, and yet they manage to create theater that is authentic and deeply engaging.
The play is composed of several individual vignettes, ranging from lighthearted commentaries on pop culture to dramatic explorations of the personal costs of war. The centerpiece is a sketch chronicling the struggles of a family that sends its daughter off to Iraq only to see her return with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Several sketches are about the Vietnam War, another controversial conflict that polarized the nation and drew wide criticism concerning our involvement. "Everyone's drawing that comparison, even though the wars were very different," Walsh says. "Even though the Vietnam War was much bloodier, particularly in terms of American deaths, it seems that the trajectory of the wars is the same. It seems the American people have given up on this war and finally now see it for what it is: a power grab, a resource grab. That's great to see."
The play examines the current state of affairs against the larger backdrop of U.S. history and foreign policy. "We're trying to cast this war not as an island in itself, but we're trying to connect it historically to what we feel have been the imperialist wars in American history," says Walsh. "We don't believe they have all been that. For example, we don't consider World War II an imperialist war. Wars such as the Mexican-American War, the Spanish-American War, Vietnam, Panama, Nicaragua - clearly, the intentions were not what the American people were told they were, and it was, at its heart, about imperialism and power. So we want to cast this war in that same light, to show that there's an historical arc, but we also want to shed the light on who in their history has stood up to war. We don't just want to run down the presidents, we want to also hold up people who have had the courage to speak out against war as heroic, such as Martin Luther King."
It's obviously a subject the troupe members feel passionately about. Beyond donating their time to the play, which is giving all proceeds to the American Friends Service Committee and Veterans For Veterans, many of them are choosing careers they feel will help make a difference. Brighton Dawn Finger, a UCD sophomore double-majoring in political science and history, will perform a monologue she wrote about her abusive father, a Vietnam vet afflicted with PTSD. As part of the Chancellor's Scholars and Leaders Program, she's involved in team-based community service and leadership, and her career goal is to work for a civilian agency promoting nonviolent strategies for conflict reduction. James Hamilton, who'll perform the Tom Waits song "Day After Tomorrow," graduates from UCD with a bachelor's degree in history this May and will teach elementary school in New Orleans with the Teach for America program.
Hamilton and Dawn Finger, like many of the troupe members, became involved after taking Walsh's Immigration and Ethnicity in American History class (profiled in our Oct. 18, 2006 issue), which is capped by short plays written and performed by the students. Others are simply friends of Walsh's who happen to share his passion for social justice. Rosella Hafer, who'll be portraying Grandma Betty, is linked to Walsh through real estate: Her mother used to live in the home Walsh now occupies.
Of course, Hafer might be playing a different role when the play actually runs. In keeping with the spirit of organic theater, sketches were being refined and new ones suggested during the troupe's rehearsal on January 17. Khadija Qadri, a contributor to the Advocate, voiced the idea of basing a vignette on a visit she once received from the Secret Service. The group liked the idea, and Walsh stood up to mimic the body language of a black-clad, earpiece-wearing agent, and in the end urged her to write it down. The closing scene, featuring a recording of Martin Luther King, Jr., was rehearsed to mixed reviews. Some cast members loved the speech in its entirety; others argued that it brought down the mood. Finally they decided to trim the speech and try it again at final rehearsals over the weekend. Will the revised speech make the cut? As troupe member Kyle Eason would say, "Who knows? Organic theater is often unpredictable."
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