The Importance of Theatre
A couple of years ago Rhymes Over Beats coproduced a play called The Assignment. The play was about a college freshman in his mid thirties who was taking a beginning English class. One of his assignments was to write about an event that changed his life. His paper was about how, when he was sixteen, he shot and killed another young boy over a jacket. He was so old because he had spent most of his life in prison for manslaughter, and had recently been released from prison. The teacher had a sixteen year old son who had a a child who had been killed.
The play was about how the two characters dealt with the realization that they shared a similar experience from opposite sides.
Watching a Play Creates Empathy
I was reminded of this by a recent case in Chicago where a white police officer was convicted of shooting and killing an unarmed black man sitting in his apartment.
At the conclusion of the trial, after the officer was convicted and sentenced, some members of the family, a black court officer and the black judge, gave the officer a hug. Social media was ablaze with comments, both pro-huggers and anti-huggers. All positions were supported by strong arguments.
The issue is extremely controversial.
We Are Artists, Not Activists
I was considering using this blog to take a side, but decided not to do that. We are artists, not philosophers or activists. Our response is not to talk about this case, but to create a play that explores it.
Life should inspire art.
Write a play. If anyone wants to write one, we want to produce it.
It’s what we do.