Tread Lightly, or, Talk Not, Offend Not

It is always interesting to me, when we talk about the state of the arts (or any other sector) in North Dakota, how much smoke we blow.

It's true. The comments are all happy, ego stroking mush, and never address some of the tenuous problems we face. I believe it is called "North Dakota Nice."

This isn't just a problem in the Arts. I serve on the board of the state's information technology council, and just finished two terms as vice president. Last year, we issued a state of the industry guide which I assumed was going to talk candidly about the state of the industry, but it didn't. In fact, it was used more as a marketing tool to recruit businesses to the state than as an opportunity to challenge public policy.

Since our state government has the same turnover rate as my hometown barber (my father's gotten his hair cut by the same guy for 60 years - follow my analogy), we are always afraid of challenging the political force or crossing that invisible line of appropriateness. We must stick to the status quo and not engage our leaders because they will be there forever, and we shouldn't upset them. The same occurs in the arts.

For instance, there is a scene in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street that begins with our villain, Judge Turpin, clad in a robe, holding a Bible, and self flagellating while lusting after his adopted ward, Johanna. The sequence moves from his pleas for God to deliver him from his lust, to a post algolagnic moment where he decides he will instead wed his "daughter" and love her as a woman. By the way, I'm going to make you look up algolagnia.

It's creepy. In fact, there may not be an English word strong enough to describe the scene - but any adjective is transcended by its brilliance. The fact that this three minute song can sum up the character – his past, his decisions, and his fate, should be enough. But it also serves as an immediate commentary on the state of London in the mid nineteenth century – from its social class division to its ridiculously flawed justice system. We are introduced to a system that cares only for the wealthy, and leaves the middle and lower class to fend for themselves in a post cholera epidemic, sewage infested, dark and dangerous London. It’s allegorical, and the contemporary implications are staggering. We, of course, are not including it in our production. Would a Grand Forks audience be ready for that? Of the 5 or so times I've seen the show live (ranging from communities like NY to Chicago), I've only seen it in three. Clearly, it’s beyond what audiences are willing to swallow.

This may be a bold example, but what is it that artists are afraid of? What if we so offend the public that our art form becomes obsolete and we fail?

What if we allow social conformity to dictate what we do as artists and we fail?

I don't see how we can win.

The last great bohemian revolution happened at the turn of the century - a cultural storm that no one survived. It was a momentous time for the arts, and though we have advanced as a civilization, we have not had another revolution as artists. In the wake of the Mapplethorpe issue and censorship, we face our own fears by doing little.

On a local level, we find this as well. We are terrified to offend people. Last year, there was actually a complaint about the content of "How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying" and it's appropriateness for high schools. I challenge the complainant to watch the local news or screen the R rated movie playing at the multiplex and find that same passion. For some reason, when it becomes live art, the standards are different.

We've had other complaints - from the content of Tennesse Williams "Streetcar Named Desire" to the lack of moral capacity in "Chicago". The vocal minority seems to care much less about the protection or liberation of women then the fact that the word "Vagina" appears in print and poster publication, and a boycott of the Empire Arts Center occurs. In fact, Burtness Theatre on UND's campus so offended when it opened "The Laramie Project" several years ago that they brought the wrath of Fred Phelps and the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas, to town. With their "God Hates Fags" and "Got Aids Yet" signs in the hands of toddlers, to their new practice of picketing the funeral's of fallen soldiers, we are to believe that we are the offensive ones. Bravo, Burtness. Not only on what you did (including the week of education that surrounded the show) but the fact that it was done brilliantly. It was the first show I saw in Grand Forks, almost a year before I moved here.

Some say that nothing sells tickets like a bit of controversy, and we'll have a couple of opportunities to test that theory next year.

In their upcoming "breakout" season, the Fire Hall Theatre will be performing Alan Ball's (Six Feet Under) "Five Women Wearing the Same Dress" which follows five reluctant, identically clad bridesmaids who hide out in an upstairs bedroom, each with her own reason to avoid the proceedings below. The five women include a fundamentalist, a wise-ass, a lesbian, a... well, you get the idea, and I don't want to give away too much. The show apparently offended season ticket holders in the Deep South, and it was pulled from several theatre line ups. We'll see how it is received in North Dakota - though I've heard it is HILLARIOUS! “Five Women” joins “Dinner with Friends,” “On Golden Pond,” “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change,” and “Beauty and the Beast” in the Fire Hall lineup, with “Golden Pond” and “I Love You” performed at the Empire Arts Center.

The true test may be just a rumor. I've heard there is an underground theatre group forming in Grand Forks to do experimental, social and political theatre. The goal, according to the rumor mill, is to push the bounds of comfort by producing quality theatre that addresses social, political and other themes, leading to healthy community discourse.

The first show on this supposed troupes plate is Del Shores' "Southern Baptist Sissies." This show (from the playwright of "Sordid Lives" "Cheaters" and "Trials and Tribulations of a Trailer Trash Housewife ") follows the lives of four gay men growing up in a conservative Southern Baptist community. This commentary on social ills keeps no-one safe.

They totally destroy Bush, Cheney and Orin Hatch. One of the actors dared to say it: "That old Queen Orin Hatch". It's in the play with other political jabs. The play has characters that are both hilarious and introspective at the same time, and delves deep into the hypocritical religious right, but still keeps us laughing through this serious subject.

"Sissies" has been labeled one of 2005's best plays. Not only is it original but also has the magic of putting something in your mind that is not easy to forget. Now, how much more delicious can a play get? But, how will the audience respond to it? And who, even, is the audience for such a play. Certainly not the people who really need to see it.

I had the opportunity to see the show in West Hollywood around a month ago, starring Leslie Jordan (Beverlie Leslie of "Will and Grace") and Designing Women's Delta Burke. It was brilliant. The tragedy of the show is that it is actually a personal play for Shores, mirroring much of his upbringing.

The banter aside, I say it is time to launch another bohemian revolution, and what better place to start than right here. We may not be 1890 Paris, but we've got a lot of talent, challenging the seams and waiting to bust out.

Thursday, on behalf of the technology council, I am facilitating a presentation of companies to the ND Interim Technology Committee (made up of Senators and Representatives). We'll see if the companies (which include Microsoft) actually challenge our legislature to make positive change, or cow-tow and spend their 10 minutes in the spotlight praising a system that hasn't brought us far enough.

In contrast, let’s see how the community responds to challenging literature - pushing the bounds of comfort to comment on society. Lets see if our community is ready to face the reality of the world and the ills that must be addressed. Or, do we just cow-tow to living our own sheltered lives.

I don't know about you, but my comfort bubble is about to burst. I'm breaking free. Let it begin.
Peace :: Ben :: Team CulturePulse