Provoke Willingly

Far too often, creative teams on the quest to rally an audience into action simply educate them, as opposed to inspire them. For most people (including artists and audience members), the only way to survive drowning in daily tragic news updates is to detach oneself completely into a complacent numbness; consequently, an audience member will only stand up to inequity if first being personally so provoked that a passion is light from within them. This necessity is intimidating, for both creator and audience (and especially producer), but audiences crave productions which expose the bitterness of upsetting topics by challenging them to engage with the complexities of injustice.

When I directed The Vagina Monologues I chose to stage the Bosnian rape camps monologues in American Sign Language (and various other language). Due to the physicality of ASL the text was heightened into a deeply upsetting performance, a visual recounting of this tragic time in history. When stripped from sound (and in the case of the other languages, recognizable sound) the audience was forced to take in the raw emotion behind the text and engage with the survivor's stories in a deeply personal manner. While this immersive experience is uncomfortable and upsetting, as one reporter stated "the signing of this line brought the words to life in a corporeal representation of the adversity that women face.” The production later went on to raise over ten thousand dollars for local victims of sexual assault and I believe this provocative interpretation of the monologue pushed the audience to take action against the horror of rape and help as much as they personally could. 

I aspire to continue creating provocative work which pushes audience pass their comfort zones to engage with the world in a personal way. To read more about The Vagina Monologues click the Reviews tab. For more of my thoughts on provoking willingly, please click the Playwrighting tab or send me an email by clicking the Contact tab.