THE EIGHTEENTH
CHALLENGE
Write a Radically Accessible
Play
The thing about
disability is that everyone has been touched by it. You don’t have to start
getting out the books or searching ADA websites.
KEEP THIS PERSONAL
Write a play that
beautifully highlights and incorporates the physical or mental limitations of
those around you in a way that those attributes are dealt with in a dignified
and beautiful way that is part of the human experience: write for your
grandparent, for your OCD, for your back injury, your sleep apnea.
Addressing fear.
There are a lot of assholes. Do this out of love. Do it boldly. From my
experience within the d/Deaf and disabled community, that will buy you
everything. You can’t write without being “checked” anymore. That world is
gone.
“Take risks, and don't
be afraid to get caught trying," Hillary Clinton
We don’t need to
idolize disability. It’s not great. Don’t do that. Do have fun making an
environment that eliminates or eases or becomes advantageous for those who have
developed coping mechanisms for disability.
Soft bigotry of low
expectations- don’t set the bar low here.
Expansion:
I was asked recently
as part of a theater panel “what people mean when they talk about diversity in
theater”
I had a lot of things
to talk about, but the one I had the most background in was disability.
Disability. It’s a
thing people. It’s (perhaps) the most overlooked part of diversity/inclusion
efforts.
I have Crohn’s
Disease. It’s in remission. It’s a great disease for denial. I love it for
that. But at times I can’t guarantee (at all) that I’m going to be able to take
a train to work for 45 minutes without shitting myself. That… ladies and
gentlemen is disabling.
I’m so proud to be
part of a theater company that has an award-winning academic paper declaring
the need for a new category of Radical Accessibility as a result of our work.
“Radical” is because our work equally “others” (verb) the able-bodied in the
room to create a new paradigm of normal- a new hierarchy of power and beauty
within the work.
Um… more.
DON’T FUCKING
ACCOMMODATE disability if you don’t have to.
I mean, do. It’s the
low bar limit. It’s not the same as making it ACCESSIBLE.
Accommodation is a
heavy ugly addition to the pure product… a product that could have been
designed in an accessible manner.
Also, don’t try to
please everyone or include everyone. You can’t. You just can’t and have beauty.
That’s another part of the discussion- and an important one.
But you can and MUST
challenge yourself to be Radically Accessible to SOME and use that new paradigm
to make art that is worthy of ALL.
(I actually got an idea
for this one, too. If I draft up
something along these lines for my dad, every piece of it would be five minutes
or less and each one self-contained, so even with his short term memory issues,
he could enjoy each piece on its own. If
he managed to remember a few and they built on each other, great. If not, he’d still get a few small, complete
stories.)
(Meanwhile though, I’m
pushing on through to the end of this new scene I started posting yesterday. Still rough, but here’s what I came up with –
the first bit will be a repeat, setting up what follows)
Lights shift.
MICAH and AUGGIE fade into the dark as
SARAH, JEFFREY and DUNCAN are revealed at the
metaphysical supply store, studying grandma’s grimoire.
SARAH
While
I’m not a fan of the present situation, I have to admit your grandmother’s
spell work is impressive.
DUNCAN
The
last of the ingredients should be getting here shortly.
SARAH
We
can get started without it, then fold it into the mix when it turns up.
JEFFREY
So,
what’s the first step?
SARAH
No
offense but – actually, you know what, I take that back, I’m not really
terribly troubled by offending you at the moment so – I don’t trust you. You’re the primary reason we’re in this
mess. So I will be taking the lead on
this counterspell.
JEFFREY
Understood.
SARAH
In
order to do this quickly, though, I’m going to need help from both of you.
JEFFREY
Absolutely.
SARAH
I’m
sorry if this is going to cut into the regular course of business.
DUNCAN
Things
tend to start off slow, most days.
SARAH
This
being a notable exception.
DUNCAN
Yup. Plus, an in-house demonstration of magic in progress
is never a bad thing.
JEFFREY
Like
free samples at the grocery store.
SARAH
Actually
no. There will be no sampling.
DUNCAN
But
it piques people’s interest in much the same way.
SARAH
Oh
goddess. The two of you aren’t - ?
DUNCAN
What? No.
JEFFREY
Not
for lack of trying.
SARAH
If
we could stay focused on the task at hand –
DUNCAH
Right. Sorry.
SARAH
If
you have to step out to deal with customers, you go right ahead. Where should we set up?
DUNCAN
Over
here should be good.
SARAH
(to JEFFREY)
Again,
I don’t trust you. So anything I have
you measure out, I’m going to doublecheck that it’s the right item, and right
amount.
JEFFREY
I
want this to go well, too.
SARAH
Good. That’ll get us to the antidote quicker.
JEFFREY
This
is really cool.
SARAH
OK,
no. Let’s establish some ground
rules. This is not cool. It’s a clusterfuck.
JEFFREY
Sorry.
SARAH
No,
you’re not, and that’s the problem.
(to DUNCAN)
I’m
assuming the reason you didn’t stop him is that you didn’t realize what he was
planning to do?
DUNCAN
No. Sorry.
SARAH
But
since he came back and admitted it - ?
DUNCAN
I’ve
been trying to impart basic principles.
SARAH
Great. So I’ll just stick to the specifics of now.
(to JEFFREY)
You
were working alone?
JEFFREY
What? Yeah.
It’s not a terrorist sleeper cell, I was just goofing around.
SARAH
See,
things like that make me want to slap you.
Or turn you into a newt.
JEFFREY
You
can do that?
DUNCAN
It
was a Monty Python reference.
JEFFREY
Oh.
SARAH
You
dosed my husband with a love potion with the unwitting assistance of his very
best friend in the world, who it turns out is far too trusting of guys like you. My husband has a past history, prior to me,
of not having the best impulse control where his penis is concerned. And he is currently writing a song for the
man he now thinks he’s in love with. So again,
things are not cool right now, and that’s largely due to you. But you don’t seem terribly contrite and that
bothers me on a whole host of levels.
JEFFREY
Is
there anything I can say at this point that would satisfy you?
SARAH
Probably
not.
JEFFREY
Is
there anything I can say that would make this better?
SARAH
Nope.
JEFFREY
Anything
I could say that you would even believe?
SARAH
You’re
right. Let’s just focus on the antidote.
JEFFREY
Just
tell me what you want me to do, I’ll do it.
SARAH
OK,
grind that up, overdo it, make it as fine a powder as you can manage. Slice off two pieces of that, not too
thick. Throw two teaspoons of this into
that bowl and four tablespoons of the yellow stuff. And hand that blue jar over here, we just
need a pinch of that, according to grandma.
And we’re missing - ?
DUNCAN
(point to a line in the grimoire)
This. On the way from another local store.
SARAH
Great. With luck we’ll be ready by the time it gets
here.
DUNCAN
Need
an extra set of hands?
SARAH
Actually,
would you mind watching him? You’re a
professional. I trust you to keep him on
track while I focus on mixing these two things.
DUNCAN
Not
a problem.
SARAH
(to the world at large, but mostly Jeffrey)
“An
it harm none, do what ye will.”
JEFFREY
Excuse
me?
SARAH
Let’s
start by you explaining that one to him while I keep working to fix his mess.
DUNCAN
And
if it harms none, do what you will.
It’s
one of the first rule of witchcraft.
JEFFREY
Kind
of like “First, do no harm” for doctors.
DUNCAN
Kind
of.
Honestly,
it’s not a bad rule of thumb for life in general – wiccan, pagan, or not. When you’re thinking about doing something,
consider the consequences. Act in ways
that will do the least harm to others, to the world at large, to yourself.
SARAH
Because
you either didn’t think at all about what you were doing, which is bad, or you
thought about it plenty and decided to go ahead anyway, knowing the outcome,
which is worse.
JEFFREY
I
didn’t even know if it would work.
SARAH
You
say that like it matters, like it absolves anyone for anything.
DUNCAN
The
point of making it was so that it would work, right?
JEFFREY
Right.
DUNCAN
So
you have to consider, if this does work, how might it do harm to people?
JEFFREY
See,
this is where I think everyone is just way too uptight. It’s just sex.
SARAH
For
you, maybe.
JEFFREY
I’m
sorry, is that your personal spin on the old “all homosexuals are promiscuous”
canard.
SARAH
If
the loose morals fit, wear ‘em proudly, right?
Let your freak flag fly, right?
JEFFREY
You
don’t get it.
SARAH
No,
you don’t get it. You’re thinking about
this for yourself.
(working the spell)
I
need three leaves of that, a couple of stalks from the thing by your right hand,
and just one of the petals from the red one over there.
Sure,
some sex is casual. Some sex is
fun. Some sex is no strings. You’re absolutely right. Two consenting adults, I’ve got no problem
with. Gay, straight, bi, pansexual,
bring it on. I’m no prude. But you have a thing or two to learn about
love. Because that’s what you’re
screwing with here.
JEFFREY
We
mix the antidote, we do the counter spell, all is undone, no harm, no foul.
SARAH
The
love was there before the spell, you idiot.
You must have seen that. It’s
probably why you thought it’d be so funny to tamper with in the first place.
JEFFREY
Are
you saying - ?
SARAH
Oh,
come on. You’re not naïve. You’re not blind. Neither am I.
The bond between Micah and Auggie runs deep. I saw it the night I met them.
(working the spell)
Toss
me that from over there, the gold container.
Thanks.
The
only way you get to Auggie is through Micah, and vice versa. Maybe that’s healthy, maybe it’s not, I don’t
judge. I’ve got the man’s ring on my
finger. But Auggie and Micah love each
other. They have always loved each
other. It was a love that tiptoed right
up to the edge of something they’d have to make a decision about but never crossed
the line. And you decided to give them a
shove. Did you want to wreck what they
had?
JEFFREY
No.
SARAH
Well
too bad for you, too bad for them, because that’s exactly what you did.
(working the spell)
Duncan,
can you shake this vigorously. About 13
times.
Jeffrey,
spread this yellow stuff out thinly, so we have a fine layer of paste going on.
Even
if absolutely nothing happens between the two of them during the time we’re all
frantically pulling this antidote together, the fact that Auggie saw Micah like
this, even for a day, has tipped the delicate balancing act they had going
right over the edge.
JEFFREY
So
Auggie’s eyes are open. So Micah’s eyes
are open. That’s a bad thing?
SARAH
They
will never be able to look at one another the same way again.
(working the spell)
Give
me that greenish goo at the end of the counter.
I
mean, did you never see them? Really see
them? The way both of them would
brighten up when the other one walked in the room, or called or texted them on
the phone?
JEFFREY
Well,
yeah, but that’s why I thought –
SARAH
What
they have is beyond sex. You just dragged
it down and made it cheap.
JEFFREY
I
disagree.
SARAH
Again,
because you’re an idiot.
(working the spell)
Hand
me that powder you’ve been grinding down.
The
potion doesn’t let anyone off the hook. Auggie’s
going to remember everything he said and did and felt during this time. Micah’s going to remember what it was like to
have Auggie interested in him in every possible way, not just as a friend. It’s not just going to be this goofy little
vacation they had where just for a day they got to live out a scenario of “what
if?” They’re going to carry that around. It’s going to be something they had and
lost. It’s going to be an unspoken
question between them. What could have
been, what could be. It’s going to haunt
them. And I’m not sure they can get past
it.
JEFFREY
Of
course they can, they’re Auggie and Micah.
SARAH
They
could. Before. No question.
But now?
They’re
going to question every look, every touch, every stray thought.
A truck horn honks outside.
DUNCAN
That’s
our final ingredient. I’ll go get it and
be right back.
JEFFREY
They
made good time.
SARAH
Hopefully
it’s good enough.
JEFFREY
They’ll
be OK.
SARAH
I
don’t like you. But I hope to hell this
time you’re right.
(to
be continued)
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