This line epitomizes the goal of the Dartmouth Pride Theater Festival's directors, Chiara Klein '10 and Addie Gorlin '11, who have worked together since Winter term to organize the festival. Klein and Gorlin said they coordinated the festival, which opened Sunday night in Collis Common Ground, to stress the importance of theater as an art form in conveying important messages to a wide variety of people.
The festival which began with Sunday's performance of "Zanna" and will conclude on Wednesday with "The Laramie Project" features two plays that take two very different approaches to similar subject matter. "Laramie," written by Moiss Kaufman in conjunction with the Tectonic Theater Project, uses interviews with citizens of Laramie, Wyo., to depict dramatically the true story of a hate crime. In contrast, writer Tim Acito's "Zanna" delivers a serious message through a fun, upbeat musical. The two plays complement each other nicely, as they both address the discrimination and fear tied up in issues of sexuality, Gorlin and Klein said.
"A lot of people don't often associate musical theater with serious plays [but] both musical theater and [traditional] theater can reach audiences and speak a really important message," Gorlin said in an interview with The Dartmouth.
Gorlin also said that the goal of the festival is to encourage students to recognize the difference between merely tolerating others and truly accepting them.
"The Dartmouth community is probably tired of being spoon-fed other people's beliefs, being spoon-fed political correctness," Klein said in an interview with The Dartmouth. "I believe in political correctness I believe it's good but I also think that breeds a culture of tolerance, not celebration."
"Zanna" takes place in an alternate universe in which hardly anyone is straight and heterosexuality is seen as a deviation from the norm.
"There is fierce heterophobia [The play is set in] the Midwest, which is the most conservative place in America," Klein said of the play's setting the town of Heartsville, U.S.A.
The conservative worldview of this homonormative society comes into question when students at the local high school write and stage a musical about a taboo topic allowing straight people to join the military. The male and female leads of this musical within a musical fall in love, leading to absolute chaos.
"Zanna" boasts strong vocal performances from its talented eight-person cast, which includes Mont Reed '12 in the title role of Zanna.
"Zanna is a fairy who lives for making people fall in love," Reed said in an interview with The Dartmouth. "There's a huge conflict in the show when the world isn't safe for two of his best friends, and he has to decide whether to cast a spell to change the world or not."
The cast is universally expressive and energetic, and the songs are catchy, performed with the help of Abby McCann '11 on drums and graduate student Seth Cohen on piano.
"It's a really fun, campy show I call it gay Grease,' but [it's] better written, and with more fun music," Klein said. "[Zanna'] challenges you to think, What if you had to come out as straight?'"
In contrast with the flamboyant "Zanna," "The Laramie Project" takes a more somber approach to depict the true story of Matthew Shepard. a 21-year-old student at the University of Wyoming who, in 1998, was kidnapped and beaten for being gay. The attack resulted in extensive injuries that led to Shepard's death. "Laramie" is the result of 200 interviews with the citizens of the town on their reactions to the crime and its aftermath.
According to Gorlin, "Laramie" also serves as an educational opportunity and a reminder that hate crimes still happen.
"[Hanover] is also a small college town, and [Shepard's death] happened under the influence of alcohol, and it happened in a community where there were people that tolerated rather than accepted a member of the community," Gorlin said. "Those are some issues that we have on the Dartmouth campus [as well]."
Gorlin explained that "Laramie" presents two significant challenges to its cast: how to accurately represent the words and views of real people, and how to depict 72 different characters with a cast of only 10 performers. Cast member Rick D'Amato '13 agreed with Gorlin that the play is a definite challenge.
"We kind of have to start from scratch and build our own character, and try to learn as much as we can about these characters from what's written in the play, and fill in our own details from what is not," he said.
The real strength of the cast and what helps make the play so emotionally affecting is each actor's ability to differentiate subtly between multiple characters. The actors change their voices, postures, mannerisms and facial expressions, making each character feel distinct and fully realized.
"I think [the cast has] done a great job, and I'm very proud of them," Gorlin said. "They've really come together, and they feel like they're a part of the Pride community whether they are LGBT or not."
Evident in the performances of both casts is their recognition of the importance of the plays' message of acceptance.
"[Zanna'] is a really funny and fun show to put on while at the same time getting across an important message," cast member Zana Thaqi '13 said in an interview with The Dartmouth.
Both directors expressed hope that the plays will help create campus discussions about the issues at hand.
"I hope [audiences] walk away with their own questions and answers, and if somebody leaves the theater thinking in a different way than when they came in, then I consider that to be social change," Klein said.
Admission to both shows is free, but "Zanna" accepts donations to benefit organizations that fight hate violence in high schools. "Laramie" will accept donations for the Matthew Shepard Foundation.
"The Laramie Project" will take place on May 3 and May 5 at 7 p.m. at Casque and Gauntlet senior society. The second showing of "Zanna, Don't!" is at 8 p.m. on May 4 in Collis Common Ground.
