A
Poem for Edith
By
Alison M. De La Cruz
On
the occasion of the forthcoming 2012 production
of
the Artist’s at Play Production
of
EDITH
CAN SHOOT THINGS AND HIT THEM
I love plays about Asian Americans.
I love plays starring, written,
directed and PRODUCED by Asian Pacific Americans.
I love plays with complex story
lines and overt gestures to humanize people like me.
People who are Filipino, people who
are gay
People who are women, people who
are daughters trying to protect their siblings.
I love plays about complex Asian
American women and girls
who are trying to make sense of the
world at a time in our development
when our parents should be… a lot
things
And sometimes they fall short. Or
sometimes they mess up that overtly
That one could begin to question
whether safety can be created by families.
I love plays about fucked up, crazy
Asian Americans
Who mess with the stupid model
minority myth
Or racist notions of exotified
otherness
I love plays set in the reality
that there are Asian Americans living here in the US today.
Shit, I even want to see a play
about Asian Americans in the 1990s and the 80s and 60s and 1860s and 1640s and
17-hundreds.
Now, I am not an advocate for fire
arms
Or things that harm
Like violence or bullying or words
that hit bodies like bricks and bats
I am not an advocate for things
like that.
But that is not what a play is
always about.
Though sometimes, and often, I
think for the Artists at Play
A Play can actually be about things
that harm
Or boyfriends who charm
Or little frogs that stand by as
wisdom is chanted from the mouth of a babe like a blaring alarm.
See, a play, is a way to share a
whole new world
Or to shine the light microscopic
On a culture
Or a time
Or a character who brings you a
breath of fresh air.
And I think that you know this
If you are here today, shit we’re
here today
Because of a play,
Or this amazing group of artists
who want to make a play
That tells a story worth listening
to
Explores a world we shouldn’t
shrink from
And shoves characters in my face
that require, actually that beg the question:
Why does Edith shoot and hit
things?
Where is brother Kenny? And who is
Benji?
And does pre-calc actually hold the
key……. To….
Well you’ll just have to see.
See that’s the thing about a play,
It’s a reason to go, it’s a reason
to stay
Stuck in a seat, from the time the
curtain goes up
Till the time the last bow from
head to feet.
It’s a way for us to stay engaged
and exploring
Exaggerated and exhaustive in our
search for the humanity in all of us.
And me,
I love a play that is written and
directed, produced and costumed;
Set designed and sound designed,
light designed and house managed
Produced and attended by Asian
Pacific Americans and our allies
I’m here today because I believe in
the power of a play
Hold a mirror up to society and
say….
… well anything you want.
And once you meet Edith and Kenny
and Benji and crew…
Well I wonder what things they will
say… to you.
No comments:
Post a Comment