Stories Starring
Women
The Bechtel Test
Celebrating the Everyday life of Women
The Bechtel Test
Celebrating the Everyday life of Women
Something monumental in social and artistic history happened
last night. Despite my body being on
Greenwich Mean Time from a month in the UK I awoke before dawn in California this
morning with the sure knowledge that I needed to write about last night’s
triumph at BATS.
Lisa Rowland, fast becoming a major voice, player and
teacher of improvisation on the west coast and internationally, produced and
directed a two night run of improvised stories about women. She assembled a seasoned and talented cast of
seven improvisers, including veterans Rebecca Stockley and Barbara Scott.
Representing the Millennials was Lisa herself and Rebecca Portesky and Kimberly
Maclean. As supporting members of the
ensemble she chose Dave Dennison and William Hall. Seven improvisers bounded on the BATS stage
with the promise of exploring how a few guidelines which tilted the balance of
power in the direction of women might result in an evening’s entertainment
before a live audience.
For anyone reading this who is a follower of improvisational
theater in the Bay Area (and worldwide) knows there is groundbreaking artistic
work being done here. Among the dozens
of long form theater groups experimenting and evolving new forms are the
notable “3 for All,” “Awkward Dinner Party,” “The SF Improv Playhouse,” the LA
based ”Impro Theatre” and “Noir Unscripted.” These currently active groups are
part of a succession of twenty years of development in theatrical forms
preceded by “True Fiction Magazine” and “Pulp Playhouse” to name only a
few. Someone needs to write the history
of this movement, which is largely unknown to the wider theater going
community. Even in enlightened
environments such as Stanford University “improv” is still looked upon as that comedy stuff. This is a topic for a longer piece, but I need to return to the purpose of
this essay: to talk about Lisa Rowland’s experiment this weekend.
Her company of improvisers, including the legendary
musician, J Raoul Brody and lighting improviser Ana Nelson, did something last
night that I had never seen in 50 years of theater going. I may overstate this when I say that the
“holy grail” of long form improv is to create authentic theater capable of
bringing an audience to tears, touching the heart and mind and delighting us
all with its freshness and clarity. In
the past year I have seen increasingly skillful work that has moved the genre
of long form into a new level. Last
night tears flowed as I watched a group of ordinary characters, women, who were
struggling with everyday challenges. In
the two-hour performance no one got shot or blown up. No one screamed and raged for attention or
power, and mostly everyone got along.
The agonies and triumphs were little things . . . like overcoming social
anxiety or accepting the imperfections of ones parents. Characters talked to each other, often
quietly. I never once noticed an
improviser going for the quick joke or laugh.
What was riveting to me was just how dramatic ordinary life (among
women) could be.
There was a kind and persistent boyfriend played by William
Hall who gently worked to give his intended “space” in order for their
relationship to continue. In another
simple scene Daisy (Kimberly MacLean) has an audience with a kindly banker,
played by Dave Dennison. She is seeking
a loan for a business venture to build a community center for at-risk
youth. Her unabashed surprise when she
gets the loan of $40K was moving.
Characters mostly helped each other and listened to one another. The entire arch of the show was character
rather than plot driven. This choice
provided spaciousness for everyone to be themselves and share the stage with a
series of “ordinary miracles.”
Rebecca Poretsky’s character, Wally was a scientist with a
lot of control issues. A particularly
skillful scene was a meeting with her graduate assistants to discuss
research. Each character seemed fully
developed and involved.
Near the end of the story a particularly moving scene
involved the two aging sisters, Annie (Rebecca Stockley) and, I think it was
Maureen played by Barbara Scott. Maureen
leads Annie into her room with the line.
“Come sit down, I need to ask for your help.” After a long pause, she continues: “I’m dying, Annie. And, I need a kidney. You are a match because of our DNA.” And, Annie throwing her arms around her
sister, begins a deep and soulful acceptance of this offer. “Of course
I will. You NEED me. That is the most important thing in life: to
be truly needed (sobbing into her lap)”
(I fear I do disservice here to the actual dialog but I hope you will
forgive me.) It appeared to me that
Rebecca’s character had real tears flowing too.
And, before I leave the impression that crying on stage or
in the audience is the summum bonum let me say that this emotional reaction is
just a measure of the kind of human story that was unfolding on stage. Lisa’s show parameters provided a crucible
for these kinds of stories to be told.
In the after show talkback we learned that the “rules” governing this
run were simple and hearkened to the Bechdal Test.
1. These
would be scenes and stories by and about women who talked to each other
2. The
structure began with three monologues
3. All
characters would be living in the same contemporary time zone
4. The
two men in the cast would play supporting roles only
The result of these restrictions was dynamic. Until we encounter its opposite we cannot
really know how a cultural bias (e.g.
Dramatic stories are about men.) is skewing the onstage world.
The improv stage for long form ensembles has always struck
me as a political space. Five players
get an audience suggestion and begin constructing a play in our presence. Who becomes the hero, the villain, the
sidekick, the foil? Usually in the first
five minutes of a show there is a subtle power grab for who will dominate or
control the evenings destiny. Over the
years I have watched with interest how some actor/improvisers are
“drivers” . . . that is, they tend to
dominate the space. Over time it has
been a pleasure as an audience member to see many of these “givens”
change. What fun to see a player who
usually grabs the spotlight now “hang back” and serve the narrative as a
support instead of a primary. Looked at
carefully all of this jockeying for control onstage is a natural part of the
art form. In “The Bechdel Test” last
night the two male cast members were simply instructed: “Play support.” William Hall mentioned that this instruction
gave him a new perspective. As a
performer he could actively choose NOT to take control, no matter how
interesting his idea might be. “Stay in
your place” was a helpful
guideline. And, once this agreement was
in place the five women could breathe deeply and see what developed between
them as the stories unfolded. The result
was deeply satisfying.
Perhaps as a woman audience member I’ve had a longing for
women’s stories that I didn’t even know existed until last night when this
dream was fulfilled. Thank you Lisa for
your vision and for creating an environment for us all to see the power of
women’s stories honestly told. Looks
like you got an A+ on your Bechdel Test.
I’m looking forward to seeing more.
Patricia Ryan Madson
El Granada, CA
BATS Improv August 26 and 27, 2016
BATS Improv August 26 and 27, 2016
