A Night At The Theater

Living in LA, I’m surrounded by an abundance of art and creativity that you’d be hard pressed to find elsewhere save New York, London & Paris. It’s a privilege to be able to walk out my front door and down a block or two to the heart of North Hollywood Arts District and literally take my pick of movie, concert, open mic night, play, improv performance, or standup comedy set within a half mile radius. 15 minutes south (who am I kidding, 30 minutes at least in LA traffic, but theoretically) and I’m right in heart of Hollywood.

Judge Hollywood all you want folks, but it’s the world's creative mecca for a reason. You can be, say, think, feel, do anything you want here. Nothing is too bizarre or too political or too emotional or too anything to be right there for you to dive into. Whether people will pay to watch it and keep it alive for more than a night is another thing. 

You’d think that with the sheer volume of options in my immediate proximity, and high quality for a good amount of the time, I’d actually take advantage of it all in some regular fashion. 

You’d think so, right?

The ironic thing is, I work in entertainment both front and back end. I attend functions and shows for Kollaboration and to support my fellow artist friends, but there's also a huge buffet of art that I know I'm not consuming, particularly in film & theater. Like so many other Angelenos, I’ve succumbed to the world of being just entiiirely too busy juggling two careers and staring at a computer screen for a good 18 hours a day or trying to cook myself a decent meal with some recognizable fiber in it. How on earth could I spare the time and money to go to the theater?

Lucky for me, I had an unofficial homework assignment to pull me out of my cave to discover and enjoy the bounty right here in my own backyard. My acting teacher, Allen Barton, and my incredibly talented classmates from the Beverly Hills Playhouse put on a production of Allen’s original play “Disconnection." 

In an effort to be a supportive student and classmate, I ventured out one Saturday evening with a fellow BHP friend to watch this highly anticipated production. I did my best to remove any preconceived notions I had about the play. Sure, I knew two of the actors’ bodies of work well from class and knew them both to be ridiculously talented. Sure, I knew Allen had written multiple plays before, one of which I’d auditioned for in San Francisco, and had quite literally experienced for myself the sharp intelligence of his words and the bold nature of his storytelling that I enjoyed so much. Who knew what this one would be like? 

For the next two hours I was taken on an unexpected journey through a story of loss, manipulation, self-destruction, redemption, and the sad reality of the human choices we make every day. The story is told through a real life experience with Scientology, a religion I had absolutely no knowledge about beforehand. To be quite honest, I don’t know that much about Scientology after the play. There isn’t a tremendous amount of educational pandering to give a lot of context on a very complex & involved belief system. 

What the play did focus on, and very well, is the story of how organized religion can play a dangerous role in providing believers a sense of morality, belonging, purpose, and security while also putting up very real blinders to very real political & emotional power plays that are involved. How much isolation and disconnection can come as a result of barriers put up in a very "us vs. them" mentality that is an all too common byproduct.  How much objectivity, reason, and clear judgment can be altered for the sake of one’s faith.

I’m not here to bash or discredit all organized religion, but I am a person who most definitely questions it. I’ve grown up heavily religious for the majority of my life and have spent a significant time questioning both the structures & politics at play, especially as I see it unfold and interplay in the world around me every single day. 

This play was an eye-opener for me both in story and in the art that relayed it. The writing stuck to the point of the story, giving you enough information and realism to become absorbed in it. The actors, from principal to supporting, filled the words with a striking emotional life that made me feel everything from sympathy, fear, fury, and love down to my core. I definitely shed some tears that night, not only for the characters whose own struggles became my own for those two hours (and then some afterwards), but for the number of my own relationships that I was reminded of in the process.

This is what great art does for me. It opens my eyes to worlds I never knew about, it makes me understand things I thought I knew on a deeper level, it drives curiosity to learn more about the world and the people in it, it challenges my heart to be more compassionate to the complexities of the human condition.

This play isn’t for people who are looking for cheap, superficial entertainment.  This play is thoughtful, controversial, and bravely unapologetic about deeply emotional ideologies and relationships. It’s a complete rollercoaster ride, and one that will provoke you and enlighten you if you're up for it. I for one am happy to have spent an evening getting lost in it. 

I’ll definitely be making it a priority to step out & watch more plays.

If you're watching this before March 29th, catch the play "DISCONNECTION" at the Beverly Hills Playhouse! Bravo to Luke Cook, Dennis Nollette, the entire cast, & of course, Allen Barton on a phenomenal production!