Colorado Springs – The 2004 election showed the power fundamental Christian groups wield. In the aftermath, some felt threatened. Some were emboldened. Many tossed stereotypes around carelessly. The United States looked like a country divided, with possibly irreconcilable differences, said Steven Cosson, artistic director for The Civilians, a New York City-based documentary-theater troupe.
So Cosson and fellow members decided to head to Colorado Springs, Ground Zero for the evangelical movement, and hold up a theatrical mirror to the community. The troupe started making short visits to Colorado Springs last summer, interviewing evangelicals, politicians, pastors, gays and lesbians, teens in church youth groups, liberals and conservatives.
On Jan. 23, nine Colorado College drama students joined the effort as part of a Topics in Theater class. They helped identify people to be interviewed, conducted interviews and brought the words of the interviewees back to the classroom. The CC students are working with The Civilians to take the most illustrative interviews and shape them into a theater piece, complete with original music.
The resulting production, called Save This City, was performed by The Civilians with the CC students Feb. 8-10 on the Colorado College campus. The Civilians will now take the work back to New York and hone it for its final incarnation, expected to open within the next two years.
The idea behind Save This City is to use real people and their real words to cut through rhetoric and preconceived notions. Where there is division, often the best solution is to get to know your neighbors, said Cosson. This is a way we can do that through artistic means, and put some of that on stage. It creates an opportunity for all different types of audiences to listen and contemplate. The whole point is to not have to agree with each other, but to understand each other because of truth, not stereotypes.
The Civilians and CC students have gathered a variety of perspectives through the interviews. We ve been meeting people in the same Starbucks and finding they have very strong opinions about each other, but no understanding, Cosson said. Upon learning that The Civilians have visited the 14,000-member New Life Church formerly run by disgraced pastor Ted Haggard, non-evangelicals have asked, What do they look like? What s it like in there?
During the November election, when Colorado voters considered two same-sex partnership issues on the ballot, they found people who were torn on the issue: My church is opposed to homosexuality, but my friend is a lesbian.
The project is part of an annual Topics in Theater class at Colorado College that provides a rare opportunity for undergraduate drama students to participate in the creation of a professional theater production, while working closely with a different theater troupe each year. Students who sign up for the class are told it s a 24/7 commitment.
It s a rare thing for students to work one-on-one with world-class professionals in the arts, said Tom Lindblade, chair of the Colorado College drama/dance department. We only choose groups who have a very specific aesthetic and a very specific way of working, so the students can see a different way to build a script and create a production. Because they re going into the community, helping to write the script, working on music, and creating the production, they take ownership and have real commitment. It s the most rewarding theater experience they ll have in college.
The February performances of Save This City was a “first look” at the greater production that The Civilians plan to develop over the next two years. Troupe members expect the final production, complete with costumes, score and set, will be produced at regional theaters around the country or may be presented on tour by The Civilians. The show also may tour internationally, as have two prior Civilians shows.
Since its founding in 2001 by Cosson, The Civilians have supported the creation of five original shows, Canard, Canard, Goose? The Ladies, Paris Commune, Gone Missing and (I am) Nobody’s Lunch, which have been presented at a range of venues, including The Public Theater, A.R.T., La Jolla Playhouse and Actors Theatre of Louisville, and have toured nationally and internationally. The Civilians made their United Kingdom debut with Gone Missing in 2004 at the Gate Theatre, and presented (I am) Nobody s Lunch at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and London s Soho Theatre.
Editor’s note: The bulk of the article above was provided to The Denver Post by the Colorado College public information office.
