I am afraid of this blog.
Well, that is a little overstated. But I am hesitant, at the very
least, about this contribution.
See, I am incredibly comfortable putting my ideas out into the
world as expressed through the fictional characters I create in my
plays that I develop over months and years. But dashing something
off as myself is always less comfortable for me. I read plenty of
blogs and often have responses, but I never post or comment on
anything. There is something about this mode of communication I am
uneasy with. It is something I can't quite get to the bottom of
except to say that, for someone who puts work out very publicly, I
am a private person. And although I have plenty of things to say
about a great many things, I feel no urge to impress them upon
people outside my circle of friends and acquaintances in any way
beyond my playwriting.
My reticence to participate in the worldwide blog phenomena
combined with my total understanding of its huge appeal raises
several questions for me. What do people get out of sharing parts
of their lives, often very personal, intimate details, with
strangers? How does what others share online affect the way we see
them, especially if we actually know them? I think about how we
google everyone new we meet and have all of this information - and
impressions and, often, assumptions - gathered before we really get
to know the person at all. How much does all this information help
us get to know each other and how much of it gets in our way? How
does the way we craft our online images really reflect who we are?
If intimacy is gained through the sharing of one's inner life with
another, what does it mean to be intimate in this moment when some
people share everything with everyone?
All of these are central questions in my play Sex with Strangers. As our two
characters, Ethan and Olivia begin to fall in love, what they
disclose online about themselves and their pasts begins to creep in
and affect their relationship and their ability to be
together.
One of the reasons I wrote the play is because I think we are
living in a very interesting moment. Those in their mid-20s, as
Ethan is, have lived most of their lives online, sharing much of
what they do, think and feel. Olivia, however, in her late 30s, is
uncomfortable with the level of online disclosure so natural to
Ethan (you can imagine which character's point of view is more
familiar to me). As we continue to seek meaningful connections in
our lives, what does it mean when one's contact with friends is
more often virtual than not, and what one used to write in a diary
is now posted daily for anyone to read? What is intimacy now? What
does it mean to know someone now?
The play is very naked in a lot of ways (although, no one is
actually naked in the performance. Sorry.) It is just two
characters; the style is hyperrealism. There is no heightened
theatricality or surrealistic diversion. It is just about the
relationship of those two people, talking in a room or two. As
someone who has done a variety of work, often highly theatrical
adaptations of classic texts, this piece is the most "naked" I have
ever written. There is no elephant chase, no storming of the
Bastille, no trip down the river to distract from the words and the
characters I have created. The whole endeavor of this play was to
take a risk. To delve into thematic territory that isn't always
comfortable or polite but is in fact revealing and raw. I even
wanted to push my comfort level with the title. I chose something
that was totally appropriate for the play but that I knew I'd be a
little embarrassed telling my Dad. In fact, until Steppenwolf
picked it and I knew he'd see the title in print, he knew it only
as "the blogger play." For me, the exploration of what it means to
be - literally and metaphorically - intimate, exposed, naked, and
known is at the heart of this story.
Of course, I hope everyone will find the questions and ideas we are
exploring engaging and interesting but, most of all, I hope it
sparks questions of your own. I'm very curious to see what the
response is to the play. Although, I'd be much more comfortable
talking about it with you in the lobby afterward than reading your
blog posts. But I know I need to get over it. Both Olivia and I are
trying.
Laura Eason is the playwright of Sex With Strangers.
This note was first posted on the Steppenwolf Theatre Company
blog.
Sex with Strangers, Wharf 1, 24 september - 24 November,
2012.
Feature: Laura Eason
Date posted: 4 Oct 2011Author: Laura Eason