The First Male Feminist

The First Male Feminist                                                         

            How can we describe who or what a feminist looks like? According to Zillian R. Eisenstein, in her 1984 Feminism and Sexual Equality book discussing the state of feminism in the 1980’s America, “The basic liberal feminist demands for women’s equality before the law” (p.12). A feminist is also described as an outraged citizen who demands attention for women. Feminist is also defined as only a “female” kind of thing, but who is to say that a man cannot be a feminist?

            Frederick Douglass is an African-American abolitionist, activist, writer, and slave. The reader will discover powerful women’s rights opinions supported by his writings from American author Philip S. Foner’s, Frederick Douglass on Women’s Rights.  

For example, May 26, 1848, two months before the Seneca Falls Convention, a woman is defined by nature, fitted to occupy a position as elevated and dignified as her self-created master (The North Star).

As the reader continues to follow, the views on women begin to change in fast measures. During the Seneca Falls Convention Frederick Douglass says, “The speaking, addresses, and resolutions of this extraordinary meeting was wholly conducted women; and although they evidently felt themselves in a novel position, it is but simple justice to say that their whole proceedings were characterized by ability and dignity” (p.49-50).

Talks of the Declaration Sentiments were the basis of the grand movement which were the basis of the grand movement which attained civil, social, political, and religious rights of women. Furthermore, a discussion on animal rights is said to be regarded far more complacency than would a discussion on women rights.

A woman is of equal value as a man and therefore, there should be no biased rulings that women cannot partake in administering laws of the land.

Douglass sums up his view of women in the following passage written in August of 1848; “The almoners (pastors) of the race of man, superior to the opposite of sex in all the offices of benevolence and kindness, fully equal in moral, mental and intellectual endowments, in short, entitled to an equal participancy in all the designs and accomplishments allotted to man during his career on earth” (p.49).

A journey through Frederick Douglass’s legacy will allow the reader to fully understand his views on women rights.

 It is reported in Foner, that Douglass’s first experience learning about anti-slavery began at the age of twelve when Mrs. Thomas Auld, his master’s wife, began teaching him the alphabet and how to read against her husband’s wishes. Mr. Auld was of the opinion that if slaves began to learn such things, they would all desire freedom and become unhappy with his or her condition. I find it ironic that it was a woman, his master’s wife who gave him the tools to free himself, his people, and to advocate for the quality of women.

As his appetite for reading increased, he discovered that white women were no better off politically than African-American slaves.  It was his views on equality that made him the most famous African-American in the country.

            On July 19, 1848 the first women’s rights convention was held in a chapel in Seneca Falls, New York. Well over two hundred women and thirty-two men crowded the room and of the thirty-two men only one would play a prominent role in women’s rights. Frederick Douglass, a slave born in Maryland, fought for, not only anti-slavery, but for equal treatment of the country without regard for their race.

Frederick Douglass can be considered a feminist during his era because of his stance on women rights. His beliefs and respect for equality for all human beings created a powerful movement for all citizens of the United States. Douglass became known as a women’s rights leader when he graciously refused to accept the voting right for all black men. To him it was a disgrace to women and women deserved the equality a man possessed in society.

Foner calls Douglass “The only man I ever saw who understood the degradation of the disfranchisement of women” (Foner, 1). Foner also reports that Douglass spoke and wrote resolutely on the need for women to reach their full potential by participating in every phase of American society as well as in all the decisions shaping that society (p.2). Douglass was proud to be black and he was proud of himself for what he called a, “woman’s right man”. Along with helping the white women, he encouraged them to realize that black women also suffered, in a white-male dominated country.

In August of 1848, Douglass spoke that the true basis of rights is, “the capacity of individuals, and as for himself he dared not claim a right which he would not concede to women” (Foner, 51).  Douglass believed that men and women were identical, regardless of color politically. He strongly believed that all rights should stand on an “indestructible basis” regardless of gender.

On October 30, 1851, he stated that “We advocate woman’s rights, not because she is an angel, but because she is a woman, having the same wants, and being exposed to the same evils as man” (Foner, 55). This statement alone allows the reader to acknowledge that his politics and where they stood were of strong and passionate beliefs.

Douglass not only fought for women’s rights, but he praised women for their contribution to society. In a letter to Ida B. Wells, he said, “Brave woman! You have done your people and mine a service which can neither be weighed nor measured” (Foner, 152).

In a letter that he had written to Harriet Beecher Stowe, the reputable author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin., it is apparent that he followed brave women such as her throughout their success. He congratulated her on such work and assured that every African-American man will be forever grateful for her strong and passionate words.

Though Douglass was an honorable man, issues began to arise at the height of his career as a women’s rights leader.

The issues arose between Douglass, his wife, Anne and Julia Griffiths, a British abolitionist that worked closely with him. It was said that Griffiths and Douglass were having sexual relations and William Lloyd Garrison, an American Abolitionist and colleague to Douglass, was said to have been the cause of the issues.

“For several years past, he [Douglass] has had one of the worst advisers in his printing-office, whose influence over him has not only caused much unhappiness in his own household” (Foner, 20).  

Susan B. Anthony, who was an American women’s rights leader, had once been a friend to Anne and Frederick Douglass supported Garrison and also demonstrated hatred towards the Douglass family and Julia Griffiths.

“Anna did not to my certain knowledge, intend that letter to cover all the essentials of the Liberator charge—for she declared to Amy Post, who happened to call there at the time it was concocted by Frederick and Julia; that she would never sign a paper that said, Julia had not made her trouble. Said she, Garrison is right—it is Julia that has made Frederick hate all of his friends—Said she, I don’t care anything about her in my office—but I won’t have her in my house” (Foner, 21)

This issue raised a small controversy among Douglass and his wife until her death in 1882. However, he did not allow the differences of women’s rights leaders come between his ways of supporting the woman’s cause.

In some occasions, it seemed that Douglass was more passionate and aware of women’s rights than African-American rights.  Douglass envisioned a perfect community and a perfect world that was unified.

In The Norton Anthology of African-American Literature it states that “Douglass’s literary artistry invested this model of selfhood with a moral and political authority that subsequent aspirants to the role of African American culture hero” (p.387).

            At a time when most men and even women were complacent about the idea of women’s rights, Frederick Douglass stood out by raising his voice, working alongside women’s rights leaders and by continuing to speak and write passionately about his beliefs on the political equality of all people regardless of race and gender.

                                                            Work Cited

Foner, Philip. Frederick Douglass on Women’s Rights. Connecticut: Greenwood Press.

            1976.

Eisentein, Zillah. Feminism and Sexual Equality: Crisis in Liberal America. Monthly Review Press.

            1984.

Gates, Henry and Nellie McKay. The Norton Anthology of African American Literature.

            New York: Norton. 2004.

Meyer, Michael. Frederick Douglass: The Narrative and Selected Writings.

            New York: Random House. 1984.

Intpretation of Contemporary Drama: Feminist Theatre

                          Feminist Drama

The women’s “suffrage” movement began many years ago dating back to 1848, a time when women had no rights to vote.  From that time on, it has still taken women many years to develop the respect that a man receives in today’s society.

During the 1960’S and 1970’s, the term Feminist and/or Feminism was formed, establishing a much higher meaning for women fighting for their rights to live in an equal society. With that, Feminism has established many forms of communication throughout America and the world; from literature, music, dance, art, poetry, and even through the realm of theatre.

 Feminist Theatre has created a change in the role of women in society by taking the traditional aspects of Aristotelian theatre and turning the “table”; giving new meaning to contemporary drama. Many female playwrights, such as Susan Lori Parks, Margaret Edson, and Paula Vogel have helped changed contemporary drama by giving society a new way to look through the “looking glass”. While focusing on the struggle of women in depth these playwrights have also helped create a new role of political standard in theatre.

The Writing Style

Again, as stated, the writing style or writing formation of Feminist Drama is different from the traditional Aristotelian Drama, for Aristotelian Drama uses a clear concept of structure.  Feminist Drama is often written with a poetic structure in nature which allows for a more dynamic interpersonally in a theatrical piece. This form of drama also uses the structure of having the present dictate the past within the beginning of the drama; meaning that the character will transform from an adult to child and/or vice versa midway in the drama.

In Paula Vogel’s theatrical piece, How I Learned To Drive, the reader has the opportunity to view the life of a young woman named Lil Bit and her Uncle Peck, whom is discovered to be a pedophile in the drama. Vogel takes the reader on a tour of her childhood in a form of drama that is written in a concept of present to past. With this structure of writing, the reader is able to gain an insight of how Lil Bit progressed into a young adult from an early stage in the drama, rather than seeing the progress develop. Beginning a drama using this structure can impact how a reader will view the rest of the drama, if given too much foreshadow or information. This form of writing also indicates that there is no defined beginning, middle, and/or end like a traditional Aristotelian drama. This is not to say that Vogel has not defined a beginning, middle or an end; it just simply means that she is taking on a new direction of writing by going against the norm of theatrical drama. Vogel seems to “scatter brain” her ideas by using the present to past and vice versa routine, which creates this non-linear structure within the drama. With that non-linear structure, the drama instantly can be said to be a feminist drama.

Unlike Vogel’s drama, Susan Lori Parks drama In The Blood does follow a linear plot structure. The Exposition is of Hester struggling to support her five children and the rising action is the discovery of two of her children’s fathers. The climax of the drama is reached when Hester is rejected by both of the fathers that were discovered. In conclusion, Hester is in jail for killing her eldest son.

With the linear plot structure, the reader is able to grasp an understanding of the material in a much clearer fashion rather than being tossed back and forth into different time frames. Also, in Parks writing style, the language that she gives each character is of direct notion, for each character can be easily seen as an individual, separated from one another. This allows for the reader to take the drama and give each character a personality of his or her own.

Margaret Edson, the master mind behind the story of WIT, also took a new direction in her theatrical piece. Within the piece, she uses poetry from John Donne which allows for the reader to understand the quality and personality of Edson’s protagonist in the drama, Vivian. Edson also uses the present to past; past to present technique that Vogel used in How I Learned To Drive.  Edson gives the reader an upfront conclusion at the beginning of the drama revealing that the protagonist is going to die at the end of the play. With so much information given in such an early state, the reader can be left in a sense of wonder as whether or not to continue reading the drama. Though WIT is not written using the Aristotelian structure, Edson gives her drama a clear structure that allows the reader to clearly understand the concept of the story without any confusion. 

                Characterization

 Feminist Drama focuses on the subject of women in society and political issues that women face. In each of the three plays that have been discussed so far the playwrights protagonist is each different and similar.

Each character in the three plays are similar in the fact that each one is independent, which feminist drama is driven upon showing the strong cultural independency that a woman possesses.

The How I Learned To Drive character Li’l Bit begins as this confused, reluctant individual on the verge of losing herself it seems, due to the molestation and the emotional trauma that she had undergone for a great deal of her life. She goes through these sequences of questions and delusions of wondering why she is going through what she is. Her Grandmother does not believe that she needs to know about sex, for she believes that if she discovers it, she will become a whore. Her Grandfather tells her that she is only good for one thing and that is lying on her back. Her Uncle Peck tells her how beautiful and smart she is, along with some unmentionables. With all the “pushing and pulling” of herself with her family, Li’l Bit becomes confused of how her life should be lead. Vogel creates this character, which is ultimately herself, that is strong witted, sharp, and discovers who she is when she separates herself from her dysfunctional family. This creates a true form of feminist drama; showing the derailed issues of a female, then bringing to light the strength that a female has to survive.

Susan Lori Parks character, Hester, from In The Blood possesses the qualities of a strong, independent female, but Hester is also weak and naive. Hester believes that if she could just get her “leg up” then everything will be alright. However, she is given many opportunities to be successful but turns away from them in fear for her children. Throughout the drama she is taken advantage of by others for she cannot read, write, and is not an educated woman of prominent standing in society. She is looked upon as a fragile, weak, black woman who should have no rights in society. Through her ordeals and the trust that she gives those who hurt her, she reaches her boiling point towards the end of the drama when her eldest son repeats the word slut. The end of the play is of Hester in jail and this depiction shows that it does not matter how strong or independent a woman can be; she can also be weak and naive.

Margaret Edson creates a character in her drama WIT that has no concern in the feeling of others or others having concern for her. Vivian, the protagonist has found out that she has cancer and does not seem to take notice that it is an ordeal that will affect her life for the better. Vivian lives by the poetry of Donne and within the poetry it suggests that life is hard and no good, so therefore there is no reason to have feeling. As the drama progresses while Vivian is in chemotherapy, there is much growth in her emotional state of being.  This growth is transformed with the help from Susie and Ashford who show Vivian the care that she is need of and has ultimately longed for. The character that Edson created with Vivian is another aspect of feminist drama for it is showing a transformation of female in society.

                   Conclusion

I believe that feminist theatre has allowed for a change to come into society; be it politics, religion, or culturally. Feminist theatre speaks truth on society and what has and is taking place. It not only speaks of the lives of women in society, it speaks of humanity as a whole and how we all can change to create an equal society. For me, feminist theatre is a homestead and it allows for me to feel at ease when studying the structure and formality of the art. Feminist theatre takes on a role that allows for readers, viewers, and others to see his or her life in detail. This form of theatre has allowed for me to write in a way that I never thought would be possible, which is out of the normal ideals of society and theatre. Feminist Theatre is on a constant rise and I believe that with the continuation of this theatre, it will become much stronger and prominent in society.

Denise Uyehara

                                                                        Feminism

In Feminism and Theatre by Sue-Ellen Case, she suggests that feminism begins with feelings of exclusion and a growing awareness that women’s social and cultural lives and activities have been overlooked. The feminist theory and/or concept is aimed at establishing and defending equal political, economic, and social rights as well as equal opportunities for women.

The women’s “suffrage” movement began many years ago, dating back to 1848, a time when women had no right to vote.  From that era to the present day, it has still taken women many years to develop the respect that men receive in today’s society.

During the 1960’s and 1970’s, the term feminist and/or feminism was formed, establishing a much higher meaning for women fighting for their rights to live in an equal society. With that, feminism has influenced many forms of communication throughout America and the world, spanning from literature, music, dance, art, poetry, and even into the realm of theatre; feminism has stepped forth and produced a prominent message for all women.

Known as a radical feminist, Denise Uyehara has taken feminist drama to new lengths by entering the depths of topics such as, race, gender, sexuality, social status, religion, domestic violence, eroticism, and AIDS. Primarily derived from personal experiences and the goal of defeating stereotypes in Asian culture and American culture, Uyehara has set out to change the world one play at a time.

                                                             

Biography

            Born in Tustin, California, in 1966 to Japanese-American parents, Denise Uyehara was destined for a life in the arts. Her parents, Hajime and Joyce Uyehara, were both scientists and were active within the arts, as well as having interests in history and in the sociopolitical condition.

            Stemming naturally from the fact that both of her parents were scientists, Uyehara started with a major in biology. In 1984, Uyehara began her studies in biology at the University of California at Irvine. Later on in her undergraduate career, she decided to change her major to comparative literature, where she focused on fictional writing and playwriting. Following her switch to comparative literature, she became the editor of the Asian-American newsmagazine, as well as editor of the university’s literary journal. She was highly active and participated in experimental theatre performance, as well as traditional storytelling. In 1989, she obtained her Bachelor of Arts and moved to Los Angeles to begin a career as an Arts Administrator.

            Though she was done with college, Uyehara never stopped educating herself. She had the opportunity to work with Dom Magwili, the head of the Asian-American Theatre Project, and soon became a playwright student of the David Henry Hwang Writers’ Institute (East West Players). Alongside that, Uyehara studied playwriting more intensively at the Mark Taper Forum’s Mentor Playwright Program.

            Uyehara’s first full-length plays were Hobbies, Hiro, and Jo & Millie Go to Church, and although none of these early plays have been published, they were widely spoken about. Her solo performances and theatrical works, Hello (Sex) Kitty: Mad Asian Bitch on Wheels, Maps of City & Body, and Headless Turtleneck Relatives: The Tale of Family and Grandmother’s Suicide by Fire, have been performed across the United States and internationally, becoming highly acclaimed and receiving excellent reviews.

            Despite the success of her solo performances, Uyehara was still finding it difficult to survive in society. She was battling her responsibility as an artist and she crossed paths with her frustration with her individual sexual and ethnic identity. Throughout her struggles, she made it a point to draw from stories about others and spoke to audiences of all kinds; women and men, homosexuals and heterosexuals alike, from all ethnic, political, and religious backgrounds.

            Denise Uyehara strongly believes in solidarity among artists and she consistently participates in collaborative projects. She was and remains a founding member of Sacred Nature Girls, which is a culturally diverse experimental performance troupe. The Sacred Nature Girls have explored many of life’s aspects from class, race, and sexual orientation. She worked alongside Robbie McCauley, a fellow performance artist, on The Other Weapon, an oral-history of the Black Panther party.

Uyehara is a collaborator, an artist, an educator and a friend.  As a prominent theatre practitioner, Uyehara does not take her success lightly. However, she does not let her success drive her away from what she hopes to accomplish in the theatrical world. With her diverse motivation and broad ranging talent as an actress, playwright, storyteller, and an arts administrator, she has assisted in the art of transformation within both cultures and socio-political standards.

Hello (Sex) Kitty: Mad Asian Bitch on Wheels

            Hello Kitty has ascended to icon status. The mouthless Sanrio mascot represents an idyllic world of pretty flowers, narcoleptic feline sidekicks and gum-scented erasers. In a word: cute (Inoue, Metroactive).

                                                            Hello Kitty & “Cute” Japan

                        Developed in 1974, Hello Kitty has given face to many “fashionable” items from keychains to erasers, computers to toasters, and erasers to chopsticks. Primarily focusing on a demographic of young girls, the Hello Kitty brand has extended its market presence to become appealing towards an increasing number of older females. However, it must be understood that the phenomenon of Hello Kitty products is derived from the concept of kawaii in Japan, meaning “cute.” According to J. Robertson, author of Takarazuka: Sexual Politics and Popular Culture in Modern Japan, kawaii was developed from the early 20^th century emergence of the shoujo, premarital female.  The author of How Hello Kitty Commodifies the Cute, Cool and Camp: Consumutopia versus Control in Japan, B. McVeigh, states that kawaii can also be defined as spectrums of interrelated dimensions such as sexual, emotional, relational, and physical, thus bringing another meaning to the “cute” status that Japan has been accorded.

            There are also seven elements that Kawaii can be derived from:

1)      Smallness

2)      Naïve/Innocence

3)       Youth

4)      Dependency

5)      Roundness

6)      Pastel colors

7)      Animal-like qualities

In Christine R. Yano’s, Kitty Litter: Japanese Cute at Home and Abroad, she suggests that a tourist in Japan may find an older woman sitting in a commuter train with a shopping bag that is decorated with the American comic strip beagle Snoopy; or see a mother and daughter, whom both have Hello Kitty paraphernalia, which may include a pink backpack for the child and/or a wallet with Hello Kitty’s mouthless face for the mother. According to Mark Schilling, “Japan… is the Country of Cute”, which furthers the notion of Japan being “cute”. However, with this “cute” status comes a difficult stereotype for the women of Japan to rid themselves of.

To assist in tearing down the stereotype of “cute” Japan and/or Asian-American, Denise Uyehara wrote her critically acclaimed one-woman show called, Hello (Sex) Kitty: Mad Asian Bitch on Wheels. It was through this theatrical piece that Uyehara defined racial slurs not only towards the Asian-American, but also for other races, including Caucasians, in American society. The audience sees a woman transform from child to adult, to lesbian, to man, to someone who is fed up with how society treats one another.

                                                Hello (Sex) Kitty

Uyehara has said that ever since she was a little girl, she had wanted a Hello Kitty, but could not afford one. When the chance came, she and Hello Kitty took the “cute” Japanese stereotypes and aroused audiences of all races with her clever theatrics.  “I wanted to use Hello Kitty because it represented sweetness and a cutesy mentality. Everyone has a sweet, childlike side, its part of the beauty of each person, but we also have the mad kabuki side” (Uyehara).  

Hello (Sex) Kitty revolves around the diverse issues amongst the Asian-American culture. Uyehara states, “More about all the things attached to sex, love, self-respect, honoring each other, than about sex itself. It’s also about lust, respect, domestic violence, a woman’s right to define her own image and access to her passion. It’s about Dyke Asia and The Asian Guy” (Kurahashi, p. 336).

The theatrical piece is consistently probing the issues of human sexuality, ethnic identity, gender relations, ethnic representations, and violence between women and men.  Hello (Sex) Kitty is developed with different characters and different scenes to give the audience and/or reader an idea of what life is like for many Asian-American people, as well as other races.

The play opens with “The Asian Lesbian Standup Comic,” and it is during this scene where Uyehara begins to crack off-color jokes and also takes ethnic inventory of the audience. “The Hello Kitty Girl” is the stereotypical oriental blossom who recounts her first date with a white man who takes pictures of her while they reenact a tea ceremony. “The Asian Guy” is about an Asian guy who is bitter and is disappointed, for he cannot get laid. He speaks of this, “The Joy Fucked-Up Club” often and references his date from hell, as well as criticizes the Hollywood film industry for the negative depiction of Asian men and Asian women who date non-Asians. During this, his date begins to talk back, which creates a dynamic monstrosity between them.

It can be said that Uyehara created Hello (Sex) Kitty to create more political strife among society by bringing forth not just the issues between Asian-American people and society, but issues within society as a whole. As stated before, Uyehara takes the audience and reader on a journey through the stereotypes that are placed on Asians and explains how the stereotypes are dishonest.

                                                            The Big Head

The Big Head is a theatrical piece that was inspired by a coalition between the Arab- Americans and the Japanese-Americans. The theatrical piece is centered on hatred between the Japanese, Arabs, and the Americans. Using memory as a key component to the piece, Uyehara takes a reader and/or audience through history, starting from the past and ending in the future.  This combination of using memory and history allows for the reader and/or audience member to begin and understand the hardships that all races face within society.

Uyehara created the piece by conducting interviews with Arab-Americans and Japanese-Americans about to race, religion, and civil rights.  The theatrical piece was also thought of after the September 11 attacks on America, and the hate crimes that were directed towards Muslims and Arab-Americans in the country. In an article by Hugh Hart, Uyehara said that she realized that she “could become a conduit not just for her family history, but also for the new group of citizens who were suddenly being scrutinized with suspicion.”

             The piece opens with an unknown character who is addressing the audience directly, recalling her childhood when her hand and neighborhood apartment were burned on the same Fourth of July Holiday. However, the nature of traumatic experience has become blurred, leaving her in a state of only brief memory.

            Continuing on, Big Head also provides a more detailed look into the diversity of America and the politics that lie within coalitions. Movement, video footage, and live Super 8 film projections portray a huge role in the theatrical piece and allow for the story to have a much greater impact on the audience. Audience members are also used in the theatrical piece by portraying fourth graders reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.

            One of the last scenes of the theatrical piece is a table with red clay on it. The clay is to be molded into several abstract shapes, one of which should resemble a human like figure. The figure is to be decapitated in an effort to assume that hatred among races was the cause of the attack on the World Trade Center in New York City.

                                                            Conclusion

            Uyehara has been on a constant path of creating pieces that are about the honesty and nature of all types of taboos in American society. Her work has been critically acclaimed by such publications as the Los Angeles Times, LA Weekly, and many other national and internationally acclaimed reviewers. She has an intriguing approach of taking on race, sexuality, identity, history, and many other aspects of life by placing them into reality. The reality of it all is that she takes facts and forms a theatrical piece that will not only justify its reasoning for itself as to why it has been done, but will cause a reader and/or audience member to truly think about the life he or she leads.

            Through my research on Denise Uyehara, she has said that her writing has always been centered on the Asian-American experience; however, this simply is not true. When one reads or views Uyehara’s theatrical pieces, it becomes clear that she is writing about the world as a whole. Her methodology of intercepting and intertwining societies with one another is remarkable, and the truths that are revealed within her pieces are just as beautiful as they are shocking.  Her plays are not the standard Americanized form, where one can read it without viewing it as a production. I believe that in order to fully understand and grasp the meaning or concept of what Uyehara is saying, in feminist theatre and theatre as a whole, one must read and view the full quality of the piece and allow for it to center within, meaning one should think about the concept and develop his or her own justification for what has been read and seen.

            Again, Uyehara is constantly working and striving to create theatrical pieces that tell stories about the people and she reveals the truths that she sees. Her pieces may never have a solution, but the theatrical pieces will cause the audience to ponder solutions of his or her own.

                                                            Works

Drama:

Headless Turtleneck Relatives. 1997.

Hiro: Asian American Drama. 1997.

Hello (Sex) Kitty: Mad Asian Bitch on Wheels. 1998.

Maps of City & Body and Other Tales. 2001.

Unpublished Manuscripts:

Hobbies. 1989.

Jo & Millie Go to Church. 1994.

                                    Awards, Honors, and Recognitions of Excellence

• COLA Fellowship 2005-2006
• Project Grant, Arizona Commission on the Arts
• California Arts Council Touring Roster
• Asian Cultural Council Fellowship
• California Civil Liberties Public Education Project
• FundPoets & Writers' Writers on Site Residency
• AT&T:OnStage Production grant at East West Players
• Four Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Dept. "Artist-in-the-Community Grant"
• New Langton Arts/National Endowment for the Arts Grant (co-recipient)
• Brody Arts Fund Fellowship
• City of Santa Monica Cultural Affairs Grant (co-recipient)
• James Irvine Fellowship at Dorland Mountain Arts Colony
• James Clavell American Japanese National Literary Award
• PEN West Emerging Voices Fellowship
• "Critic's Choice", L.A. Weekly, Bay Guardian, SF Weekly
• "Best Performance of the Year" - University of Texas, Austin
• "Outstanding Cultural Event" nomination - the Lambda Awards, Philadelphia

Works Cited

Case, Sue-Ellen. Feminism and Theatre. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008. Print.

Cheng, Meiling. In Other Los Angeleses: Multicentric Performance Art.

California: University of California Press, 2002. Print.

Cheng, Meiling. “Review of Big Head.”Theatre Journal (2003): Web. 11 Mar. 2011.

Goldstein, Jeffrey, David Buckingham, Gilies Brougere. Toys, Games, and Media. Ed.

 Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc., 2004. Print.

Hart, Hugh. “Art of Urgency.” 18 Feb. 2003. Los Angeles Times. Web. 11 Mar. 2011.

Inoue, Todd. “Take These Tea Leaves and Shove’em.” 7 Mar. 2002. Metroactive. Web.

            11 Mar. 2011.

Liu, Miles Xian. Asia American Playwrights: A Bio-Bibliographical Critical Sourcebook. Ed.

            Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 2002. Print.

Lee, Josephine. Performing Asian America: Race and Ethnicity on the Contemporary Stage.

            Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1997. Print.

Uyehara, Denise. “Denise Uyehara.” 2011. Denise Uyehara. Web. 11 Mar. 2011.

Zimmerman, Bonnie.  Lesbian Histories and Cultures: An Encyclopedia. Ed.

New York & London: Garland Publishing, Inc., 2000. Print.  

Megan Terry

MEGAN TERRY
Born: Seattle, Washington
July 22, 1932

Principal Literary Achievement
In her plays, Terry takes an autobiographical and biographical approach which includes her views on war, religion, politics, and women in society from a feminist perspective.

Biography
Megan Terry, who is an astonishing and internationally known playwright and writer, has created over sixty plays. Often, she is referred to as the Mother of American Feminist Drama. In 1994, Terry was elected to lifetime membership in the College of Fellows of American Theatre for outstanding service to the profession of theatre practitioners on a national context.

Terry, whose name at birth was Marguerite Duffy, was born in Seattle, Washington on July 22, 1932. She fell in love with theatre at the young age of seven because of her parents, Marguerite and Harold Duffy. It was at that time, she believed that she was destined for a career in theatre arts. She began by performing theatrical productions in her neighborhood and school, serving as an actor, designer, director, writer, and a set carpenter.

While Terry was in high school, her parents divorced and she moved in with her grandparents. It was during this time when she would have the opportunity to be an intern with the Seattle Repertory Playhouse. She worked closely with Florence James, the director of the playhouse and an actor by the name, Burton James. Mr. James also influenced the political views that Terry would soon possess and later write about in her theatrical pieces.

When Terry enrolled into the University of Washington, she continued working at the Seattle Repertory Playhouse until 1951, when a committee by the name, McCarthyism accused the playhouse of performing un-American activities and closed the playhouse down. Due to this narrow-minded event, it opened up Terry’s heart to realize the true power behind theatre and it sparked her passion even further.

During her sophomore year, Terry transferred to the University of Edmonton, located in Canada. There, Terry studied technical direction and set design, skills that would later influence and affect her theatrical writing. However, at the end of the school year, Terry transferred back to the University of Washington and Seattle. Upon her return, she began becoming involved with the Cornish School of Allied Arts, where she had the opportunity to develop a playhouse. It was at this playhouse where she was able to premiere several of her published theatrical works.

Though she was thrilled with her works being produced, she felt a little discontent with the cultural value and acceptance of her work in the Pacific Northwest, so in the 1950’s she moved to New York City. It was during this time when she changed her name to Megan Terry. By the early 1960’s, Terry had written several more plays, but again she became discontent, this time with the commercial theatre in New York.

In 1963, with the help of several other producers, actors and writers in New York, Terry established the Open Theatre. It was during this time when several of her plays, including Calm Down Mother (1966) premiered.

The techniques that Terry used in her writing and plays were defined as defining the experimental theatre. Terry decided to begin including rock music into musical comedies as well as beginning to experiment involving the audience in the performance, which is said to have never been done before.

Her musical piece, known as Viet Rock (1966) is considered one of the classic pieces during the era. It also was known to be one of her best theatrical works and is considered to be the first rock musical. It was also said to be the first drama about the Vietnam conflict. The musical is also regarded as Terry’s “transformational drama” due to the postmodern technique.

The Magic Realists (1969) was considered to be another beginning of Terry’s experiment into postmodern techniques, which involved dream sequences and included songs.

In Approaching Simone: A Drama in Two Acts (1970) she tells the life and story of philosopher Simone Weil, who at the age of thirty-four committed suicide by the act of starvation in protest to World War II. Also, during the 1970’s she wrote several plays that dealt with family, gender, and societal issues. The plays include, Hothouse, The Pioneer, American King’s English for Queen’s, and Goona Goona. In American King’s English for Queen’s (1978) Terry demonstrates the sexism she perceives in the English language. In Goona Goona (1979) Terry allows for audiences to view certain abuse that occur in families.
Megan Terry’s works have had the opportunity to be performed in many different countries. She has won many prestigious awards; the Dramatists Guild Annual Award, an Obie Award (for Approaching Simone in 1970), and the ATA Silver Medal. She has received several fellowships, including a grant from Yale, Guggenheim, and from the National Endowment for the Arts.
Currently, Terry lives in Omaha, Nebraska and has lived there since 1974. She is highly involved with the Omaha Magic Theater, a company of artists who are dedicated to creating new American musical plays and other theatrical works.
Analysis
For long time theatre practitioner and feminist, Megan Terry has centered her career on the history of humankind through creating extraordinary theatrical pieces and musicals. Each piece is vastly different in its way and each piece share a common substance that is instantly viewed as a feminist quality. Terry is greatly influenced by culture, politics, and religion in her theatrical works. With that, she also highly intrigued with the use of imagery and she uses imagery to her utmost advantage when telling a story. Through her work, it becomes apparent for the readers and the viewers to acknowledge that she is a person of many words. She speaks fact and with that, comes her heartfelt compassion, which is also conveyed in her theatrical pieces. When one reads a theatrical piece by Megan Terry, he or she cannot help but be intrigued by the powerful words that come through, sometimes meaningless to some readers, but to others the words that are read reveal reality in its nature. It is revealed to the viewer that Terry truly is in love with the work that she possesses.
In Approaching Simone, Terry approaches a feminist theme by telling the life, in detail, of the great philosopher, Simone Weil. Weil begins as a young child on the verge of killing herself on multiple levels due to the society that she was bestowed upon. She was a female of great masculine traits and believed from young age she could do any form of work that a man could do. Throughout the theatrical piece, Simone is struggling to adapt with religious views, specifically Christianity. Though she believes in God, she does not believe that following the path through baptism, which in the piece is said to complete the union with Christ, is her way of becoming closer to God. It becomes apparent that Weil is struggling with God and faith, because of the tragedy of war that has been bestowed upon France. In effort to understand the concept of war, she begins a journey through spirituality. Through this journey, she begins a protest that will hopefully allow women to become frontline nurses in aid of the injured soldiers. Simone, however, in the midst of aiding and fighting in war, commits a dreadful suicide by starvation in protest of the war.
With Babes in the Bighouse (A Documentary Fantasy About Life in a Women’s Prison), (the title says exactly what the piece is about); the life of women in a women’s prison. Terry continues on with a feminist approach to theatre. This theatrical piece is centered on strong dramatic imagery. The environment of the production is based on the “walks” of the characters and each character has a specific walk to her nature. The “walks” from each character change throughout the piece to signify another female prisoner and are used to describe the characteristic traits of each female. Another dramatic image in the piece is that of the “imposing of wills”. This form of imagery is used to create tension, such as a push or pull situation. The most profound form of imagery in the piece is that of what could be referred to as, “The Hole”, which can be represented as solitary confinement. With the strong and dignified imagery, the piece opens with five female prisoners and the warden of the prison, each allowing for the reader or audience a sense of who they are. The play ends with a musical piece of the women dressed in her favorite “fantasy” and they wish to be pardoned from their criminal records, suggesting that they did nothing wrong.
Viet Rock (a folk-war movie), is regarded as the first recognized theatrical statement about the Vietnam War. Terry takes the reader and the audience on a journey through a time of war; once more in the need to stop war. Also within this piece, Terry takes a feminist approach, by incorporating women, who commit suicide in protest of the war. Viet Rock is an emotional journey, with comic and dark value, which when being performed must be played well or the story will not be accurate. Just like the other theatrical pieces, this too begins with a musical piece that describes in brief detail of the damages that the war caused for Vietnam and America. The play as a whole, describes the life of eight American soldiers who begin by knowing nothing about war, in fact, they seem to still be in a childlike state, being nurtured by their mothers. The reader and/or audience are taken on a journey intimately through emotion, by using dialogue that is addressed to the audience throughout the theatrical piece. At the end of the play, every character dies and the beginning musical piece that is used, “Viet Rock” ends the piece.
Terry is widely known and recognized for her use of feminist theory in her theatrical pieces and she uses women in her pieces often by displaying them as heroines and sometimes uses men to portray females, but not in a negative way. In her pieces, one can sense that she is observing and writing what is fact between the relationships of men and women. Her use of political and religious undertones, allows for more truth to shine through, in hopes to allow readers and viewers to understand the capacity of what both have brought into society; whether it to be good or bad.
The characters that are used in Terry’s theatrical pieces are acid strong and whenever performed, should be approached with such dignity. Her character Simone is one of great pleasure; she is thought of as a throwback to the Greeks, who possesses physical, spiritual courage and intellect while she undergoes internal and political conflicts. Her female characters in Babes are used as sex objects, but are vastly different in each formation that takes place during “the walks”. The characters in Viet Rock are consisted mainly of male, but again, taken upon a feminist perspective as merely children who are bleak, but yet still come out acid strong.

Approaching Simone
First Published: 1970
Type of work: Play
A philosopher commits suicide at the age of thirty-four by starving herself in protest of World War Two.

Approaching Simone is one of Terry’s finest pieces of theatrical works. She won an Obie Award for the play in 1970. It infuses most of her major themes and captures life through song and dance. The play is also set in a variety of scenarios or actions that take place rather quickly. The play approaches the struggle with Simone’s dealing on war and Christianity, which Terry does extraordinary in capturing those struggles.

The play opens with a musical number entitled Desire and the character Simone, enters staring at the audience. After the musical number Simone is seen running, while her family, Mother, Father, and Brother are following. Simone is very young but is said to be speak as though she were nearly thirty years old.

Simone begins to run and she flings herself to the ground. As her mom yells for her to get up, Simone suggests that she should be allowed to help carry luggage. She is told that she is far too young and too little to help carry the luggage, but she continues to insist that she is just as capable as the others. Still as she lies in the snow, her mother and father insist that she is too young to carry such a load and tell her that she continues to drag on, that she will catch a cold or some form of sickness. At the lodge, Simone and her brother begin to play a game of Racine and each time one of them forgets a verse, then both of them would be slapped by one another. As a visitor enters the house hold, Simone’s young rebellious personality begins to shine through. She has given away her stockings because the worker’s children do not wear them and she is pouring sugar into an envelope to send to the soldier’s because they do not have any.

The next scene takes place on the beach where Simone is with her Father. She is gazing out at the ocean and the sky, and suddenly begins to scream in agonizing pain. She has developed a migraine, so her Father takes her home to sleep in the dark. As Simone is in her room, now at the age of fourteen; voices begin to enter from the chorus saying obscene lines such as, “You are ugly” or “You can’t do anything right, because you’re girl”. However, it is no ordinary scene, it is a dream sequence of Simone aging and progressing into an adult.

Simone is now thirty and in a bar with her friends, Albert, Simone Two, and Jean Paul, listening to the blues singer, Carolina. During this moment, she and her friends are discussing what is beginning to take place in Germany and how technology will drive people out of work. After Carolina is finished singing, she comes over to where Simone is sitting and asks her to dance.

In transition to another part of Simone’s life, she is now a teacher and is teaching to a group of students who want to become philosophers. It is clear that each student is intrigued by what Simone has to offer them and they take her courses because they know of her highly intellectual mind. Through her teaching style, she finds that in order to become somebody, one must be “printed” on paper. However, being the rebellious individual that she is, she printed her students work and was fired.

Heading into the end of act one, Simone now works in a factory and has become very frail. This is noticed upon due to a few former students who have gathered to visit her in the factory. The fatigue and the suffering that she has endured have left her mind in a bit of confusion, but it is during this scenario that Simone speaks of herself “among real men”.

In the beginning of the second act, Simone asks for a physicist and begins her speaking on her views on politics in society. The chorus enters and words of, “I see right through you” are being said, speaking of the hypocrisy that has taken place in the government. Simone begins to protest and speak of how personality has nothing to do with making a person sacred, but the faith of a person does.

The next few scenes are of Simone helping the men who are out of work due to the factory laying folks off due to war. In the factory, there is a protest taking place about whether a seven percent or fifteen percent increase should take place. Simone stands and addresses the crowd and speaks of the struggle between the conservatives and the innovators. She also addresses that the value of life has been forgotten. Before she is finished speaking, she is called a Trotskyite and the crowd surrounds to kill her. Simone is rescued by Pierre and another individual.

She decides to go to Spain where she believes that her hands will be more useful, but being a pacifist, she will not carry a weapon. She finds herself on the banks of Ebo River with the Anarchists on one side and the Fascists on another, with a rifle. During this moment, Simone is forced to lie on her back and shoot at an airplane overhead. After that moment of terror, another terror strikes, two soldiers come in dragging two dead priests making it over forty priests that have been killed by Simone’s military troupe. The Captain orders for them all to move on, but Simone stays behind to cook due the events that are taking place. During the preparation of cooking, Simone gets into an altercation with a woman laughing about the priest being shot. Simone is protest, yells that, “This isn’t our war. This is nothing but a war fought by Germany and against Russia. We’re fools and spawns”. Her anger has swarmed out of control and she hits a pot of oil that sills over onto her leg, causing it go on fire.

While healing in a bed, Simone speaks of work that does not involve war. She says that she would rather pick potatoes in a field than work an endless headache of war. After her healing, Simone continues to press on, searching for work. She has arrived in Marseilles to speak to a priest about getting work outside of Spain. While there, she is handed a passport by a priest and she asks the priest if she may ask him about Christ one day.

Simone returns to the priest and tells him that Christ came down and took possession of her, but she did not see him, it was the presence of love that she thought never existed. The priest asks her if she is seeking baptism, but she refuses because she believes that God has a better use for her.

Now in England, Simone finds herself once more in the eye of war, this time wanting to be a nurse on the field to aid the injured and hungry soldiers. However, she is turned away, though her idea of it was considered of value. As the end of the play is approached, Simone recites in a beautifully written monologue, that the war taking place meant nothing and it had no definable objective. With that, Simone had committed suicide by starvation in protest to the war that was taking place.

Babes in the Bighouse (A Documentary Fantasy About Life in a Women’s Prison)
First Published: 1974
Type of Work: Play
The life of women living in solitary confinement, restricted from sight of the world.

Terry began work on this piece after being asked by women and men in US and Canada prisons to write a play about life in prison. For this particular piece, Terry takes the reader and audience viewer on a journey through a female prison, but from a fantasy point of view. Terry and the colleagues that assisted her with this production developed a tape by going door to door; asking individuals on the streets what they thought went on in a female’s prison. Through all the replies, most of them were influenced by the cheap sex novels; therefore, the clothing is made up of corsets, spike heels, furs and feathers, and other various “sexual” items.

The play opens with Jockey, Ronnie, Champ, El Toro, and Kathleen, who are all prisoners in the prison. Each prisoner speaks about her life in prison trying to convince the reader or audience that she is innocent. Miss Schnauzer, who is the assistant to matron comes in and speaks about how the facility is now a place where women can be rehabilitated into a “proper lady”, while knowing for fact, that it is impossible.

As the scene shifts, the girls are now in the shower commencing amongst themselves, talking about the life they had before prison. While in the shower, El Toro makes jokes and winks at Champ to join her in a joke on Jockey. Both sneak up on Jockey and grab her breasts. In spite of this, the Matron hears the commotion and the girls react in a different manner, as though nothing has happened, yet Kathleen is taken to solitary confinement.

As the next scene progresses, the girls are in the sewing room working and whispering. However, the Matron has taken a dislike in the talking between El Toro and Jockey and orders them to get on the floor and scrub. El Toro develops an attitude with the Matron which causes the Matron to kick the bucket of water causing El Toro to become drenched in water.

The next day in the sewing room was much different; full of laughs, including the matrons. This scene begins to develop the lesbian tendencies that take place in the prison. Ox Tail and El Toro are poking fun of Matron One, who is crushing on Mrs. Snowden. Mrs. Beecroft, who is Matron One, is blushing, ask the girls to stop, but she is asked out on date by Champ after she is released.

Following, the Head Matron is submitting new inmates, while El Toro and Jockey are having an intimate moment with one another. Along with this, Champ and Cynthia are having an intimate moment. The dialogue indicates that sexual encounters will be taken place, but is soon interrupted by Matron, for she has seen one of the girls, Ronnie, with something in her cell. Ronnie is written up for having a salt shaker and all of the girls are forced to come out of their cell and strip to her socks and shoes, and then forced to wear a dress.

The girls quickly transform into a hat and an overcoat to resemble a man. They sing a musical piece that is known as the “Fight Depression” song. After the piece is completed, the girls begin discussing the times when they tried to kill themselves. El Toro tried to shoot herself and Ronnie said she never had enough pills.

The next scene is Kathleen receiving a medical examination and the sounds of Ronnie coming from solitary are heard. As Ronnie continues pounding and shouting, “Let me out”, the other girls continue on with their story of what really takes place in the prison. As each prisoner begins to enter the solitary cell, they all begin to sing about how Jesus had to walk alone and now they must do the same.

As the song concludes, the girls begin scrubbing the floor. Jockey, becomes angry because she thinks that El Toro is going to try and steal her lover from her. There is a small feud but Cynthia breaks in and takes El Toro out of the situation. In the cells, Kathleen, Ronnie, Champ, and Jockey are talking. Ronnie is in tears and is being comforted by Kathleen, but Champ and Jockey are poking fun of her, telling her that she needs to toughen up and call her a liar on multiple accounts of situations. It is revealed that Ronnie has a multiple personality disorder.

The next scene takes place in chapel with two ministers, and where they all begin singing Speak in Tongue. They all put on hats to show a character change. During the scene, all the girls collapse to the floor speaking in tongues while the ministers interpret what each one is saying.

As Act One comes to a close, the girls are being scolded for how lucky they are to be in a prison by the Matron. She tells them they are lucky to have been born in a time where their heads or hands would not get cut off for the crimes they have committed. During this, the girls begin to sing about how prison is the place to be and they have all they need. The act ends with the girls going back to the floor scrubbing.

Act Two, begins by introducing new female inmates and Ronnie, Jockey, and Kathleen sing a song about what they will do when they are released from prison. When the song ends, Matron One is caught by Matron Two and Three harassing an inmate for no apparent reason and they take Matron One to the Warden’s area with them to keep watch on the yard. In the Warden’s area, they speak about an issue Matron One had with the inmate. Matron One thought the inmate had a pillow under her shirt and began punching her because she did not “believe” she had one. The other Matron’s began telling her that it was not her fault.

The next scene continues to tell the stories of how the women came to prison, but each of them becomes bored, which develops into song being about boredom. As the song concludes, the girls are back to discussing the same situations as before. Ronnie suggests that prison is not boring and many women wrote while in prison.

In the next scene Jockey, Champ, and Kathleen are speaking amongst themselves. They are speaking about how the food is filled with drugs to keep them from being mean and are using them as lab rats. During the conversation it is revealed that Kathleen once had religion and had a lover that was female while married.

Ronnie begins to sing, Babes in the Bighouse. As the song concludes, the scene is now located in the warden’s area where Gloria Swenson (portrayed by El Toro) is being interrogated for her lesbian encounters in the shower.

The remaining bit of the act continues to tell the sordid lives of the ladies in prison and the piece ends in a musical number. The girls are dressed in her favorite crook or fantasy and are asking to be pardoned from the crimes they have committed.

Viet Rock (a folk-war movie)
First Published: 1966
Type of Work: Play
The life of American soldiers in battle during the Vietnam War.

In Viet Rock, Terry takes the reader and/or viewer on a journey through a time when war was constantly driving many American’s into a state of hatred. The play depicts American soldiers who are on their way to Vietnam and for many of them; this is their first time being outside of the country. As in most of Terry’s pieces, this one too begins with a musical number that describes the effects of what is taking place.

The play is opened by soldiers lying down on a stage into a circle that resembles a flower or a target. As the soldiers are lying on the floor, the song, The Viet Rock is heard. The Viet Rock, is about how every morning Vietnam is “rocking and rolling” due to the effects of the war. When the piece is finished, one soldier jumps up off the floor and instantly becomes the Sergeant.
The next scene or moment is of all the men up on their feet becoming an “US Government Inspected Male” which will grant them access to fight in the war. During this, two mothers, Mrs. Cole and Mrs. Sherman are waiting to hear the news of their children of whether or not they are accepted to go and fight. Mrs. Sherman believes that her son, Ralphie will be chosen automatically and Mrs. Cole believes that her son Laird, who has a speech condition, will not be chosen because he is not “strong” enough. However, the tables are turned when Laird is chosen and Ralphie has to go into the hospital for a couple of days. Another musical piece takes place and the women sing, Goodbye My Good Boy.

As the piece concludes, the Sergeant yells for all the men to fall into place. All of the soldiers are new and form an awkward line, which causes the Sergeant to become a bit hastier with them. The soldiers are ridiculed and told that they will be called “girlies” until they have proven themselves to be called “ladies”. As the scenario progresses, the soldier’s graduate to “ladies” status and the Sergeant sings War Au Go Go to them.

When the piece has concluded, the soldiers are now on their first mission. They are trying to hold back a riot that has taken place in protest of the war. The Head Protestor, who is a female, comes forward and yells out to the Sergeant, “You are under citizen’s arrest”. The Sergeant argues back with the protestor, meanwhile, three other female protestors step aside and pour gasoline on their bodies. They begin speaking to the soldiers and the Sergeant, begging them to end the merciless war. As the soldiers give their final answer, “We have a job to do”, the three women strike a match and light themselves on fire.

The next scene is of the soldiers on their journey to Vietnam. As the soldiers arrive, they are approached by the Lama, who greets them with women. As an orgy is taking place among the soldiers and women, the Sergeant spots in and begins yelling at the soldiers to pull their pants up because they have a job that has to be done. As the soldiers rise into a line, the women do the same and they begin to sing a marching song.

The last scene in act one takes place in the Senate Investigating Committee room. There is a press meeting taking place with two senators and twelve witnesses, none of which who have a name. Each witness is vastly different from the rest; Witness One believes that the atomic bomb should be taken into effect, while Witness Three, who is a prize fighter, seems to have been knocked around a too much, cannot gather his thoughts. Witness six, who has become outraged in the meeting, begins to stab people sitting on a nearby bench. The act ends with Witness Eleven and Witness Twelve, speaking of how love should be taking place, rather than war. The witnesses and the senators begin kissing and caressing one another. As act one concludes, they all begin to sing America the Beautiful.

Act Two opens with a soldier, his mother, and his girl writing to one another. During this moment, the three are writing and speaking about how life is treating them while the war is going on. As this moment is fast, the scene quickly turns into a field where the soldiers are now being required to train some South Vietnamese men, known as the Arvin Troops, how to fight like American soldiers. The men look like females and the America soldiers do not trust them for that reason and prefer not to train them. However, Jerry, an American soldier goes over the Arvin Troops and begins to teach them English. The Arvin Troops catch on quickly and Jerry, along with the other American soldiers becomes highly impressed with how fast they learn. As the American soldiers are teaching the Arvin how to shoot a gun, they quickly turn into the Viet Cong, killing the American soldiers. Jerry and another soldier are able to run away. As the bodies lie on the ground lifeless, the Sergeant discovers them and instantly blames himself for the tragedy. However, in the midst of the tragedy, he must look for new recruits.

As the Sergeant presses on, he awakens soldiers from sleep and as they rise, they are instantly dodging from bullets. Jerry is shot, lifted by a helicopter and taken to the hospital. A plane is sent for Jerry’s mother, so the body can be identified. As his mother approaches the doctor, the doctor informs her that he will be tagged with his identification. When she approaches a body of dead soldier and tag reads, Gerald Rogers Small, not Gerald Robert Small. The doctor comes to her and apologizes, but then there is a sound of a soldier calling for his mother. It is Jerry and as his mother approaches him, he dies.

The next scene is a Buddhist funeral and during the funeral a song is sung by a character named Seth. The song is called Men Die Young and is speaking about how men are dying very quickly and the love for them is fading fast. As the song concludes, a dream like sequence with Hanoi Hannah takes presence and speaks about how Asia, Africa, and Latin America can destroy the United States piece by piece. She also tells the American soldiers that they cannot protect their loved ones, from such a far distant.

As Hannah Hanoi concludes, the soldiers begin fighting the Viet Cong for an instant. A soldier takes out a guitar and they all begin to sing But I’m Too Far From Home. While the other soldiers fall to the ground crawling, a soldier by the name Joe addresses the audience speaking of how he is grateful of their fine citizenship and how he will fight for them any day. A soldier pulls Joe down and another by the name of Fred stands up and addresses the audience. He as well speaks about how he is proud to serve American and is then pulled back down to crawl.

The final scene takes place in Saigon Sally’s bar in Vietnam, where the soldiers are dancing and where Saigon Sally is singing a song called Anti-hero Baby. As the song a dance comes to an end, Sergeant, who is drunk, gets angry because some soldiers are poking fun of the president. As Sergeant continues in his drunken raucous, he eventually collapses into Saigon Sally’s arms. He asks her to sing another song and as she sings, there is a massive explosion and the bar is blown to bits, killing all of the American soldiers.

As the play ends, each character rise as angel and they sing in unison, Viet Rock.

Summary

Terry’s work has proved to be an essential part of feminist theatre and theory. She writes on a level of great altitude, describing in detail the lives of others through non-fiction and fiction. Using a musicality style, she keeps away from the normal “musical” spectacle, which allows for the pieces to be taken to new heights. She writes about historical events in her theatrical pieces of not only American history, but world history. Terry uses and incorporates characters that all have a prominent role in her theatrical pieces. When one views or reads her work, they will sense three essential aspects of life; religion, politics, and culture, which will allow for them to relate and understand the truth and value of life.

James Anthony Chapman

Discussion Topics

How can feminism be described in Terry’s work?

In Approaching Simone, Simone commits suicide due to the nature and content of the war. Do you think that her approach in protesting the war by committing suicide was in good faith?

Viet Rock is said to be a theatrical piece that would have excited Brecht. What would be the cause of this piece to excite Brecht?

Megan Terry is said to be the Mother of American Feminist Drama. Do you believe this to be true? Why or Why not? If not, then who do you believe could be considered?

In Babes In The Bighouse, Terry asks that men also portray the roles of the female characters. Why do you think that she calls for that in the theatrical piece?

Do you sense any form of homoerotic tendencies in the theatrical piece Viet Rock? If so, why and where do you sense it?


Bibliography

Betsko, Kathleen and Rachel Koenig. Interviews with Contemporary Women Playwrights.
New York, NY. Beech Tree Books, 1987.

Keyssar, Helene. Feminist Theatre. London. Macmillan Publishers, 1984.

Megan Terry. http://www.filmreference.com/film/88/Megan-Terry.html.

Megan Terry. http://www.novelguide.com/a/discover/aww_04/aww_04_01188.html.

Londre, Felicia Hardison. ‘‘Megan Terry’’ in Speaking on Stage. Alabama.
University of Alabama Press, 1996.

Schlueter, June. Modern American Drama: The Female Canon. Cranbury, New Jersey. Associated University Presses, 1990.

Terry, Megan. Plays By Megan Terry. New York, NY. Broadway Play Publishing Inc. 2000.
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