Talkback

“We can’t always choose our identities. We can’t stop other people from defining us, or from hating us because of how they have defined us. But we can at least try to counteract the toxicity of their hatred. We can and must celebrate our identity. And we can only do that if we can control the definitions of our identity. We must be the ones to control our own representation. We must be the ones to tell our own stories. We must not let our stories be told and our bodies be represented by the people who hate us.”

The play can be performed with as few as three actors (Im,2f; or 2m,1f)–though ideally 4 (1m, 1f, 2m or f)–or,with minimal doubling, with as many as 20-30.

Available for development or production.

About the play:

In a series of post-performance “talkbacks” after script-in-hand readings of his latest play, Dan is confronted by audience members, moderators, and even his own artistic collaborators, over issues of ethnicity, race, disability, and the question of who is entitled to tell whose story. With each talkback, it becomes increasingly uncertain whether Dan really wants to tell the story he is so vehemently asserting his right to tell, or is actively trying to conceal it.