Aliens: Foreign and Domestic!

November at Parson's Nose

Theater education, which can just be 'being in a play', teaches everything sports do, at a fraction of the cost. To be in a play, onstage or backstage, you have to have to be disciplined, you have to be creative, you have to have and practice physical and mental skills, you have to have talent, you have to be a team player. In sports, the goal is to win a game. In theater, it's to present a playwright's vision to an audience. An important plus, for theater, is that you have a diverse team around you. It broadens your sense of empathy. That girl may be much better at hammering a flat. That gay guy may be much better at running the sound board.

So many of our fears come from just being ignorant of the world outside our own. Once you realize that your uncle is gay, that your sister is much better at running an organization, you realize how poorly your prejudices hold up.

I'm watching George Packer of The Atlantic in a CSPAN panel on political violence. Basically, "If all the government elites who hate each other were forced to put on a musical they would have to put aside their differences and work together to do a show."

In November, at Parson's Nose, I'm trying to build on the momentum of our first hybrid show of Season 26, "Bully for You!". We heard laughter and we saw tears. People are frightened. They want to escape, and they also want to engage.

This month we're again dividing the show. In Act One we'll see scenes from Bertolt Brecht's documentary play "The Private Life of the Master Race." Short blackouts of everyday life in Nazi Germany - a couple hears a neighbor grabbed by the police; two physicists speak in hushed tones of Einstein's advice; a Jewish woman leaves her husband to save his career; a couple worries their son is reporting their conversations at the Hitler Youth meeting.

For Act Two, something silly. I've taken advantage of H.G.Wells being dead to adapt his "War of the Worlds" for today. A very short version in which Martians crash in present day Oxnard and invade Pasadena after neutralizing ICE agents with Elmers glue.

The fear mongerers are capitalizing on our lack of sophistication and our laziness. "Wilful ignorance" has been highlighted in our vocabulary, unfortunately. I hope our show does something about lessening our fears by recognizing and overcoming them. - ld

Tickets for Aliens: Foreign and Domestic! are at www.parsonsnose.com.

Under 90 minutes including intermission.

Glass of wine or cider and Judy Graunke cookies at your seat.