Stop "Waiting for Lefty." It's here

By Megan Walsh, Staff Writer walsh15@up.edu

It's hard to forget the thousands of people gathered at the Occupy Portland camp. Even if you didn't get to experience the rally in person, there was an endless amount of footage on the news and Internet for all to see. Men and women of all ages came together with tarps, protest signs and a mission. A year later, the issues protested still exist. For three nights the Mago Hunt Theater will be converted into an Occupy camp for the production "Waiting For Lefty."

Second-year graduate student Jared Lee is directing the play, which is about a group of taxi drivers striking for better wages. He has modernized the play as though it were occurring during the Occupy movement.

Lee chose this production because the themes portrayed are universal.

"I came across Lefty, and this play was written in 1935, but it sounded like it was the stuff that I heard down in the Occupy camp that day," Lee said. "I thought, well that's a cool idea. The more things change, the more they stay the same."

According to sophomore cast member Amy Billroth-MacLurg, the themes of this play are especially relatable for college students.

"It portrays the idea that change within a community must be supported by the entire community for it to happen," she said. "Everyone must work together to rise against injustice and truly say what needs to be said."

Earlier in the month, Lee and the cast visited a true rally, which occurred at Holladay Park across from the Lloyd Center shopping mall. As an actress portraying the role of Agate, the agitator of the production who gets the fire to spark in the other characters, Billroth-MacLurg found this experience inspiring.

"It made the experience more real and I truly understood the emotional environment involved within the rallies," Billroth-MacLurg said.

"Waiting for Lefty" is a one-act production composed of a series of short vignettes to demonstrate how unjust pay affects each member of the strike on a personal level. These vignettes are moving because every member of the audience can empathize with at least one of the stories, Billroth-MacLurg said.

"The issues that the play deals with are not just experienced by the over 30 working population, it's every walk of life," Lee said. "We get a scene that has two young lovers that are just trying to get by. They want to get married, they want to fall in love, but they know that they have nothing to bring to the table. They know that if they get married, they're just both going to be miserable. They decide it's not even worth it, and these are college-aged kids dealing with these issues."

Not only is this play interesting because of its relatable themes and characters, but it is also an interactive play. The entire theatre will be decorated so that the audience feels as though they are in an Occupy camp. Actors and actresses will not be confined to the stage.

According to first-year graduate student Nathaniel Quinn who plays Harry Fatt, although the show may start at 7:30 p.m. inside of the theatre, it truly starts at 6:30 p.m. outside of the theatre. Actors will initiate a mock-rally outside of Mago Hunt, preparing the audience for the play.

"It's very rare that audiences get to be a part of the show," Quinn said. "Our goal is to create a connection with the audience that isn't always there, and people who do not often go to performances may like the fact that this performance is not a typical one."

Although talking during the performance is normally rude, it will be encouraged in this play.

"It's one thing to sit and watch a show, it's another thing to be a part of it," Lee said. "With this show you're freely asked to participate. This doesn't mean you have to stand on stage and give a monologue, but if you want to get up and out of your chair because something really hits you, you're encouraged to do so. If you see something you don't like, let us know. When you get riled up, take your protesting sign and wave it up. The whole motto is "we are the 99 percent." Well, that includes the people in the seats too and not just the actors."

 

Performances:

Nov. 28 - 30 at 7:30 p.m. Mago Hunt Theater

Doors open at 7 p.m.

Free