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Saying It Like It Is

written by Kathryn Blumefor Venus Rising Magazine

Sagittarius 08 & Honest Self Expression Issue

“Kathryn Blume is Al Gore on crack. With red hair. And a uterus.” 

I’ve been called a lot of things in my years as an actor and activist: A quirky Sarah Jessica Parker. A commie pinko. A hopium toker. Adorable.

You’ve got to figure with reactions like that, you must at least be getting someone’s attention. The paradox of doing politically-oriented theater, which also strives to be high quality art, is that you’re trying to get someone’s attention without looking like you are. You’re trying to encourage your audience to be mindful of a relevant issue by telling a story so good, they won’t be consciously aware that you’re trying to teach them something.

Is this a challenge for me? Absolutely. But it is also deeply exciting when the balance is just right. In my work as a solo performer, that means treating the gravest of issues – the Iraq war and global warming - with a comedic hand, but an honest heart. I’ve learned that if you can make people laugh, particularly at your own expense, then you can get away with saying pretty much anything – especially if you’re open and truthful.

The value of creating that kind of space for honesty is that an artist can end up saying something her audience was perhaps thinking, but hadn’t spoken aloud. They might not even have been willing to admit it to themselves.

Kathryn Blume in "The Boycott" officeFor example, in my current show, The Boycott, the farcical story of the First Lady of the U.S. launching a nationwide sex strike to combat global warming, is interwoven with my personal account of writing the show, and struggling with the emotional impact of living on a planet in serious peril. I’ve had many audience members tell me that they feel the same kind of despair and fear for the future of the world that I talk about in my show, but they’ve never expressed it to anyone else. It’s a relief and a lessening of pressure to hear someone else acknowledge those feelings in public.

Kathryn receives message from GandhiI've also discovered the imperative of leaving your audience with a concrete sense of hope and possibility. Intractable as many problems can seem, if you can give someone even a glimmer that the work they need to do will have an impact, give them a sense of a shred of effectiveness, it’s amazing what they can set their passions to and accomplish.

I feel my job is to say to people “Here is the truth of how things are. Now this is how it can be. This is the world we can create and we are capable of making it happen."

I don’t mean to sound Pollyannaish with these ideas – nor am I speaking from a place of mere theory. I’ve been convinced of what the arts can achieve since my experience as Co-Founder of the Lysistrata Project. In early 2003, right before the U.S. attacked Iraq, my friend Sharron Bower and I organized over 1000 readings of the ancient Greek anti-war comedy Lysistrata in 59 countries and all 50 U.S. states. 

Lysistrata reading, St. Louis, MOThe act of reading a play as an act of protest was important, because it gave people who were disinclined to march in the streets or write letters to the editor or call their congressperson a means of expressing themselves in a way which felt both pointed and playful, but still entirely non-confrontational. "Lysistrata Project" participants also felt their voice multiplied exponentially by their awareness of thousands of other people doing exactly the same thing at exactly the same time. And, it was flat-out fun - something activists aren’t usually associated with.

Both immediately afterward and in the years since, I’ve had the great fortune to hear from numerous participants, many of whom spoke of their participation in terms of re-validating their artistic careers – or, more specifically, that it renewed their sense of relevance as artists. And I’ve been hearing a lot more discussion lately in academic circles, conferences, and activist groups, about the vital role that the arts can play in galvanizing people to awareness and action.

Kathryn as frogI think it’s actually that leap from awareness to action that is really the crux of the issue when it comes to solving the world’s problems. Many people know what’s going on, but far fewer actually do something about it. That participation gap is a serious problem; a product of overwhelm, inertia, and despair, which are very challenging hurdles to overcome. I’ve discovered that entertaining people, helping them laugh into the void, is one of the quickest, most meaningful ways to bridge the gap.

And while my ego wants to reach everyone and save everything (and, yes, get a few rewards and accolades in the process), in reality, that is not possible. Sometimes you can only touch a few people here and there, and the fact is you probably won't ever know who you touched or how you touched them. Most of what artists and activists do is a giant leap of faith.

I also don’t think anyone should ever worry about preaching to the choir. Even people who are totally committed to a cause can get depressed, burned out, or scared. Everyone needs to be cheered up and cheered on every once in a while. Or, as the actress Alfre Woodard put it, “Even the choir needs a good hymn.”

For more information about Kathy Blume's one-woman show, The Boycott, Please visit  www.theboycottplay.com. Venus Rising Magazine highly recommends it!

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