Stage Door News
Stage Door News
The Mennonite Church in Canada is at a crossroads. For the last six years, the national church has committed itself to an interactive, countrywide process entitled “Being a Faithful Church.” The goal: to decide whether or not they will follow the United Church's lead in welcoming and affirming the Queer community, not only in their congregations, but in leadership roles as well. The tension is palpable. Within nearly every congregation, there are congregants at lager heads. Other more unified liberal churches have gone ahead in marrying gay couples - without their conference's blessing, while conservative churches are withdrawing from these conferences in outrage. It seems that a split is inevitable, one which could see the formation of a new church.
It is this the conflict-filled backdrop that has inspired playwright Johnny Wideman to write This Will Lead to Dancing, a site-responsive, political theatre piece set to tour Mennonite churches across Ontario this fall. The title of the piece parodies the old Mennonite adage “Don't have sex standing up, it might lead to dancing,” which reflects the awkward relationship between sexuality and spirituality embodied in the Mennonite faith.
The story of the play follows two teenagers, Sam and Alex, who are sick and tired: they’re tired of their church’s exclusive stance on homosexuality, and sick due to a week-long hunger strike to protest it. But when word finally gets out, it becomes clear that their cause has struck a chord in their small Mennonite community. Crowds gather outside their church, CBC news crews swarm to follow the story, and Sam is visited by the ghost of Menno Simons (the church's founding father) who claims he has been sent to help her. Awaiting their church’s decision, Sam and Alex must decide whether sticking up for a community who has been spiritually starved is worth the risk of physically starving themselves.
“This production will be controversial in Mennonite communities,” says playwright Johnny Wideman (This Prison or: He Came Through the Floor, A Bicycle Built for Two). “But there is something naturally empathetic and compassionate about live theatre. It's an extremely vulnerable thing which has the power to disarm even the most entrenched of ideologies.” Wideman's main research was conducted through interviews with both open and closeted Mennonites within the Queer community. He hopes the play will spark conversation amidst controversy and work towards opening conservative perspectives regarding LGBTQ inclusion. Director Erin Brandenburg (BOBLO, Deceitful Above All Things, Petrichor, Detroit Time Machine) believes that “The strength of this piece is that it creates space by asking the audience to see a familiar location and argument from a different perspective. This slight shift of the familiar, this change of perspective creates a rupture in entrenched ideas and makes room for new ideas and attitudes to grow.”
So far handfuls of churches across Ontario, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan have agreed to host this site-responsive production; many have also refused. These churches hope that the play will provide their community with a catalyst for discussion.
Schedule:
KITCHENER-WATERLOO
Sept. 17, 18, 19th at Stirling Avenue Mennonite Church at 7pm.
Sept. 24th at Conrad Grebel University College, University of Waterloo at 7pm.
TORONTO
Oct. 15, 16, 17th at Toronto United Mennonite Church at 7pm.
MARKHAM/STOUFFVILLE
Oct. 23rd at Community Mennonite Church Stouffville at 7pm. Oct. 24th at Rouge Valley Mennonite Church at 7pm.
Seating for these productions is limited. Please RSVP in advance at production@theatreofthebeat.com.
ON-LINE RESOURCES http://theatreofthebeat.ca/this-will-lead-to-dancing/
2015-09-09
Toronto: Theatre of the Beat tours Mennonite churches across Canada to encourage LGBTQ inclusion