“The American Dream is dead,” chanted observers of a very unusual funeral on Wednesday, Nov. 16. Several people moved from the crowd to apprehend the corporate Fat Cat who’d murdered Democracy and the American Dream. Together they performed a citizen’s arrest, sparking the trials that ensued outside Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan on the following days.

             The play, titled "Why Isn't Anyone Helping Her?!", began with a musical American Dream, Noel Song, singing his original songs as well as some patriotic tunes. Then a mysterious figure in a suit jumped out and lunged for him. The American Dream leapt up, ran around the plaza with the man close on his heels, and darted up the street. They reemerged moments later through the plaza beside us. The Fat Cat caught the American Dream and strangled him as crowd members watched in feigned horror. Leaping to his feet, he proclaimed his victory and dashed off down the street to JPMorgan, doing a little skip on the way.

          The very next day, a man who looked suspiciously like the murderer (played by actor Alexis Baigue) married American Democracy in a forced wedding at the same location. (Criminals do tend to return to the scene of the crime, after all.) 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpHNKwlCx-M&feature=share

  That night, Democracy died mysteriously, and a funeral followed on Wednesday for both Democracy and the American Dream. The Fat Cat proclaimed, “I know that I will survive. Because I am strong. Because I am powerful. And because I am filthy, filthy rich! And sad. I am so very, very sad,” in the words of script writer and co-producer Jessica Lee.

            What was the purpose of these scenes? While entertaining, they weren’t merely for entertainment value. This collaborative endeavor, which I co-produced (writing the script for Day 2), aimed to raise awareness about the injustices plaguing our nation. The trial scene on Day 4 outside Goldman Sachs, written by journalist and co-producer Jesse Fruhwirth, outlined some of the crimes that institution committed in the name of greed. The Fat Cat’s allocution in the final scene, written by playwright Matthew Ivan Bennett, aimed to expose how the Fat Cat justified his crimes and the consequent suffering of countless people. Through the action as a whole, we aimed to make people think about the financial inequality in our nation and its rootedness in corporate crime and governmental corruption. We aimed to inspire people to look at these issues from a new perspective, particularly if the issues had seemed dry or far-away.

            Street theater has the power to expose people to a new perspective they might never have considered otherwise. It reaches them wherever they might be—on the way to lunch, walking to their car or to the store. It’s hard to ignore an impromptu performance. After all, everyone loves to come across a good story as they go about their daily routine. And if they listen to that story, they might just find it has something worthwhile to say.

             Moreover, a play can be more palatable for some than a march. Marches can make onlookers feel like outsiders, observed Jessica Lee. They’re confronted with a wall of people yelling, which may create a sense of hostility, which they potentially experience as directed at anyone outside the group marching. The hostility may not be directed at them at all, but the unconvinced may experience it as such, self-identifying as the opposition. A street performance, however, coaxes them over in a friendly way, sparking their curiosity and giving them an opportunity to become involved. In street theater, the boundary between audience and actors often breaks down so the crowd people have an active participatory role instead of passively observing. They chant, sing, and sometimes have individual scripted roles, which help them to connect more strongly with the performance. This was our aim, and we encourage this spirit of inclusion in future performances.
 
           Other Occupy groups have used street theater tactics to proclaim their message. Occupy DC and DC’s Puppet Underground paired up to produce a roving performance with poetry, puppetry, and music. Occupy Philly staged a theatrical “Die-in” at PNC Bank to protest the bank’s support of devastating environmental practices like fracking and mountaintop removal. Occupy Portland staged a dance party to block the doorway of Bank of America. And creative minds will undoubtedly continue to find novel ways to use their talents to build support for the cause. As Occupiers assert, we support a diversity of tactics, and theater is one tool that has the power to change minds as well as hearts.

             The actors, incidentally, are excited to perform the play again. Though some were nervous about performing, they believe in the educational and inspirational value of what we’ve created together. What with our camp being raided over the weekend, we had very little rehearsal time, but we decided to bring our performance to the streets regardless. Through theater, we would show that even if evicted from our camp, our movement will live on. And we hope that in occupations around the country, street theater will ensure that our message continues to resonate with more and more of the 99 percent.

To watch performances from each of the 5 days of our theater action, please visit Occupy Theater!

http://occupytheater.blogspot.com/