Brian on The Art of the Unknown
Sunday, November 02, 2014 Filed in: Voices from the Group
Bridging the Gap is featuring blog posts from our group members to give an inside view of what it's like to be part of the project. This post is written by Brain, a member of Bridging the Gap since 2012. You can see a pictures of him in our productions of Food for Thought and The Quest for Love above. Enjoy!by Brian Frank
I’m 24 years old and I guess you can call me one of the “old” young people in this ensemble as this is my third year with Bridging the Gap. I joined this project in 2012, after a recruiting session at the LGBT Center’s YES Program (Youth Enrichment Services). I was drawn to this project because it was an opportunity to get involved with theatre. Theatre has always been a huge passion of mine, so if any chance to stretch my acting wings and develop skills on a stage came along, I was going to jump on it. However, I soon discovered this would be a unique experience, one that I never expected to come my way.
The concept of using theatre to bridge generation gaps between the young and old is nothing new. But the idea of theatre bridging the generation gap specifically in the LGBT community is something I never gave much thought. As a gay 20-something, my upbringing and coming out has had its hardships, but thanks to the advancements of the law and positive changes in the social perceptions of LGBT people over the last few years, it has been open and relatively smooth.
When I joined my fellow young people in Bridging the Gap for the first time, there was an air of excitement; the sky was the limit when it came to creating an original theatre piece. But for the older members of this project, most of whom grew up before Stonewall and also saw firsthand the rise and horrors of the AIDS epidemic, I remember sensing in them an air of reservation about what the finished product would look like. All of these perceptions completely vanished by the time we got to the performance and presented our original theatre piece. We all came together and our creative influences and perceptions contributed to what we eventually presented that chilly December afternoon at the LGBT Center. I’ve noticed when the returning members come back each year, their open and excited minds that developed through this project remain and all our new members undergo a similar experience to what we did our first time out on this adventure.
I soon realized that it was, what I like to call, “the art of the unknown” that has led me to come back each year to Bridging the Gap. None of us, not even our brilliant directors, know what we will perform when we get together for the first time. Only after several weeks of games, improvisations, and exercises do we begin to see the pieces come together and a show begins to build. The last two years we did this, we built on a unifying theme we saw cropping up during our first few sessions. It led to two hilarious yet informative shows. So far, I’ve played a same-sex newlywed, a homophobic district attorney, and a metamorphic minion. This year we are approaching the project a bit differently and so far, it’s getting more exciting by the day. I won’t say what we’re doing or what kind of characters you can expect to see; I must leave a bit of mystery there so you’ll have no choice but to come see our finished show. I will say that I can’t wait to see what new surprises lay in store for us as an ensemble.
I soon realized that it was, what I like to call, “the art of the unknown” that has led me to come back each year to Bridging the Gap. None of us, not even our brilliant directors, know what we will perform when we get together for the first time. Only after several weeks of games, improvisations, and exercises do we begin to see the pieces come together and a show begins to build. The last two years we did this, we built on a unifying theme we saw cropping up during our first few sessions. It led to two hilarious yet informative shows. So far, I’ve played a same-sex newlywed, a homophobic district attorney, and a metamorphic minion. This year we are approaching the project a bit differently and so far, it’s getting more exciting by the day. I won’t say what we’re doing or what kind of characters you can expect to see; I must leave a bit of mystery there so you’ll have no choice but to come see our finished show. I will say that I can’t wait to see what new surprises lay in store for us as an ensemble.
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