Strategies

Bees in Audience Bonnets

How a theatre is turning play readings into springboards of discussion

by Eliza Bent

THE CHALLENGE

When theatre really does its job, an audience buzzes afterward. I recently saw Sarah Kane’s Blasted at New York City’s Soho Rep where, after the applause concluded, a palpable electrical current seemed to run throughout the crowd. Strangers exchanged “wows” and expressions of stupefaction over what they had just seen. Over burgers and french fries, my companion and I continued to talk about the ideas and questions this provocative play had posed. I can only imagine other patrons did the same.

Sometimes theatregoers have an urgent need to compare notes. At Geva Theatre Center in Rochester, N.Y., Marge Betley, literary manager and resident dramaturg, and Skip Greer, director of education and artist in residence, noticed these kinds of conversations popping up with thought- provoking shows such as 9 Parts of Desire and Doubt. “It was clear to us that our audience was hungry to talk about current ethical and political topics—and move beyond the spin of entrenched positions—and that theatre was the perfect venue for such conversation,” Betley says. Geva needed a forum for discussion.

THE PLAN

Most play-reading series are aimed at play development. But last year, Betley and Greer began the Hornets’ Nest—a reading series not connected to Geva’s producing schedule but designed to foster audience discussion with an invited group of experts. “The idea here is just to use play readings as a springboard for conversation,” Greer says. Betley and Greer chose three idea-packed plays. To advertise the program they sent out around 3,500 postcards announcing that 180 Hornets’ Nest spots were available in the company’s second space. The postcards gave sparse information. “Rather than a play synopsis, we presented one of the primary questions it poses,” Betley says. These teasers included such scintillating queries as: “How much personal liberty are you willing to sacrifice in exchange for safety?” (for Yussef El Guindi’s Back of the Throat); “Who has the right to tell someone else’s story, especially someone from a historically persecuted background?” (Thomas Gibbons’s Bee-luther-hatchee); and “What role do you play in enabling school violence?” (Dan Dietz’s The Sandreckoner). Interested parties had to reserve their free seats. “We overbook, like the airlines, and have a waiting list,” Betley says.

Hornets’ Nest readings, preceded by a five-hour rehearsal, commence at 7 p.m., followed by a 10-minute break before the audience reconvenes for an hour of debate with a team of what Greer and Betley call “instigators”—experts drawn from the Rochester community. For example, Back of the Throat instigators included retired Major General John Batiste, former New York state senator Rick Dollinger and State University of New York professor of Islamic studies Dr. Salahuddin Malik. For an upcoming reading of Neighborhood 3: Requisition of Doom, by Jennifer Haley, the Hornets’ Nest will draw on Rochester Institute of Technology’s video gaming and design department. “The script tends to shout at you who should come in,” Greer says. “We try to keep it lively,” Betley chimes in. “It’s not a talking heads panel.” Greer adds, “We tell them, ‘If you’re sitting in the audience wondering if what you want to say is too incendiary, then that’s what needs to be said.’”

KEY PLAYERS

The entire Geva company has embraced the events, but the audience itself proves central to every Hornets’ Nest evening, all of which so far have been fully booked. “I believe we’ll continue to see that there is a core group,” Betley says. Actors are drawn from around the country as well as from the Rochester community. “We have budgeted about two ‘travel roles’ per reading,” Greer explains.

WHAT WORKED

“We’ve really played matchmaker,” Betley says with a laugh. She notes that the leaders of the University of Rochester’s Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence, St. Mary Church’s Downtown Community Forum and the Baobab Cultural Center had never met until their paths crossed at the Hornets’ Nest. “These three organizations are now talking to each other about partnering up in the future,” Betley says. Added perks for Geva? “Last year we introduced a VIP night with a pre-show cocktail reception, and many Hornets’ Nesters came,” Greer says. “In addition, many people have made generous contributions to the Hornets’ Nest—and we’ve seen new audience members there who haven’t been at Geva shows before this initiative.”

WHAT DIDN'T

“In the beginning I didn’t think the conversations really went far enough,” Betley admits. She recalls a local radio personality who stood up one evening and proclaimed, “This is great, but what we have here is the choir.” As a result, Greer and Betley have tried to focus on drawing a multi-partisan crowd with diverse points of view. So far no debate has gotten out of hand. “This is kind of the opposite of ‘The Jerry Springer show,’” Greer jokes. “We can stand side by side and talk about a piece of art and explore it together.” Many audience members have voiced the desire to act on ideas generated in Hornets’ Nest conversations. “That is a big question for us this year,” Betley says. “How do we as a theatre encourage action? Politically we cannot espouse a certain view, yet we do want to encourage people to be active.” (It’s worth noting that Rochester has a strong streak of historical activism; it was home to Frederick Douglass and Susan B. Anthony.)

WHAT'S NEXT

This season the Hornets’ Nest will expand to four plays, and Greer and Betley believe they will remain in the 180-seat theatre as opposed to the Geva mainstage space. “The intimacy and fluidity of these evenings would really be hampered in a larger venue,” Betley acknowledges. They have discussed putting portions of the debates on radio or posting clips on YouTube, the town hall of the Internet. “We see a growing perception of Geva as a town hall,” Betley says. “We’re moving toward more community engagement on an institutional level.”