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Theater: My 2 Cents, Musicals for a Penny~The Queer Witch Conspiracy - a Zoom Meeting performance
(You should be aware that Musical Theater must achieve fantastical heights to get more than a penny from me!)
By Jacquie Wolf
arttimesjournal July 17, 2021
Like so many of us I have hunkered down during the pandemic and eschewed the pleasures of live theater. I was lured out of my isolation by The Queer Witch Conspiracy as I am the afore mentioned, and because the Zoom format was reportedly part of the play’s design.
Unlike the physical theater I merely had to finish my home cooked dinner and turn on my laptop. At 8:20 I exclaimed “Oh shit!” (I’d forgotten the 8pm start time). I quickly followed the Zoom invitation and, amid my pod’s conversation about what I was doing and why, I was admitted without having been muted! I noticed this after 10 seconds or so when I saw the note that the moderator had muted me. Sorry ☹
I was thrown into a livestreaming Zoom performance. A Facebook group of witches of various disciplines and traditions were mid argument about appropriating cultural traditions and who was permitted to do what. Pala (she wolf/they/them), played by Jon L Peacock, presented as a softer, inclusive energy but was vehemently opposed to borrowing from traditions that are not legitimately inherited. The 7 being cast, most with alternate pronouns, continued to malign one another. Willow (she/her), played by Weronika Helena Wozniak , finds herself defending the use of the word smudging, a Native American cleansing ritual, rather than “smoke cleansing”. The conversation devolves as the characters try mightily to be as aware and considerate of the evolution and ancestry of all, while demeaning one another for their tightly held beliefs and traditions, regardless of origin. Asriel, (he/they), played by William Ketter referred to the unnamed Gerald Gardner’s traitorous appropriation (to put it mildly) of Witchcraft from England to the US and suggested that he did it to get laid. They continued to malign one another for anything they could think of.
Much of the devolution hinged on a prior meeting in which a member divulged that they were collecting “loose” human bones from a graveyard to use in ritual, and which meeting was posted by an unidentified member to Instagram, a public forum, The bone thief, Jadis (they/them), played by Brandon Walker, also the playwright, is being persecuted by the public as a result, and investigated by the authorities. The group administrators, feeling violated by the public posting, shut the group meeting down.
Subsequent scenes created a “chase” dynamic of trying to determine the truth of the accusation along with the consequences to the accused in their flight. Nas (he/him), played by Juanes Montoya, during a very long interview, lectures on the various ways that assumptions and ignorance are the weapons of the “mainstream”.
A fun result of the Zoom format was as Pala attempted to pull up a poll for all those in attendance to vote (yes, the meeting members/viewers get to vote!) on the fate of Jadis, they had difficulty getting the technology to cooperate. Watching Pala peer at the screen while trying to get the poll to open was perfect, both real and a seamless part of the performance.
This piece is quickly paced, didactic and dogmatic. The multiplicity of the characters allows you to feel represented, defended and attacked. The play brings to life the struggle we will face if we choose to be as inclusive and aware as possible, and I must say that it is an accurate portrayal of both the diversity of the Craft and conflicts we well intentioned folks find ourselves in the midst of. With the best of intentions, a well-placed word and deed has thrown this group into chaos. The play does not offer the answers to how we can still maintain, support, and celebrate our diversity, but it does point out how easy it is to get sidetracked. Goddess I hope we can do better!
p.s. I did catch the part I missed on a YouTube recording.
For My 2 Cents, Zoom performances may have a place in the theater. The actors gave solid, earnest performances, though many were not yet off book. I suppose being able to read your lines from the screen while playing to the screen is a benefit of Zoom. Exposure to other experiences can only be a good thing, see it, you don’t even have to leave the house!
The Seeing Place is an actor-driven social justice ensemble dedicated to exploring the intersection between the actor's voice and the playwright's words, by reinterpreting masterful works live and in the moment to make them relevant, visceral, truthful, and accessible to a modern audience.