Orlando joins theater event on gun violence
Orlando will join nearly 80 cities across the United States this weekend in hosting a reading of the new play “Natural Shocks” as part of nationwide campaign against gun violence.
The movement was spearheaded by Lauren Gunderson, the country’s most produced playwright in 2017, who will read her work in her hometown of San Francisco. In Orlando, Susan Turner and Margaret Nolan, who runs Kangagirl Productions, are presenting the play tonight. It will be followed by a candlelight vigil.
David Lee, winner of the Orlando Fringe’s Lifetime Achievement Award, will direct 13 of the best-known actresses in Central Florida for the one-night-only presenta-
tion at Orlando Repertory Theatre in Loch Haven Park, north of downtown. Proceeds will benefit Everytown for Gun Safety/ Moms Demand Action, which advocates for what the group terms “common-sense gun reforms.”
“To motivate someone to do something, that’s the key,” said Lee of the theater action. “If one person who comes joins those organizations or donates to them, it’s worth it.”
Theater is the perfect place to make an impact, said Andrea Halperin, a former actress who helped organize the Orlando chapter of Moms Demand Action.
“It’s like when you hear a survivor speak,” she said. “It’s that emotionally connected experience. There’s nothing like that.”
Local performers jumped at the chance to participate, Lee said.
For some, it was personal.
Kristal Jones still gets emotional remembering a traumatic incident from her teen years: A black family friend was gunned down by a former Ku Klux Klan member in a racial attack, leaving two small girls without a dad.
“It’s a story I’ve held onto for a long time,” said the Orlando actress. “It comes back every time I hear about another AfricanAmerican getting shot, or any time I see anything about gun violence I think of that.”
The killing, in a Tampa suburb, shattered her innocent view of the world.
“You hear it over and over,” Jones said. “People say, ‘That can’t happen to people I know.’ But it can.”
Gun violence is of interest to playwrights. Students at Seminole State College in Sanford just finished staging “First Person Shooter” by Don Zolidis. Playwrights’ Round Table in Orlando is presenting the world premiere of John Bavoso’s “Blight,” about the lead-up to and the aftermath of a mass shooting.
Gunderson said she was inspired by student activism after the February school shooting in Parkland that left 17 people dead.
“I saw how brave and tireless and convincing these kids were in saying ‘no more gun violence,’ ” she said. “And then I read that the most vocal of them were theater kids.”
Gunderson, whose works such as “I and You” and “Silent Sky” have been seen at Orlando’s Mad Cow Theatre, made “Natural Shocks” available without charge to any theater group that would use it to advance the conversation on gun violence. Actors’ Equity Association, the union of performers and stage managers, allowed its members to work on the project for free.
Orlando is one of four Florida cities to host a production, according to the project’s official website, naturalshocks.org. The others are North Palm Beach, Jacksonville and Gainesville.
As “Natural Shocks” opens, a chatty, quirky woman is hiding in her home.
“This woman has locked herself in the basement because a storm is coming,” Lee said. “But the storm turns out to be not as literal as the audience thinks.”
Lee got special permission from Gunderson to have 13 performers embody the solitary, unnamed woman. He deliberately chose women of different ages, races and physical type — though they will wear similar clothing to convey the idea they are all the same person.
Halperin said the unusual casting would send a strong and important message.
“You have this representation,” she said. “So many different people are affected by guns. This shows we’re all one.”
Using 13 actors cuts down on the emotional toll that a single performer would have to endure, Lee said. He thinks the audience will respond well.
“When you pick people like Peg O’Keef, Marty Stonerock, Meghan Maroney, Sarah Mathews, Beth Marshall — they’re going to show up and deliver,” he said.
After the 65-minute play, the public is invited to the candlelight vigil honoring all gun-violence victims. It will be low-key, Lee said, with a few reflections and a moment of silence. Candles will be available, though participants are invited to bring their own.
Halperin said the play hits home.
“This is the way to get people to care,” she said. “That’s what theater can do.”