HowlRound: Thank you so much. I am so honored, and humbled, and happy to be with you all tonight. Thank you so much to the Steinbergs for their wild, uncommon, extraordinary generosity. The reason I write plays instead of poetry is simple—it’s for actors—so I can hear them sing prose and vault it up into the ether, making it into poetry. So, thank you so much to all the actors who came tonight and performed, and to Todd London and James Bundy for speaking. Your eloquence and friendship are a gift.
2 comments:
Wow. Sarah Ruhl is one of the most eloquent speakers and writers. Last year I read "The Clean House" and saw "Eurydice" - both of which I absolutely loved. I think that often times when something happens to take us out of the here and now, the few times where we as artists are not so absorbed in our work, that the questions of Why hit. I like Ruhl's perspective, "We write because we must." Whether that is actually writing scripts and novels or being a mother, teacher, anything, we do it because we must. Everyone plays a role in our society and no matter what way the country turns or what happens, we must keep going. Her statement regarding values, I think is so important and many need to remember this now - we need to demonstrate. I believe it is most effective to do, and be the model you want to see in others. The common room is beautiful and needs to be open to everyone, completely unconditionally.
Some days I have to wonder if the arts community was somehow better equipped than the average person to respond to the outcome of the election. In a way, we have always had to exercise our power of voice to stay relevant in the eyes of many, to stay heard. But now our message is speaking to a wider audience. I am really glad for Sarah Ruhl's advice to keep working, and to stick together, and to endure, and to stay. In this climate, these often feel like the hardest things, but one can only hope that they pay off.
The thing I love about Sarah Ruhl is how reflective she is. In her plays she ruminates quite adeptly on the human condition. I am glad she reflects here in this speech on the times in her life when a choice was nearly foist upon her. Motherhood and parenthood should not be exclusionary, they never should have been. I am glad Sarah Ruhl is working to mitigate that.
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