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Thursday, February 07, 2019
New York Theater Preview: Off-Broadway Is About to Get F**ked Up
Observer: Brooklyn playwright Rehana Lew Mirza “got all the way through the alphabet” when her son was born two-and-a-half years ago, searching, she said, “for a name with meaning.” She and her husband chose Zayden, for “little fire” and “abundance.”
This is a really interesting perspective to take on curse words. Dropping the F-Bomb in theatrical pieces is still somewhat taboo, which I think is hilarious considering that most people use curse words casually in their everyday lives. If theatre is supposed to represent the people, then why don’t plays reflect that in their language. I think a lot of the plays mentioned in this article are very successful shows. I think that the curse words in them are just words we’re not used to seeing onstage. These performances are pioneering and normalizing the casual vernacular of our generation. I think these plays also play into the idea of “code switching” which is very prevalent in our society. However, it’s hilarious that The New York Times and other more “reputable” sources are unwilling to publish these play titles due to them being “unprintable” for audiences. That’s a little disappointing and I don’t really think that newspapers should care about using curse words when their reputation will not be damaged by telling audiences the title of a production.
When I participated in theatre festivals in middle and high school, one of the primary rules was no “f” words. Other swear words were advised against, but permitted, which always seemed a little ironic to me. I understand the reasoning, as we were under 18, but it doesn’t make as much sense for the professional world. Theatre often deals with serious, heavy topics of death, illness, murder, suicide, and more, but the vernacular of our daily lives is what must be censored? Tori Sampson’s comment about playwright’s “words [being] very intentional” exemplifies a major tenant of theatrical practice. The reason line notes and fines for incorrect lines are so important is not only for cueing reasons. The playwright has intentionally and meticulously placed each word in the best fashion to convey a certain message or meaning. This begs the question of, why doesn’t this concept apply to the titles as well?
The issues brought up in this article are really interesting and thing I had never really thought about before. I had not realized that using profanity in titles that will be advertised would cause such an issue for playwrights and their publicists. I am a little disappointed that these play titles get censored so much for the benefit of some of the intended audience. I believe that these words that get censored should get treated just like any other and, because they are a part of a title, they have so much importance and should not be altered. By altering these individual words, the meaning of the entire play title is changed, in ways that the playwright may not have intended. Words have an impact and a meaning that changes if the word is altered or if it placed in new context. When something is as important as a play title, giving the audience the first impression of the work, I think the words should be formatted as the playwright desires, as long as they are aware of the implications of what they are publicizing.
I also think this article presents a very interesting view on swearing in theatre. The biggest take away I found from this article was when they were talking about how every word a playwright uses is intentional, so censoring them or making them change their words can in some ways completely change the play, especially when those changes are done to the title of the work. Like Sircus said in the article, the title is the first thing the audience interacts with, so that title is very intentional, it sets the audience up for what is to come for the entire show. It draws them in and makes them excited about what they are about to see. I definitely agree with Ella that it Is crazy that using curse words in theatre is still such a taboo thing. It seems less taboo to have a curse word in a play, so why does having these words in the title become such a problem. The audience should know what they are getting into and having these words in the title probably sets up a good idea of the nature of the play itself.
As one who curses a lot and curses often, I do not understand the big deal with curse words in titles. The only argument I do understand is the one to be cautious for children, but i believe that should apply to every single word you use. A curse word has power and emotion built into it as does every word you say. As you age and use more and more words in your lifetime you understand the influence behind each of them. Children are still learning what the words mean; I do not think they need to be protected but I think they need to be introduced words with context which written writing does not always provide especially when it is just a title. I think that media needs to be less afraid to call things what they are. I don’t think they should just start throwing words around, but a title is a title and its censored or uncensored on purpose and that title is the work of the playwright and should be respected as such.
I actually disagree with the previous comments, to me I see the positives in “taboo” because the goal of a curse word is to have some effect, pack a punch, but you can’t do that if it's too normalised. They are words used for enfasis. I also don’t like the idea of advertising in public places with children around. Because weather it should change or not having your 6 year old being exposed to swearing is still considered a bad thing. It’s a similar thing to clean versions on the radio and beeping out language on television. Also even though “the youth” uses this language on an everyday basis, my grandmother (well one of them) wouldn’t be caught dead uttering curse words and I wonder if we can really consider curse words to be okay with everyone. And when your advertising a how that is (hopefully) gonna be big and be plastered on billboards everywhere it doesn’t seem appropriate to use profanity.
In a world of emotional and verbally expressive artists, it is no wonder that the off-Broadway theatre world (and the theatre world at large) has a tendency towards profanity. It is a marked use of expression, and despite the argument for a lack of marketability, I think it can draw an audience’s attention immediately. It is a bold decision for a title, so we remember it and want to know what it’s about. Perhaps if the show will continue to sprinkle strong language throughout, there should naturally be a content warning for the audience. But aside from that, what are we really protecting ourselves from by not printing the title of a play because it contains one curse word? Is the entire play about profanity, or is it a story about identity and real people and their lives? The latter is the reality of the plays that were listed in the article, and I have a hard time believing that we can justify not sharing those stories for the sake of sterile advertising.
This article is interesting in the way that it explores the use of swear words in theater, specifically in the titles of shows. I think what the author said about the value of words is very interesting—words make up the theater and the ones used are meant to make you feel a certain way. A play cannot make you feel a certain way if it’s being censored (a big problem I hated in high school). As Sampson said: “I’m a playwright, my words are very intentional.” When I was in high school, we did a lot of Neil Simon plays, and many of them utilized a lot of swearing. We would get limitations from our head of school about which swear words we could actually say, and then have to write to Neil Simon about our proposed changes. He almost always responded by saying that the play had to be done in the original way it was written, or he would sue. This always caused a lot of issues for us as a high school, but I understand where he is coming from. A playwright writes certain words to create certain feelings. By censoring their work, you’re preventing the audience from feeling certain emotions.
8 comments:
This is a really interesting perspective to take on curse words. Dropping the F-Bomb in theatrical pieces is still somewhat taboo, which I think is hilarious considering that most people use curse words casually in their everyday lives. If theatre is supposed to represent the people, then why don’t plays reflect that in their language. I think a lot of the plays mentioned in this article are very successful shows. I think that the curse words in them are just words we’re not used to seeing onstage. These performances are pioneering and normalizing the casual vernacular of our generation. I think these plays also play into the idea of “code switching” which is very prevalent in our society. However, it’s hilarious that The New York Times and other more “reputable” sources are unwilling to publish these play titles due to them being “unprintable” for audiences. That’s a little disappointing and I don’t really think that newspapers should care about using curse words when their reputation will not be damaged by telling audiences the title of a production.
When I participated in theatre festivals in middle and high school, one of the primary rules was no “f” words. Other swear words were advised against, but permitted, which always seemed a little ironic to me. I understand the reasoning, as we were under 18, but it doesn’t make as much sense for the professional world. Theatre often deals with serious, heavy topics of death, illness, murder, suicide, and more, but the vernacular of our daily lives is what must be censored? Tori Sampson’s comment about playwright’s “words [being] very intentional” exemplifies a major tenant of theatrical practice. The reason line notes and fines for incorrect lines are so important is not only for cueing reasons. The playwright has intentionally and meticulously placed each word in the best fashion to convey a certain message or meaning. This begs the question of, why doesn’t this concept apply to the titles as well?
The issues brought up in this article are really interesting and thing I had never really thought about before. I had not realized that using profanity in titles that will be advertised would cause such an issue for playwrights and their publicists. I am a little disappointed that these play titles get censored so much for the benefit of some of the intended audience. I believe that these words that get censored should get treated just like any other and, because they are a part of a title, they have so much importance and should not be altered. By altering these individual words, the meaning of the entire play title is changed, in ways that the playwright may not have intended. Words have an impact and a meaning that changes if the word is altered or if it placed in new context. When something is as important as a play title, giving the audience the first impression of the work, I think the words should be formatted as the playwright desires, as long as they are aware of the implications of what they are publicizing.
I also think this article presents a very interesting view on swearing in theatre. The biggest take away I found from this article was when they were talking about how every word a playwright uses is intentional, so censoring them or making them change their words can in some ways completely change the play, especially when those changes are done to the title of the work. Like Sircus said in the article, the title is the first thing the audience interacts with, so that title is very intentional, it sets the audience up for what is to come for the entire show. It draws them in and makes them excited about what they are about to see. I definitely agree with Ella that it Is crazy that using curse words in theatre is still such a taboo thing. It seems less taboo to have a curse word in a play, so why does having these words in the title become such a problem. The audience should know what they are getting into and having these words in the title probably sets up a good idea of the nature of the play itself.
As one who curses a lot and curses often, I do not understand the big deal with curse words in titles. The only argument I do understand is the one to be cautious for children, but i believe that should apply to every single word you use. A curse word has power and emotion built into it as does every word you say. As you age and use more and more words in your lifetime you understand the influence behind each of them. Children are still learning what the words mean; I do not think they need to be protected but I think they need to be introduced words with context which written writing does not always provide especially when it is just a title. I think that media needs to be less afraid to call things what they are. I don’t think they should just start throwing words around, but a title is a title and its censored or uncensored on purpose and that title is the work of the playwright and should be respected as such.
I actually disagree with the previous comments, to me I see the positives in “taboo” because the goal of a curse word is to have some effect, pack a punch, but you can’t do that if it's too normalised. They are words used for enfasis. I also don’t like the idea of advertising in public places with children around. Because weather it should change or not having your 6 year old being exposed to swearing is still considered a bad thing. It’s a similar thing to clean versions on the radio and beeping out language on television. Also even though “the youth” uses this language on an everyday basis, my grandmother (well one of them) wouldn’t be caught dead uttering curse words and I wonder if we can really consider curse words to be okay with everyone. And when your advertising a how that is (hopefully) gonna be big and be plastered on billboards everywhere it doesn’t seem appropriate to use profanity.
In a world of emotional and verbally expressive artists, it is no wonder that the off-Broadway theatre world (and the theatre world at large) has a tendency towards profanity. It is a marked use of expression, and despite the argument for a lack of marketability, I think it can draw an audience’s attention immediately. It is a bold decision for a title, so we remember it and want to know what it’s about. Perhaps if the show will continue to sprinkle strong language throughout, there should naturally be a content warning for the audience. But aside from that, what are we really protecting ourselves from by not printing the title of a play because it contains one curse word? Is the entire play about profanity, or is it a story about identity and real people and their lives? The latter is the reality of the plays that were listed in the article, and I have a hard time believing that we can justify not sharing those stories for the sake of sterile advertising.
This article is interesting in the way that it explores the use of swear words in theater, specifically in the titles of shows. I think what the author said about the value of words is very interesting—words make up the theater and the ones used are meant to make you feel a certain way. A play cannot make you feel a certain way if it’s being censored (a big problem I hated in high school). As Sampson said: “I’m a playwright, my words are very intentional.” When I was in high school, we did a lot of Neil Simon plays, and many of them utilized a lot of swearing. We would get limitations from our head of school about which swear words we could actually say, and then have to write to Neil Simon about our proposed changes. He almost always responded by saying that the play had to be done in the original way it was written, or he would sue. This always caused a lot of issues for us as a high school, but I understand where he is coming from. A playwright writes certain words to create certain feelings. By censoring their work, you’re preventing the audience from feeling certain emotions.
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