THE SLOW PACE OF CHANGE: JEANNINE GASKIN

During our May 28th rehearsal, we discussed how the seed of Our Country's Good, or the basic precept that unites the events, is "change".  As I thought about this word,I started asking myself questions: Do we really change or is our awareness for something just magnified and it looks like we have changed? Can a person be changed if their peers or society as a whole don't acknowledge or recognize them as being changed? Who are we changing for? Is change really necessary and if so, according to whom?

What I love about this play and any historical piece is finding how many behaviors and/or thoughts have NOT changed over time. Without giving too much of the play away, comments and thoughts from some of the characters include "once a convict, always a convict,"  "they were born this way," and "if they think you're a thief, you're a thief." There are people in our society that still think this way. Some are bold enough to say it to your face but the majority of the time it's hidden for fear of being judged. So I ask the question again, do we really change? 

This ensemble and I have been together since October, meeting 2 times a month. Each time I believe we've learned something new about one another during these 4 hour windows of time. Have we changed or have we just learned to be more aware in that specific setting? We have room agreements and we check in with each other before we get started. Outside of the theatre, do we apply these same rules when we are at work, out with friends, or with our partners? Or do we cross that threshold back into reality and allow all of those new ways of behaving to disappear?

The possibility of change, transformation and redemption are real: who is worth it to you?