Acting Above and Beyond Prejudice

{All photos taken by Kate Sutton.}

Note: this article was previously published in the April 2004 issue of KC Stage Magazine as a Stage Savvy column (link no longer active). I’m posting in memory of marsha morgan, who passed away last week.

marsha morgan has been dealing with prejudice for 10 years. But not exactly in the way it sounds.

In the spring of 1994, morgan (Associate Professor of the Park University Theatre Department) created a new program at Park she entitled Acting Beyond Prejudice. Funded by a grant by the Lilly Foundation, it was to help spread multiculturalism to new areas.

“The focus was to recruit and interview students in the fall who would have an interactive dialogue regarding the stereotypes they carried as well as stereotypes that have been projected onto them,” morgan says, “and to move beyond those, recondition the person to choose actions that would take them beyond their prejudicial behaviors and into more accepting and affirming ones.”

The first eight weeks of class would be the dialogue, but then the remaining part of the semester is the acting part. morgan puts together a script over the spring break, based on the dialogues in class. “They have some say as to whether they’ve been appropriately represented,” morgan says. The next four weeks are spent rehearsing it and then, morgan continues, “the last four weeks we present it in a variety of venues including public performances on campus as well as touring performances to schools and organizations that invite us to come out.”

While this is the tenth year, morgan actually had skipped last year for a variety of reasons, including needing a re-think on the direction of the class. Starting this year, the class will now only be offered every other year. Also, while the Lilly Foundation had funded it in its first year, the following productions were a part of the Park Theatre program and are considered a black box production.

“The first four years were different,” morgan says. “The first eight weeks have changed radically. We tried dismantling prejudice by discussing issues that stemmed from stereotypes. I found that it was more divisive than unifying,” morgan continues. “Issues become divisive and excuses for not seeing people as individuals.”

So, after the fourth year, morgan changed the way she approached the class and changed the focus to conflict resolution. “When you work on social interaction and conflict resolution,” morgan says, “then when you get to the more difficult parts, you can’t demonize as easily – because you’ve seen them as people. The last six years have been so much more positive and have accomplished more. I get the feeling [the graduates] have a slower inclination of making snap judgments and more likely to get behind the mask and see people for who they are.

“Early on,” morgan says, “we have a talent show. Everyone brings in their talents – either the big and noisy ones like singing or dancing or acting, or the small and quiet ones like cooking or sewing – and we present them. It’s the basis of a positive interaction – you have a sense of being with them.”

However, the class is limited to 18, and because of the nature of the class, any interested party is required to do an interview in the fall before the class.

The class is a Liberal Learning, which Park University requires three of which to graduate. Liberal Learning classes have to be multi-disciplinary, and focus on a contemporary problem or theme. As a result, morgan has gotten students from all walks of life and all different majors. She’s also gotten more than her fair share of non-actors.

“I’m used to it,” morgan says. “Because it’s just a minor, I frequently wind up working with people who have the interest or drive but no experience, and others with people with a lot of experience. I really end up working with people from both ends of the spectrum. It’s fascinating to work with people that spark when they get something. We get a lot who are terrified for various reasons, but once they perform, it changes them. It’s exciting to see people come out of their shells.”

As mentioned, part of the final four weeks is used to present it to various venues, as well as the public performances at Park University. “We’ve gone to junior highs, rural schools, inner-city schools, churches, companies – all over the place,” morgan says. Most of the external presentations are booked by word of mouth, either through the students or other faculty and staff members at Park.

The 30 to 40-minute presentation is followed by an open-dialogue session between the students and the audience. The public performances are April 15, 16, & 17 at 7:30 p.m., and are $5 (Park University students are always free of charge).