The second execution of Joan of Arc
Cancel everything. Better safe than sorry. Broadway World tells us:
Richmond Triangle Players has released the following statement announcing the cancellation of its production of “The Second Coming of Joan of Arc”, original scheduled to run in-person and streaming through October 10, 2020.
“After weeks of rehearsals and steady preparation to open our production of The Second Coming of Joan of Arc, we discovered a great number of views and opinions expressed by and endorsed on the playwright’s personal Facebook page that, after intense investigation and research, we believe to be transphobic.”
So it takes “intense investigation and research” to decide that the playwright’s opinions are transphobic? And even then it’s only their belief? And for that they think it’s worthwhile canceling a play after weeks of work by a number of people?
When have women ever been favored with this level of anxious research into possible misogyny? Ever? The most indisputable rank stinking misogyny gets dismissed with a wave of the hand, or a laugh, but perceived “transphobia” is a reason to mess with a lot of people’s work and livelihoods and artistic pleasure. It’s crazy.
This decision was not made frivolously or lightly, and comes after days of serious and thorny discussions. Our actor and creative team had put together a beautiful production that was ready to open. But now more than ever before, Richmond Triangle Players must use its leadership voice to stand in solidarity with our trans siblings, especially at a time when marginalized voices must be heard louder than before.
Unless the marginalized voices belong to women. Those can be ignored entirely, and canceled at will. The playwright, of course, is a woman, Carolyn Gage. This wouldn’t have happened if she were a man.
Staging a play is no small undertaking. It is costly, there are a lot of people involved, and a great deal of time consuming prep on the part of actors, director, designers, tech personnel, marketing people, fundraisers. There are meetings that have to be attended, rehearsals scheduled and planned, lines learned, blocking notated. It is a laborious and involved task to put a show together. There’s even this old theatrical phrase that says “the show must go on.” All of that to say that the cancelling of a show isn’t a decision made lightly.
Unless there’s an opportunity to squawk “Transphobia!!”
H/t Sackbut
At which point, Greta Christina dusted off her essay wherein she castigated the stalker-level social media trawling in search of thought crime. Right?
It’s a “Fruit of the Poisoned Tree” guideline . If at any point there’s transphobia or carelessness about detecting transphobia everything fair and good which comes after that is actually tainted and cannot be used in a court of public opinion. Even though a writer may have a thousand good ideas and support a dozen worthy causes, a gender critical view poisons everything.
I think they expect the swift fury and absolute nature of their condemnation to shame us, intimidate us, and either drive us to repentance or underground. But they’re messing with writers, activists, and other strong women used to fighting back against oppression. So we will see.
I’m already sick of hearing that phrase in relation to COVID, so I suppose it’s appropriate to use it for the other pestilence of the moment, but..
…why? Why must they be heard louder now? Jealous because coronavirus is getting all the attention? Or just another sign of a lack of original thought?
I’m renaming my ‘smart’ phone. It’s now ‘trans-smart’.
And what they fail to take into account is that, given the very wobbly nature of their claims, the swiftness and absolutism and endless spying and pointing and accusing are going to do the very opposite of what they expect.
Maybe Arthur Miller’s The Crucible would be an appropriate play to put on?
I’ll bet there was an easy compromise to be had to allow the production to run. Giving the role of Joan to a thirty-something bloke who just happens to identify as a teenaged girl, perhaps. II’m sure that no audience member would be so outright transphobic as to ask why Joan is six-foot two-inches tall, with purple hair, sporting a beard and has a voice like Brian Blessed.
So, I went to the webpage of the playwright, Carolyn Gage (it’s a side-note worth making that the press release by the theater company doesn’t even name her–apparently, gender-critical feminists are the new Voldemort), and hunted for discussion of trans issues. (After all, just because I have come to find common cause with Ophelia that much of the blather from the trans-radical activist wing is just that, doesn’t mean that every accusation of transphobia is false–people are complex, and our ways of being hateful and stupid are myriad. So before expressing concern or outrage, I usually try to do the actual investigation work.)
It took a bit, but I finally found a passage that discussed trans issues–specifically, the Bathroom Debate (emphasis mine):
This? This is the woman they are lambasting as ‘transphobic’? The only place she differs from the rhetoric of the TRAs is to put the blame for actual transphobia (assaults, hate speech, etc) directly on patriarchal society, rather than on some nebulous cabal of ultra-powerful, secretive lesbian puppetmasters. Hell, the last line I underlined even establishes common cause between masculine-appearing women and transwomen who fail to ‘pass’, in that both are subjected to additional scrutiny.
Freemage, really? That’s it? Not that I’m doubting you, but that seems so utterly bizzare. Are you sure she doesn’t discuss using trans-children’s toe bones as tooth picks or something? I had a quick search through her website myself, following your example. All I could find were examples where she identifies both tension and congruity between trans and women’s rights – especially so for masculine presenting women. Maybe allies aren’t allowed to even hint that there is an edge to the veil, let alone peek under it?