Taproot Gets Diversity Points
Faith Russell, Amy Love, Casi Wilkerson, and Nikki Visel in Brownie Points by Janece Shaffer. Photo by Erik Stuhaug. Courtesy Taproot Theatre Company
"I don’t even think it’s a race thing but people of different races can’t hate each other without it being about race," says Nicole in Janece Shaffer's play Brownie Points enjoying its west coast premiere at Taproot Theatre.
I'm glad the playwright brought up this question through one of her characters, because I was wondering the same thing right from the first moment of this play. Brownie Points is a story of five women who've come to a cabin in the woods for an overnight camping trip with 14 first grade girls, including their daughters. As the play moves along, we discover one of them is a very successful doctor, another is divorced, the third has a disabled son back home and so on - but the first thing that we discover about these mothers is that three of them are Caucasian, and two are African American. Of course this is visually obvious looking at the actresses playing the five mothers, but more than that, the playwright seems determined to make this play about race first, and about anything else second.
The first argument is sparked by the division of chores between the five mothers - three of them (all white) end up going out on a hike with the girls, while the two black women are assigned kitchen responsibilities to prepare the vegetables for the stew that the girls would prepare after the hike. Was the act of leaving the two black women to work the kitchen deliberate, and perhaps racist, or was it a simple oversight? The playwright rightfully leaves the answer ambiguous. However the play doesn't spend a moment longer than it needs to, before it becomes about racial conflict and prejudices - and unfortunately not in a way we haven't already seen before.
Perhaps it's because I didn't grow up in this country, or may be it's just a personal choice I make - but when I find someone being rude to me, I don't jump to the conclusion that they're being racist. My first thought is that they're not a very nice person.
On the other hand, there are things that we do as a society that don't seem driven by color, creed or religion, but unintentionally, it is our racial or cultural background that determines the choices we make. Brownie Points makes a reference to "Flesh toned" Band-Aids - and how they are barely visible on the legs of the white girls, but stick out glaringly against darker skin. "Flesh toned—whose flesh?" asks Sue. “Not theirs,” responds Nicole.
Similarly, it never occurred to me growing up in a secular India that the red cross on ambulances or first aid kits was a Christian symbol. I always saw it just as a mark of medical assistance. It never occurred to me that it was a Christian symbol until I saw the red crescent on ambulances in Muslim countries. That's when I realized that the British, perhaps wittingly perhaps not, left the overwhelmingly non-christian country of India with a visual vocabulary used by a predominantly Christian Europe.
This level of subtle insensitivity can be very frustrating for those on the receiving end, though completely unintentional, and perceived to be harmless by those who end up 'perpetrating' it.
Does calling a Christmas tree a 'Holiday Tree', or displaying menorahs around public spaces make the United States more secular or a more welcoming society for non-Christians during Christmas? I don't think it does - it just ruins Christmas season for those who celebrate it. On the other hand, does celebrating Kwanzaa and Diwali in schools make our children more tolerant and aware of other cultures that surround us? I believe it helps.
Diversity and multiculturalism is tricky business. The numerical majority is always expected to walk the fine line of being sensitive but not patronizing. The numerical minority has to rise above the challenge of being more than just their race, ethnicity or religion. Taproot Theatre is making a brave attempt to initiate a discussion about diversity via this production of Brownie Points - in a city that was perhaps surprised by its ‘whiteness’ in the most recent census. This is a very welcome sign, especially in the light of the recent attempts at Intiman to bring issues of diversity to the forefront, and the apparent resistance to that effort that also subsequently came to light. I wish the piece they had chosen for this conversation was something new or fresh - perhaps a different take on an old but persistent issue, instead of a play that feels dated and a couple of decades old.
There is a difference between seeing people of varying backgrounds as just people living their lives while celebrating the differences, and seeing people of varying backgrounds only as people of varying backgrounds. Our society can not make progress in getting comfortable with its diversity if we keep seeing each other as our race, color, creed or religion first and anything else second.
Taproot’s current production features Karen Ann Daniels, Amy Love, Faith Russell, Nikki Visel and Casi Wilkerson, all of whom give solid performances and have great chemistry on stage. The play is directed by Karen Lund, with design support from Mark Lund, Sarah Burch Gordon and Jody Briggs.
Wednesday-Thursday, 7:30 pm; Friday-Saturday, 8:00 pm; Saturday matinee, 2:00 pm through June 18 // Taproot Theatre Company, 204 N. 85th Street, Seattle // $20 - $35
