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The U.S. Torture Program in Drama and Dialogue

Posted By Karen Malpede On February 10, 2012 @ 4:54 pm In Media & Arts,United States | 1 Comment

What is the connection between theater, democracy, and human rights? I’m a playwright who has struggled with these issues for 30 years. Usually, my plays are surrounded by talk-backs and dialogues with intellectuals and activists involved in the issues the plays raise--the human costs of the Holocaust, the Bosnian war, the invasion of Iraq, for instance. I came to feel I had to write a play about the U.S. torture program, but for a long time, although I could not stop reading about torture, I did not know how to do so.

When Another Life [1] is presented at the Irondale Center [1], March 8-24, it will be accompanied by A Festival of Conscience [2], the most ambitious combination of theater and discourse that our company, Theater Three Collaborative [3], has yet attempted. Before or after each performance, there will be talks by people whose work for justice and truth influenced the creation of the play.

Darius Rejali, author of Torture and Democracy, appears opening night. Other speakers include Mark Danner, who wrote the Red Cross torture report with detailed description of Abu Zubaydah’s waterboarding; lawyer Susan Burke, who brought suit against Blackwater on behalf of Iraqi civilians killed and injured in Nissor Square; journalist Donovan Webster, who accompanied Susan to Iraq to take testimony from innocent Iraqis tortured by other private contractors in Abu Ghraib; Joshua Phillips, author of None of Us Were Like this Before [4], about the searing effects on American soldiers of their participation in torture; as well as principled lawyers who represented detainees in Guantánamo and other U.S. detention centers.

The Athenian Greeks invented tragedy and comedy in the fifth century B.C. to strengthen their democracy. They held an annual theater festival, funded by the wealthy, in which playwrights staged their own plays, and with the mandatory rule that all citizens (and visiting foreigners) had to attend. Athens was as proud of its theater as it was of its democracy. The state subsidized the ticket costs. Citizens sat on stone benches under the sun for hours at a stretch watching tribal and familial hatreds work themselves through; seeing justice, wisdom and courts of law established at the end.

Athenian theater also provided a way to deal with the legacy of war. It was thought that combat veterans, as all adult citizens were (only men had civil rights and only men went to the theater), needed to witness the extreme events of tragedy to purge violent memories and responses that otherwise might interfere with their resumption of participation in civil life. As Athenian democracy devolved into a military expansionist empire, the great anti-war playwright Euripides, in rage and sorrow, gave us masterpieces of human suffering. We may not remember the Athenian siege of the tiny island Melos, the murder of its men and boys, rape and enslavement of its women and girls, or the Athenians’ foolish fatal assault on Sicily, but we remember The Trojan Women and The Bacchae and they stand as cautionary tales.

We’ve learned nothing about avoiding war, or the excess of empire, from the theater, and perhaps the theater’s main job is not to teach a lesson, but rather to arouse inside its audience the energy and excitement of our own fragile humanity—the annihilation of which is the entire objective of torture. Sitting together, watching, the theater lets us be. In these moments of collective being each person is completely free to feel, to think or to remember whatever they wish; yet all are joined by breath to actors on a stage who live through the common agonies and reveal those moments when humanity asserts itself. The theater is a humanizing force because it is personal, public, political and spiritual at once.

I could not escape the inner mandate as a citizen-playwright to write a play about the U.S. torture program. My resolve kept being strengthened by the courage of so many of the people who are joining us for A Festival of Conscience. When we first staged the play, in a workshop performance for three performances last September, as part of the 9/11 Art of Justice Performance Project [5] at John Jay College’s Gerald W. Lynch Theater, and funded in part by the Open Society Foundations, we prefaced it with a panel of four principled lawyers who have defended the rights of Guantanamo detainees.

One by one, Martha Rayner, Jonathan Hafetz, Alexander Abdo, and Gitanjali Gutierrez spoke of their despair at trying to aid hopeless men in indefinite detention who bore the scars of torture. They recounted victories, of course, but overall the story of U.S. torture and detention program is of wrongs unrighted, of suffering unredeemed by recognition. To an audible audience gasp, one of them said: “The courts are broken.”

I am under no illusion that a play can make a difference; nevertheless, the enthusiastic responses to the initial performances of Another Life suggest that rousing collective feeling is a job worth doing. And it’s worth it, too, to bring us together in conversation in preparation for or as culmination to having been moved by the story of the play. Common feeling is what torture intends to destroy. The torturer cannot feel the tortured person’s pain any more than the courts can feel the pain of the detained. Insofar as we become incapable of experiencing the sorrows we inflict, we become dangerous not only to ourselves and others but to democracy itself. Here the theater inserts itself, a common meeting ground, a space to feel and think together, as citizens, this is what I hope Another Life and A Festival of Conscience will provide, if only for three short weeks.

Article printed from Open Society Foundations: http://blog.soros.org

URL to article: http://blog.soros.org/2012/02/the-u-s-torture-program-in-drama-and-dialogue/

URLs in this post:

[1] Another Life: http://www.irondale.org/Anotherlife.html

[2] A Festival of Conscience: http://www.unitedstatesartists.org/project/another_life_a_festival_of_conscience

[3] Theater Three Collaborative: http://www.theaterthreecollaborative.org/

[4] None of Us Were Like this Before: http://www.soros.org/initiatives/usprograms/focus/security/events/none-of-us-were-like-this-before-20100913

[5] 9/11 Art of Justice Performance Project: http://www.theateronline.com/pb.xzc?pk=36484

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Copyright © 2011 Open Society Foundations. All rights reserved.

Festival of Conscience is being run in conjunction with the play, "Another Life", about the collective trauma post-9/11, greed, war and the ensuing U.S. torture program. Both events are produced by Theater Three Collaborative, Inc. in residence at the Irondale Center, Fort Greene, Brooklyn; March 8-24, 2012.

The goal of this three-week series is to foster meaningful dialogues across disciplines to address the most pressing questions facing us today: What kind of nation have we become? What kind of country do we want to be?

Festival of Conscience Calendar of Events

Darius Rejali presents: Torture & Democracy
Thursday, March 8, post-play
One of the United States foremost experts on torture discusses his latest book, Torture and Democracy, which won the 2007 Human Rights Book of the Year Award from the American Political Science Association, and the state of the US torture program ten years after 9/11.

Blackwater Revisited, Conversations of Privatization, Torture, and War From the Front Lines
Friday, March 9, post-play
From the front lines in the fight against Private Contractors at Abu Ghraib, lawyer Susan Burke, who brought suits against private contracting firms for their role in the torture program, and Donovan Webster, journalist and author who accompanied Susan to Iraq to take testimony from torture survivors talk about their experience.

Tortured and Torturers
Saturday, March 10, post-play
Tortured and torturers: a contrasting discussion on how soldiers came to torture, and the consequences for both the victims and the perpetrators. The event will feature Zeke Johnson, National Security Director of Amnesty International and Joshua Phillips, author of None of Us Were Like This Before: Americans Soldiers and Torture, the story of American soldiers who tortured in Iraq.

Faith and Terror, Part 1
Tuesday, March 13, 7-pm curtain, post-play
Religious leaders, journalists and activists come together for a two-part discussion about consciousness, belief, torture, and resistance. Join the National Religious Campaign Against Torture’s Director of Program Coordination John Humphries and New York St. Mary’s Episcopal Reverent Earl Kooperkamp for dialogue about faith, torture, and the religious communities response to torture and war in the shadow of 9/11.

South of the Constitution: Ten Years at Guantanamo
Wednesday, March 14, post-play
Lawyers representing Guantanamo detainees and Amnesty International discuss and debate Guantanamo today. The event features Tom Parker, National Security Director, Amnesty International, DC, and Baher Azmy, Legal Director for the Center for Constitutional Rights.

Surviving
Thursday, March 15, post-play
Experts, physicians and psychologists working on the front lines discuss surviving, the aftermath of torture on individuals, families, and governments.

The War On Terror Comes Home
Friday, March 16, post-play
Lawyers, family members, and community leaders discuss how the war on terror has affected Arab Americans, and what is being done to change it. Leading the evening is Pardiss Kebriaei, a lawyer with the Center for Constitutional Rights currently working against the backlash of the domestic war on terror.

Occupy Movement Presents: A History of Non-Violent Resistance
Saturday, March 17, 7:30 pm & post-play
The Occupy Movement premiere a new documentary on the history of nonviolent resistance created for Occupy by videographer Paul McIsaac, plus performance by the high school students from Bedford-Stuyvesant’s Bailey’s Café arts initiative.

Women and Resistance
Tuesday, March 20, 7 pm curtain, post-play
In conjunction with Women’s History Month, Code Pink co-founder Medea Benjamin and eco-feminist Ynestra King will lead a discussion with prominent women’s anti-war activists on women's role in the movements’ against militarism, nuclear weapons, war, and torture.

Mark Danner presents: Torture and Truth
Wednesday, March 21, pre-show at 7:30 pm
Writer Mark Danner discusses his forthcoming book, Torture & the Forever War. Danner has covered the torture story from the start with a string of essays in the New York Review of Books, including “Our State of Exception,” and, earlier, on the leaked ICRC reports about torture.

Faith and Terror, Part 2
Thursday, March 22, post-play
Religious leaders, journalists and activists come together for a two-part discussion about consciousness, belief, torture, and resistance. Rabbi Simkha Weintraub of Rabbi’s for Human Rights and author David Swanson talk about the faith-based response to torture and the recent Witness Against Torture actions in Washington DC.





A Decade of Torture and Law
Friday, March 23, pre-show7:30 pm
International human rights leaders Gabor Rona of Human Rights First, Jonathan Hafetz, of Seton Hall Law, and Alexander Abdo of the ACLU begin the night with the highs and lows in the legal battles against torture.

Closing Evening and Reception
Saturday March 24, post-play
In the finale of ‘Another Life’, playwright and director Karen Malpede sits for a Q&A with the audience about her inspiration, research, and motivations in developing and producing the play. Reception to follow.


** All but two of the discussions happen after the play. Curtain time on Tuesday nights is 7pm. Weds-Sat. 7:30pm. Ticket holders for any performance may attend all the talks and talk-backs. “Another Life” runs 1 hour 45 minutes without an intermission.

Festival of Conscience is being run in conjunction with the play, "Another Life", about the collective trauma post-9/11, greed, war and the ensuing U.S. torture program. Both events are produced by Theater Three Collaborative, Inc. in residence at the Irondale Center, Fort Greene, Brooklyn; March 8-24, 2012.

The goal of this three-week series is to foster meaningful dialogues across disciplines to address the most pressing questions facing us today: What kind of nation have we become? What kind of country do we want to be?

Festival of Conscience Calendar of Events

Darius Rejali presents: Torture & Democracy
Thursday, March 8, post-play
One of the United States foremost experts on torture discusses his latest book, Torture and Democracy, which won the 2007 Human Rights Book of the Year Award from the American Political Science Association, and the state of the US torture program ten years after 9/11.

Blackwater Revisited, Conversations of Privatization, Torture, and War From the Front Lines
Friday, March 9, post-play
From the front lines in the fight against Private Contractors at Abu Ghraib, lawyer Susan Burke, who brought suits against private contracting firms for their role in the torture program, and Donovan Webster, journalist and author who accompanied Susan to Iraq to take testimony from torture survivors talk about their experience.

Tortured and Torturers
Saturday, March 10, post-play
Tortured and torturers: a contrasting discussion on how soldiers came to torture, and the consequences for both the victims and the perpetrators. The event will feature Zeke Johnson, National Security Director of Amnesty International and Joshua Phillips, author of None of Us Were Like This Before: Americans Soldiers and Torture, the story of American soldiers who tortured in Iraq.

Faith and Terror, Part 1
Tuesday, March 13, 7-pm curtain, post-play
Religious leaders, journalists and activists come together for a two-part discussion about consciousness, belief, torture, and resistance. Join the National Religious Campaign Against Torture’s Director of Program Coordination John Humphries and New York St. Mary’s Episcopal Reverent Earl Kooperkamp for dialogue about faith, torture, and the religious communities response to torture and war in the shadow of 9/11.

South of the Constitution: Ten Years at Guantanamo
Wednesday, March 14, post-play
Lawyers representing Guantanamo detainees and Amnesty International discuss and debate Guantanamo today. The event features Tom Parker, National Security Director, Amnesty International, DC, and Baher Azmy, Legal Director for the Center for Constitutional Rights.

Surviving
Thursday, March 15, post-play
Experts, physicians and psychologists working on the front lines discuss surviving, the aftermath of torture on individuals, families, and governments.

The War On Terror Comes Home
Friday, March 16, post-play
Lawyers, family members, and community leaders discuss how the war on terror has affected Arab Americans, and what is being done to change it. Leading the evening is Pardiss Kebriaei, a lawyer with the Center for Constitutional Rights currently working against the backlash of the domestic war on terror.

Occupy Movement Presents: A History of Non-Violent Resistance
Saturday, March 17, 7:30 pm & post-play
The Occupy Movement premiere a new documentary on the history of nonviolent resistance created for Occupy by videographer Paul McIsaac, plus performance by the high school students from Bedford-Stuyvesant’s Bailey’s Café arts initiative.

Women and Resistance
Tuesday, March 20, 7 pm curtain, post-play
In conjunction with Women’s History Month, Code Pink co-founder Medea Benjamin and eco-feminist Ynestra King will lead a discussion with prominent women’s anti-war activists on women's role in the movements’ against militarism, nuclear weapons, war, and torture.

Mark Danner presents: Torture and Truth
Wednesday, March 21, pre-show at 7:30 pm
Writer Mark Danner discusses his forthcoming book, Torture & the Forever War. Danner has covered the torture story from the start with a string of essays in the New York Review of Books, including “Our State of Exception,” and, earlier, on the leaked ICRC reports about torture.

Faith and Terror, Part 2
Thursday, March 22, post-play
Religious leaders, journalists and activists come together for a two-part discussion about consciousness, belief, torture, and resistance. Rabbi Simkha Weintraub of Rabbi’s for Human Rights and author David Swanson talk about the faith-based response to torture and the recent Witness Against Torture actions in Washington DC.





A Decade of Torture and Law
Friday, March 23, pre-show7:30 pm
International human rights leaders Gabor Rona of Human Rights First, Jonathan Hafetz, of Seton Hall Law, and Alexander Abdo of the ACLU begin the night with the highs and lows in the legal battles against torture.

Closing Evening and Reception
Saturday March 24, post-play
In the finale of ‘Another Life’, playwright and director Karen Malpede sits for a Q&A with the audience about her inspiration, research, and motivations in developing and producing the play. Reception to follow.


** All but two of the discussions happen after the play. Curtain time on Tuesday nights is 7pm. Weds-Sat. 7:30pm. Ticket holders for any performance may attend all the talks and talk-backs. “Another Life” runs 1 hour 45 minutes without an intermission.