Tuesday, March 29, 2011

A Show a Cut Above the Rest



Some strong adult content is not for the faint of heart, so leave the kids at home.

            That is for sure.   I just got back from the show, All of the Above.  Did you see it?  It was incredible.  Absolutely incredible.  It was heart-wrenching, inspiring, brutally honest, eye-opening, sickening, saddening – it had to have touched every emotion in every individual in the audience.  We laughed, we choked up, we were inspired.  The show, verbally presented as -

a theatrical production comprised by monologues written, performed, and directed by Duke women about Duke life. The play represents the female experience on campus by addressing the sad, strange, shocking, and funny things that make life as a woman so unique. The pieces included in this year’s show were selected from a collection of monologues anonymously submitted during the fall semester…

            But it was far more than that. It was a display of the torment and struggles Duke women face in the hope of achieving effortless perfection.  But as one of the monologues truthfully phrased the struggle as “effortlessly perfect on the outside, demented and a mess on the inside.”  All the Above beautifully displayed an unfiltered, unedited version of the struggle that is often buffered and softened for the general public. 


I think every student at Duke should see these series of monologues- both female and male students.  For female students (especially those who may deal with some of the issues addressed) - to feel a sense of connection to other women on campus, to know that you are never alone – someone out there is feeling your pain and struggle.  Despite the fact that the show centers on women’s struggles on campus, males should see it too.  Males alike (probably more hidden and less verbalized) may be experiencing some of the feelings these women portray.  Since the male perception of Duke women as effortlessly perfect is far too common, the show serves as a platform for understanding women’s inner demons as a result of the pedestal that both men and women raise women to.   And for both genders - see this series to deepen the evidence that NO one is perfect.  We can try all we want to be but it will never happen.  Let the notion go, for the longer you hold on to it, the longer the inner demons have to grow and the further you have to fall when the realization hits that you are NOT perfect.  But All the Above will serve as the reminder that NO ONE is perfect.

            

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