Mike Daisey was performing his monologue INVINCIBLE SUMMER at American Repertory Theatre on April 19th when the show was disrupted by eighty seven members of a Christian group who walked out of the show en masse to protest the content, and chose to physically attack the work by pouring water on and destroying the original of his show outline. For a full account of the experience please visit
http://tinyurl.com/3cq5wu and
http://mikedaisey.com "I'm still dealing with all the ramifications, but here's what it felt like from my end: I am performing the show to a packed house, when suddenly the lights start coming up in the house as a flood of people start walking down the aisles--they looked like a flock of birds who'd been startled, the way they all moved so quickly, and at the same moment...it was shocking, to see them surging down the aisles. The show halted as they fled, and at this moment a member of their group strode up to the table, stood looking down on me and poured water all over the outline, drenching everything in a kind of anti-baptism.
I sat behind the table, looking up in his face with shock. My job onstage is to be as open as possible, to weave the show without a script as it comes, and this leaves me very emotionally available--and vulnerable, if an audience chooses to abuse that trust. I doubt I will ever forget the look in his face as he defaced the only original of the handwritten show outline--it was a look of hatred, and disgust, and utter and consuming pride.
It is a face I have seen in Riefenstahl's work, and in my dreams, but never on another human face, never an arm's length from me--never directed at me, hating me, hating my words and the story that I've chosen to tell. That face is not Christian, by any definition Christ would be proud to call his own--its naked righteousness and contempt have nothing to do with the godhead, and everything to do with pathetic human pride at its very worst.
And it wounded me in my heart, because I trusted these people. Scared parents and scared teachers running from a theater because words might hurt them, and so consumed by fear that they have to lash out at the work, literally break it apart, drown it. They've made me afraid of my audience, afraid of my craft, just the smallest amount, and that's the trust I will have to relearn tonight and every night. That's the work--the only way out is through, I tell my students, and it is true for me and it is true for everybody.
I tried to engage with the group as they fled, but they ran out like cowards, and not one of them would stand and discuss with me what they'd done. That cowardice still takes my breath away--that they wouldn't stand and speak like men and women and tell me in their voices their grievances. In spite of everything, I still believe--Jean-Michele says that's one of the reasons I'm a monologuist--and I fought to the end to get a single voice to speak and reckon with me, but they ran and didn't look back."
34 Comments
choggieThe poor guy's agent must have screwed up...anybody?? Did the morons pay to walk out????? HoORAYYY!!
bl968I just wish that I could see the entire show! It was a riot, even before the wackos got up and walked out. Yes I called these so called christians, wackos, get over it. They did some very un-Christian like things in this video. For the record I do not think every Christian is like the people shown in this video, but the sad thing is, that many of them are.
pyrexSaw this yesterday, must say the guy handled it well. Wish I could see the rest of the monologue.
choggieThese are the ineffectual, egocentric type fundamentalists, who waste their divine energy and temples on public masturbation.......prb'ly Baptists....bl, is that Yoda with a Tibetan monk???? HERETIC!!!!
bl968I know but it was so cute. It was a small clip from a fark photoshop contest once. I liked the flow so clipped it
rembarWow. He definitely handled that with class. Good sift, BL.
bl968Thanks Rembar
nickreal03says...I think throwing ant type of liquid to another person is consider assault. He should be able to call the police if he wanted to. But what you expect of irrational people any ways? Been a beliver is the biggest insult to one self, and acting in those beliefs in public is the biggest insult to the rest of us.
budzosWow, what do you know, more religious idiots who feel they have the right to assault people who don't share their beliefs. I'm getting to the point I feel like dropping all religious people from my life, creating some sort of sanity bubble around me.
b-moneyHandled with remarkable grace, and his follow-up letter is a terrific example of the higher moral road. If I lived anywhere near NY I'd gladly go see his show, it looks like it'd be a great one.
Mgshadowsays...I am a christian and am sorry to say that there are plenty of people in the world that are like this. BUT they do not represent the majority. I think this guy is pretty cool dealing with things the way they happened. I understand that people curse and im no saint in that regard either. I do my best as a person, a christian, and a father to not curse. But we all know that everyone has their problems. The people in this were not portraying the love of God when they did this at all. It was them saying they were better than the speaker and everyone in the room. Pride is a sin.
Mgshadowsays...by the way the whole religion hate on here is kinda doing the exact same thing as the people walking out. Not very nice to dismiss an entire religion that a large percentage of the world beleive in as insane. Wouldnt really make the founding fathers of America very happy either.
EMPIREsays...I really wish he would take 80 people and take them to these morons church or gathering or whatever, on a sunday, and sat there for a good portion of the mass, and suddenly just all get up and leave. I know that would be stooping to their level... but fuck it.. these people deserve every shit they can possibly get.
bigbikemanEvery time you swear, God kills a kitten.
bl968I don't hate religion. I don't hate Christians, I hate these people who claim to be Christian then show themselves to be anything but. Check out http://www.theocracywatch.org/ if you want to see what I hate.
winkler1This guy went to my college..great press for him, he handled it great. Will have to check out this show, it's in Boston/Cambridge.
Mgshadowsays...As proven by history and many civilizations Theocracy is a bad bad bad thing. All you need is one dude at the top to change a few things and its atheist and agnostic genocide. Sad thing is people seem to think that having faith in something they cant see is ludicrous. I truly beleive God exists, and though some people can give reasons and arguments all day long that he doesnt. It still does not change that fact that I know he does. Id rather be right and go to heaven. Living and dying for no reason is sad, if God does not exist then nothing we do has any lasting meaning. No good job, no thanks for doing the right thing. Its just depressing....
Sorry i talk so much.
gorillamanTwo things that are essential to remember when considering this video:
1. This has nothing to do with religion; it's a problem of stupidity and broken-mindedness.
2. That these are not people; they're not human. They are incarnate emptiness and corruption. Rape, cancer and the death of the innocent. They don't have eyes or skin or a mind and they cannot be reasoned with. They'll never stop; there can be no peace until they're all dead. A war's been raging for thousands of years and the filth is winning because nobody even noticed it was happening.
Mgshadowsays...Yikes, Gorilla... Harsh. I know what you mean though. Stupid and hurtful people are everywhere, beware of them in large groups.
chicarthan god curse the pope to be indirectly responsible for that. Thing like that give me the envy to believe to the davinci code theory just to believe there are somewhere a direct descendant of jesus who are more worthy to lead christianity than than this so call ''servant of god''.
I yell to the world as a true christian ( and not one of this (bip) fanatic)
THE ONLY PERSON THAN THE POPE SERVE IS THE DEVIL
Gorrillaman: your right in one point, stupidity induce by fanaticism is the cancer of the world and especially the christian religion who it believe it serve
winkler1Highschool principal apologizes, explains what happened.
Mgshadowsays...Well that changes things.... Funny how fast things go from bad to worse all on a bad piece of information. Now i feel the person that told them the lecture would be fine is the one to blame. And someone give Chicar an ice-cream cone, he seems a tad bit angry. No offense meant bro.
coreburnsays...@chicar
I yell to the world as a true internet user...
BEFORE YELLING AT WORLD AND PRESSING SUBMIT, READ WHAT THOU HAST WRITTEN!
or spell check... :-)
K0MMIE*promote
I got his book 21 dog years as a gift for christmas... he really is a funny guy... i am glad this video introduced me to his work.
siftbotPromoting this classic video back to the front page; last published Tuesday, April 24th, 2007 3:57am PDT - promote requested by K0MMIE.
blankfistThey walked out on him because he was fat.
dystopianfuturetodayYeah, the residents of Norco are not exactly the best demographic for your hip, edgy, one man show. Norco is one of those armpit, rest-stop towns you try to avoid on your way to Vegas - It's not a place that Californians are in any way proud of. Daisy should just be happy they didn't coat the theater in graffiti and urine.
blankfistI was just kidding, Kommie, jesus man! Haha! No, I stand corrected anyways, they walked out on him because he was ugly and fat.
garmachiIt's already been said, but worth saying again, imo. He handled this with exceptional class, dignity, and grace. And to the group that walked out on him... Thank you. It is because of you all that I have heard of Mike Daisey.
stumblingjonBit more info. NOt a christian group. it was a high school choir group who were told the show would be appropriate for them. The teacher later said in the lobby that there were a lot of christians in the group.
never-the-less, poor show by the leaving parties. Brilliance shown by the performer. shame on (mainly abrahamic) religions.
dystopianfuturetoday*shame on (mainly abrahamic) religions.*
LOL
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