Art for everyone's sake

Editorial
Theater people care. Deeply. About lots of things. And one of the joys of being a theater person is that we are able to communicate our pains and our joys through our work. Sometimes indirectly, often with intention. It’s not like we corner the market when it comes to rallying behind causes or making a difference in the world. (Insert your favorite awesome “helper” story, as Mr. Rogers so beautifully puts it, here.) But I find socially conscious theater / performance / activism / fundraising / uncomfortable noisemaking to be particularly compelling because of the ways in which we as theater artists can craft and shape the conversation. The stories we tell often move or infuriate people (*gasp* — VAGINA Monologues??? How dare you use that word!), spark conversations, even change minds—or so we’d like to think. And by telling those stories, or singing those songs, or throwing that benefit, we often have the feeling that we are doing something in a world that desperately begs for all of us to do whatever we can. It is our greatest hope that somehow the work we do can effect a change. I just read a headline in the Star Tribune: “There Will Be No Gun Bill This Year.” I find this immensely frustrating, particularly in light of the recent news about a five-year-old boy who shot his sister with a gun designed just for kids. The coroner is quoted as saying “Just one of those crazy accidents.” I will spare you my rant on this subject and instead say that I hope you can join me for
Headshot of Laurie Flanigan Hegge
Laurie Flanigan Hegge
Laurie Flanigan Hegge is a playwright, lyricist and actress living in Minneapolis. She currently serves as the Dramatists' Guild Regional Representative in the Minneapolis/St. Paul Region, a.k.a the Twin Cities.