Although most of what we see onstage is fiction, some material is based on real life and real life stories. There are shows that are based in real life…events, people, places…there are some amazing things that have come from biographies and interviews, and all sorts of different kinds of source material. I think it’s truly amazing that some playwrights and theatre companies are able to make art that has a basis in real life. I don’t imagine it’s an easy thing, as there’s a lot on the line if you mess it up, but it’s a whole different world, and puts a whole different spin on what you’re watching.
There are a lot of different approaches to shows based in real life. Some shows are based in fact, but some shows are entirely real. The Laramie Project by Moisés Kaufman and the Tectonic Theater Project is the main one that comes to mind. It’s done entirely of interviews that the theatre company conducted with the residents of Laramie, Wyoming, who were involved with Matthew Shepard and his story. Another one that comes to mind is The Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler, which is also made up of monologues based on interviews.
With this sort of thing, there comes a lot of grit in a show. You’re seeing something real, something raw. These are actual words from people’s mouths. In a lot of ways, you’re watching something that is edited in a very different style from a fictional show. How do you keep the right essence? How do you stay true to what you’re covering in a show? You can’t have something like The Laramie Project or The Vagina Monologues edited not to be offensive or thought provoking. They’re going to be in your face and real…that’s the importance of them.
It means a lot to the people involved in the shows, too. I’ve been a part of both The Laramie Project and The Vagina Monologues, and the feelings of the whole shows are very intense. Personally, I strived to make sure I was doing right by the people who first said the words I was saying. My part in The Vagina Monologues didn’t have a name, but the parts I played in Laramie certainly did. Looking at those names meant something to me. Somewhere, maybe still in Laramie, Wyoming, those people are walking around, living their lives. I was their mouth.
Of course, there’s still a fictional element to some shows based in reality. I feel like we see this a lot in musicals. There are a ton of musicals based on real people or events. You can look back and see classics like Evita, and right up to the present where we have Hamilton. I think it’s super cool that we have this sort of thing. History has given us a lot to work with. Lin-Manuel Miranda got the idea for Hamilton from reading a biography on him. I’m honestly not big into biographies, and I know that one is pretty big. You can’t do it exactly. There has to be some wiggle room.
I’ve seen all the lists about historical inaccuracies in Hamilton. And honestly, I get it. Shows still have to be entertaining and hold the audience’s attention. Some of these things are lost to history. Some of these things are rumors, or myths about historical figures and happenings. There’s a lot more to it than just something that happened in real life. That’s where there’s a sort of divide between a show like Hamilton and a show like Laramie.
Fiction can be woven through anything, of course. Take a look at Shakespeare In Love, a play based on the movie. If you’ve seen either the movie or the play, you know it’s pretty far fetched. There are historical people in it, such as William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe, but that’s about it when it comes to history and fact. This is a totally fictional story that just so happens to have characters that were once living people. I don’t think we can go much beyond that with the idea of reality. But I still think it’s interesting that someone had that idea. There are some historical figures that we know so little about, it’s easy to make up something entirely new for them.
Theatre is meant to take us somewhere far away from our lives. That’s sort of the beauty of it, the magic of it. And with a lot of theatre, we can feel secure in the sense that we’re watching something fictional. Somebody put pen to paper and spun a tale for us to enjoy. We’re transported through different times, different worlds. And there may be a basis for some of those places, but not always. It’s something else to remember when we’re experiencing theatre. What are these things based on? Where did they come from? Is there a chance that what we’re watching might not be as fictional as we think it is? There are shows that obviously come from reality, like Laramie, but some shows are a little more ambiguous.
We can still love all of it. There are many reasons why a lot of these shows based in reality are popular, or are considered important. Sometimes, we shouldn’t detach in the way we would with a completely fictional play. It’s important to remember that these shows might mean something completely different from one person to the next, because of our own experiences. When it’s real life, it can be a lot more intense…something we sort of just have to remember as a thought provoking experience.
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