by tom andrew –
Original works don’t happen as often as they used to. Most plays and musicals these days are shows we’ve all seen many times, many different ways, or not. The reason that happens is because most theatres don’t like taking the risk that comes along with a new piece. Audiences aren’t familiar with it so ticket sales could be weak.
Playwrights such as Stephen Sondheim or Terrence McNally don’t worry about those things, but for most writers, critics and audiences can be rather brutal for a new piece. But that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be written.
Adam Bock, a gay Canadian playwright, has had great success with his work. Since 2000, he has had 18 of his works produced and his most current work, The Canadians, is being produced at South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa.
The comedy is about two gay friends who take a gay cruise and find their lives challenged and comfort zones pushed to the limits. Bock was commissioned by the theatre to write the play, which will get its world premiere this month. The question is: Why The Canadians?
“I wrote The Canadians because I’m Canadian,” Bock humorously shared. “I’ve been living in the States for almost 40 years. I think I came down to go to high school, college and then I stayed. I’ve never written a play about Canadians, so that’s one of the first impulses. The second impulse was I remember going on a gay cruise and I remember the feeling it being similar to when I’d gone the first time to P-town — Provincetown in Massachusetts, which has a very large gay community. It’s a gay town pretty much. I remember going from Providence [Rhode Island], where I was living, which was not the most comfortable place to be out and be gay back in the ‘90s, to Provincetown, and what a shock it was and how much it changed my life to realize there were places I could feel safe.”
The cast is comprised of five actors who play multiple roles throughout the show, set on a gay cruise.
“So, two of the roles are played by young men,” Bock said. “They play young gay men from Canada. Then the other three actors play all the other people that surround them. I did do that on purpose … so that we understood that those two characters are important.”
One of those gay characters is Gordy, based on Bock himself. Playing that role is Kyle T. Hester.
“Gordy reminds me of myself in so many ways when I was first beginning the process of coming out,” Hester said. “I had a huge secret I was carrying around, and I was hiding so much of myself that in a way I was almost a half-person. I had dreams and desires, but I buried them so deep and devoted so much energy to just flying under the radar that many people, including those who were very close to me at that time, in fact, hardly knew me.
“I think a lot of queer people who undertake that journey have experienced that sense of isolation and compartmentalization of their lives. It’s exhausting and sometimes dangerous. I honestly wish I had been able to see a play like The Canadians as a teenager; seeing someone like Gordy take such beautiful ownership over his own life would have meant a great deal to me. I hope this production can do something like that for some young person who sees it, anybody, queer or not, who may be struggling with who they are and where they fit in.”
One of the things the character of Gordy struggles with is his comfort zone and eventually being able to step out of that zone and be the gay man that he wants to be. But that’s not an easy task for Gordy or anyone.
“I hope this production can do something like that for some young person who sees it, anybody, queer or not, who may be struggling with who they are and where they fit in.”
– Kyle T. Hester
“I think one of the challenges for young gay people is to truly be themselves,” Bock said. “Surrounded by an ostensibly straight world, a lot of their impulses might counter what other people might think they should do. So, I think Gordy‘s trying to figure out how to live and live more fully himself in the world. Because he should.”
Hester has his own feelings about comfort zones and pushing himself as a person and an actor. This show marks a few firsts for the actor.
“Like Gordy, I’ve never done drag,” Hester confessed. “So the experience of being onstage in front of an audience in a wig, Speedo and high heels is terrifying and liberating and thrilling all at once. It forces you to accept who you are and what you look like, and it’s very vulnerable, but through that vulnerability you find a wonderful kind of strength: This is who I am. This is what I look like. It’s like I can’t change it, and neither can you. If you aren’t into it, there’s plenty of room on the dance floor. But if you are, well, the DJ just started playing Whitney Houston, so come on over and let’s dance. The world would probably be a better place if everyone tried drag!”
That being said, Bock has mentioned more than a few times that gay is what he writes because he’s gay and has a specific take on the world. Does this come across in The Canadians?
“Of course it does!” Bock said emphatically. “I don’t think there’s a possibility to remove myself from my sexuality. I think it impacts all of my decisions and sort of my allegiances. Who I feel safe with, who I want to support, who I feel supported by? So when I write a play, first and foremost I try to write a play where gay people exist in the world because I think a lot of plays pretend that we’re not even here and then everything stems from that. Just the fact that we’re here changes everything.”
The Canadians is a LOT more than just a show about two gay guys going on a gay cruise. Yes, it’s a comedy, and Hester has said that it’s so funny he has a hard time not laughing during the show because the writing and his cast mates are so funny. But under all of that Bock has another message.
“The play is about two young gay men from Manitoba in Canada who go on a gay cruise,” Bock said. “I think it says something to the challenges of the gay community. The difficulty about going, or the difficulty in going from being alone to being a part of a group. Knowing how to behave in a group, to knowing … Canada is a place where the community comes first, and the individual comes second, in a way. Not always, but in the U.S., it seems to be the reverse. It seems to be true. I think it’s interesting to look at that idea and see when we wanna have what we want to have first, or when we wanna challenge ourselves to think about the community or think about ourselves.”
The Canadians runs through Sunday, October 20 at South Coast Repertory, 655 Town Center Drive in Costa Mesa. For tickets or information, visit scr.org or call 714.708.5555.
