Identity

Part 1: Invisible Visibility

“I am an invisible man. No I am not a spook like those who haunted Edgar Allen Poe: Nor am I one of your Hollywood movie ectoplasms. I am a man of substance, of flesh and bone, fiber and liquids—and I might even be said to possess a mind. I am invisible, simply because people refuse to see me.” 

                                                                                    —Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man

The first night in Chicago we saw a world premiere performance of Invisible Man at the Court Theatre. It was adapted from Ralph Ellison’s novel by Oren Jacoby. Jacoby stuck to all the original text, following the story closely, only cutting down the novel, carving the text into a performable script. In the talkback session afterwards Jacoby stated that once he started trusting the novel, he did not feel the need to add any of his own words. I was fortunate to have studied Invisible Man in my Reading Race and Gender class this past fall semester, giving me more insight into the story.

It follows the life of a nameless African American protagonist who moves from the south to New York City in search for a job. Along the way he is used by various employers—all of them white. Throughout the story he is searching, searching for truth, for purpose, for who he is. A gifted speaker, the protagonist becomes a spokesman for the Brotherhood, a representation of the Communist party. Veering from their manifesto, he speaks on issues of race in Harlem. In the end he is forced underground, an invisible man fighting the racism and corruption of society from the shadows. He is forced to be who the powerful of society dictates him to be. Invisible.

The set was cleverly made up of moveable scrim backdrops which videos or pictures were projected on throughout the performance, bringing the settings to life, creating the world which the protagonist was subject to. There was a fantastic fluidity of set pieces which worked in with the staging of the actors propelled the story forward. The lighting of the play was my favorite element. The story opens on the unnamed invisible man who lives in a hole, lit up by a ceiling of over 500 light bulbs. Although he hides in the dark, he loves the light. His silent protest is stealing electricity from the city.

Invisible Man struggles with the question of identity. How does one find their identity in a country which is forcing them to assimilate? A world that is hiding them away in separate areas based on color of skin? While in Chicago we took a tour through some of the ‘invisible’ communities of the city. Communities of lower socioeconomic status, communities which were run down and broken. Chicago is still a highly segregated city with different cultural groups keeping strictly to their own neighborhoods.

Teacher John Lin in an article from Independent School, talks about his struggle with his Asian American identity and how the stereotypes of American society moved him to disconnect with his cultural heritage:

“I wanted freedom, not destruction. It was exhausting, for no matter what the scheme I conceived, there was a constant flaw—myself. There was no getting around it. I could no more escape than I could think of my identity. Perhaps, I thought, the two things are involved with each other. When I discover who I am, I'll be free.”

This is the same struggle that the protagonist of Invisible Man deals with. He is fighting to find his place in society while trying to find himself. He changes who he is to fit in which results in loss of identity. He has to go underground to be able to find his true identity. But this begs the question, how do we go on then? How can we find identity within society if society dictates that we should not have it? How do make the invisible visible? How do we become free?

Part 2: To Thine Own Self Be True

“I wish I could cry like that. But I can’t; I can’t let it get to me. If I let it get to me…How could I do my job? I couldn’t. I’d want to take away the guns and rescue the children. But I can’t. That’s not why I’m there. I’m there to take the pictures.”

                                                                                    —Donald Margulies, Time Stands Still

            The second night in Chicago we went to the Steppenwolf Theatre to see Time Stands Still, which we read in class previous to the trip. It follows the story couple, Sarah and James, after a nearly fatal accident forces Sarah to return home to the psychologically traumatized James. They are war reporters, Sarah takes the pictures and James writes the articles. Both have seen violence and horror which most other Americans could hardly imagine. Their opposite reactions to their good friend Richard getting married and having a child with his younger girlfriend Mandy, set them off on new paths in life. James, now longs for the comfort and stability of settling down and tries to find a new identity at home in America. Sarah is not able to let go of her past, struggles with domestic life and yearns to return overseas. She clings to her pictures and they become who she is. Time stands still in the photos, a pocket of time which she can control with her camera.

            Although the actress’ characterization of Sarah was different from what I imagined while reading the play, watching the transformation from script to stage brought new emotion and power to the story. The characters struggle with finding themselves within and with each other. It takes a more personal look at the question of identity. It is not only society as a whole who is trying to define you, but also your more immediate environment—family, friends and lovers.

            We spoke to David Zak, director, educator, activist and member of the LGBTQ community. As part of a community constantly degraded and judged by others, David talked about how it was important to create safe spaces where you can be yourself. This brought up the question of who then is going to make the change? How can the ideas of acceptance and tolerance be spread if different communities simply stick to their own neighborhoods? And even in your own homes, people change, times change. How does one become confident in identity? Or is identity, like life, in a constant state of flux?

Part 3: Tales and Tolerance

“Tolerance is not a product of politics, religion or culture. Liberals and conservatives, evangelicals and atheists, whites, Latinos, Asians, and blacks . . . are equally capable of tolerance and intolerance. . . . tolerance has much less to do with our opinions than with what we feel and how we live.”

—Sarah Bullard, Teaching Tolerance 

            Our last night in Chicago we went to see Home/Land which was written and performed by the Albany Park Theater Project. Written in documentary theater style and based on real life interviews, the company of teenagers put together a beautiful collage of tales from immigrants in the US. Focusing on immigration issues and assimilation issues, many of the characters in the play struggled to find their place as an American without losing their cultural heritage. I watched as the actors portrayed people who made up false identities to get into the US, or people who changed their identities to fit into their new neighborhoods. Yet I also saw people who were holding on. I saw people who were protecting themselves, but also fighting for their rights to be not just an ‘American’, not just a ‘Mexican American’. They were fighting to be a free person with their own identity.

            It is important to express who you are. The high schoolers in the Albany Park Theater Project have the opportunity to do so on the stage. The kids at Little Black Pearl, a school we visited, got to through art and music. The young adults who create “Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind” share their stories through creative writing and performance. One idea that I will take away from this trip is that identity cannot come from a single element. It has to move in tandem with your life, ever changing as you change, as your environment changes. Theater is a fantastic medium in which to document these questions of identities which boil down to questions of acceptance. How can we make our world a more accepting place so that people can embrace who they truly are without fear of judgment or reproach?  The writers, directors, actors and all members of the cast and crews of the plays we saw in Chicago are on the right track—the track of tolerance.

Works Cited

Bullard, Sarah. Teaching Tolerance. New York: Doubleday, 1996. Print.

Lin, John C. “Finding my Asian Identity with help from Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man”. Independent School 70.2: 34-38. Web. 25 Jan 2012.