"Fluid" takes sexuality to the center stage
Tara Vocino '10
Issue date: 2/20/08 Section: Arts & Culture
A humorous one-woman play about the notion of bisexuality, "Fluid" was performed for the Wheaton community on Tuesday, February 5. The production stars recent Yale University graduate, Erika Kate MacDonald, who recounts personal experiences with the challenges of dating both women and men.
Her stage persona shifts throughout the show from a women's studies professor to a lesbian teenage rapper, all the while commenting on living in a heterosexual- and male-dominated culture.
Esther Kovacs '08, gained a great deal of information about sexuality from the presentation. "It touched all ends of the spectrum from funny, to moving, to inspirational. It drew back the curtain and allowed us to examine bisexuality from a different angle," said Kovacs.
During the play, MacDonald's teenage character spoke of the differences between female-female and female-male relations in society. "Touching between women is instantly sexy whenever it becomes the least bit sensual. Men and women touch each other all the time…By the time they get home to the bedroom all that seems to be left is penetration."
Playing the part of the professor, she says of her sexual orientation, "I've been trying to pour myself into one mold or another for too many years now. I'm done. My sexuality doesn't seem to divide on gender lines."
MacDonald was invited to bring her production to Wheaton by Adar Cohen '04, coordinator for civic engagement. "Since he planted the seed for me to come here, and I'm being sponsored by 7 groups, I feel much invested in my visit" said MacDonald. The first official performance by anyone in Pack of Others, the theatre group to which MacDonald belongs, the Wheaton community welcomed her with open arms.
Erin Binkley '10 wished that her bisexual friends could have seen the show. "I identify as gay. Erika is even further into the complicated gray area than I am, but she's figured out a way to accept that. Although I like the idea of fluidity, I know people who don't understand the ambiguity of others who should also watch this."
MacDonald is currently producing Pack of Others' next show, which will tour several Canadian and U.S. fringe festivals (festivals which promote experimentation and new work) this summer
Her stage persona shifts throughout the show from a women's studies professor to a lesbian teenage rapper, all the while commenting on living in a heterosexual- and male-dominated culture.
Esther Kovacs '08, gained a great deal of information about sexuality from the presentation. "It touched all ends of the spectrum from funny, to moving, to inspirational. It drew back the curtain and allowed us to examine bisexuality from a different angle," said Kovacs.
During the play, MacDonald's teenage character spoke of the differences between female-female and female-male relations in society. "Touching between women is instantly sexy whenever it becomes the least bit sensual. Men and women touch each other all the time…By the time they get home to the bedroom all that seems to be left is penetration."
Playing the part of the professor, she says of her sexual orientation, "I've been trying to pour myself into one mold or another for too many years now. I'm done. My sexuality doesn't seem to divide on gender lines."
MacDonald was invited to bring her production to Wheaton by Adar Cohen '04, coordinator for civic engagement. "Since he planted the seed for me to come here, and I'm being sponsored by 7 groups, I feel much invested in my visit" said MacDonald. The first official performance by anyone in Pack of Others, the theatre group to which MacDonald belongs, the Wheaton community welcomed her with open arms.
Erin Binkley '10 wished that her bisexual friends could have seen the show. "I identify as gay. Erika is even further into the complicated gray area than I am, but she's figured out a way to accept that. Although I like the idea of fluidity, I know people who don't understand the ambiguity of others who should also watch this."
MacDonald is currently producing Pack of Others' next show, which will tour several Canadian and U.S. fringe festivals (festivals which promote experimentation and new work) this summer
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