I’ve never met anyone who didn’t already have a hard and fast opinion about Nancy Pelosi or Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
So when I set out to write a play inspired by the tumultuous relationship between the first female Speaker and the youngest woman ever elected to Congress, I knew my characters would remain nameless: “N” and “A.”
“N/A”; photo by Daniel Rader
In our incredibly polarized nation, even someone’s name can cause us to shut down, shut down.
Pelosi. AOC. Trump.
Still with me?
The is power in a name. But there is power in putting a name – a label – aside.
My first job was in politics, as an aide to a congresswoman named Connie Morella. She was and is a Republican. She is also a liberal. Yeah, that used to be a thing.
I loved my boss and my job. But just by working for a “Republican” I would soon be branded as well. Unconsciously, I had chosen a side.
I came out of politics.
Fast forward to after our show: A man in the audience—a big theater lover—says he just got back from a week in Milwaukee. “I bet I’m the only person here,” he whispers, “who just came back from nominating Trump.”
A Trump-loving theater geek. As labels go, unexpected!
Over the next few months, we’re going to hear a lot of labels being thrown around. “Childless Cat Ladies” barely scratches the surface.
Perhaps one day our politics will be less prone to labels and name-calling. Maybe we’ll even return to a time when just hearing a person’s name doesn’t end a conversation.
(Perhaps…)
For more info:
- “N/A,” at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theatre, Lincoln Center, New York (through September 1) | Ticket information
Story produced by Annie Iezzi. Editor: George Pozderec.