Aaron Swiniuch AMT 254: Aesthetics November 15, 2012 Races Role Towards the Value Of a Theatrical Piece

of Art Throughout the years, playwrights have written plays and musicals that consist of many themes and ideas, which evoke different feelings for the audience watching the performance. These feelings generally are what drive the audience to be engaged within the piece of art, allowing them to fully enthrall themselves in the story and feel alongside the characters. While some of the ideas and themes are emotional events that happen day to day (love, trust, happiness, coming of age, etc.), there are some playwrights who pick hard-hitting subjects (race, sexual orientation, historical events, etc.) that sometimes evoke an almost uncomfortable feeling for the audience. These pieces are written for a reason and are hoped to leave a message with the audience after they leave the theatre. Race, the use of race, and racial issues in theatrical performances, such as Race by David Mamet, help to develop the feelings that work toward the value of the work of art. Race is a theme, commonly used in plays and musicals, that is generally acknowledged as hard-hitting or uncomfortable for audience to experience. Race has always been a rough subject for our country, being that we still to this day deal with racism and racial problems within our society. This problem with race stems from the history in the United States, which involves plantation owners, and early colonist owning slaves; from that time own, the white population had an invisible

privilege over the black population without knowing it. Today, many do not think that there is a privilege had over others, but this is not the truth in any case. Allan Johnson speaks to the fact that privilege, then, is something that happens through what people think and feel and do, and it takes many active forms, from overt hostility to the subtlety of looking away (Johnson, 2002), within his book Privilege, Power, and Difference. Being that many people feel as though privilege does not exist and that everyone is generally equal within our society, seeing a performance that deals with racial issues elicits an almost fear within the audiences mind, that forces the audience not to stray from paying attention. Race, by David Mamet, is a drama written to bring about the theme of race and how the use of lies in our lives. Mamet writes that in my play a firm is made up of three lawyers, two black and one white, is offered the chance to defend a white man charged with a crime against a black young woman (Mamet, 2009). When writing the show, Mamet wrote each part to be a specific race so that he would be able to show the problems that may arise when you have different people within one setting. In an interview with Village Voice, Mamet states that, my plays are about people trying to become connected. People who are confusedtrying to do goodbut no one know how. No one ever quite makes it (Gibson, Kleinerman & Palmer, 2012). Throughout the piece, the audience is introduced to Susan, the young black woman lawyer, who has her own views on the trial and on the idea race herself. This character is the driving force within many of the conflicts that are brought to the attention of others because she feels as though the man is guilty and must be brought to justice for what he has done. In watching a performance dealing

with these topics, audience members are unknowingly asked to take part in rethinking how the feel about their own race and the way they use it towards others. They are asked to apply the emotions felt by each character to their own lives and how these emotions affect the people or groups of people that they are surrounded with. Martha Nussbaum is a philosopher who feels, that emotion is a value in which an artwork must have. Emotion can be seen or felt within any piece of artwork that a person can experience, but it is a necessity within dramatic pieces of art. If emotion is not shown within a play or a musical, the characters would not develop and the plot of the show would not go anywhere. Audience needs to see emotion to be able to relate to a character and to follow the arc of that characters story within the whole piece. Nussbaum comments practical reasoning unaccompanied by emotion is not sufficient for practical wisdom; that emotions are not only not more unreliable than intellectual calculations, but frequently are more reliable, and less deceptively seductive (Nussbaum, 205). The philosopher refers to emotions as more reliable then intellectual thought so that the reader can understand that without it, we are nothing; without emotions our world would be nothing and we, as people would have nothing to fight for. Emotion is what draws an audience to see a production. Looking at Mamets Race, in reference to Nussbaums philosophy on emotion within art, one can clearly see that this is a driving force behind the actions that are most important to the plot of the play. The character of Susan is a complex character to develop and in that, the actor must look within herself and grasp the raw

emotions, so that the audience can feel alongside her. The Greek philosopher, Aristotle, writes about these felt emotions as a process, which he defines as catharsis. Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines catharsis as the purification or purgation of the emotions (as pity and fear) primarily through art (MerriamWebster). By eliciting these feelings, we allow the audience to sympathize with the characters and as the characters lives through the feelings, relieve themselves in their experience. Korsmeyer summarizes some of Aristotles thoughts by saying Aristotle holds that the recognition of the vulnerability of human existence that tragedy induces, and the catharsis of the emotions thereby aroused, tends to cleanse the soul and invite moral understanding (Korsmeyer, 1998). Since Race first premiered on Broadway in 2009, audiences have reviewed Mamets production with various comments and views. A review on the production at Theatre Raleigh, Robert W. McDowell is quoted saying: Stricklands version of the events in question holds up; and facts emerge that cast doubt on the veracity of the accuser and her version of what happened at the hotel. To say much more than that would be to rob HSN and TR audiences of the delightful surprises that lie at every twist and turn of David Mamets roller-coaster ride of a story, with its dizzying highs and stomach-churning lows, as the playwright-provocateur examines how racial attitudes affect the perception of events and the inference of the guilt or innocence of the parties involved (McDowell, 2012).

McDowell cleverly describes the events that take place during the run of the show and feels as though being like a roller coaster ride, the audiences attention will be held the entire time. As always in our world, where there is good there is bad, so of course not all critics felt that Mamets play was as thrilling. After seeing a different performance of the show, Marty Hughley comments Race can feel at times like watching three cardboard cut-outs and one multi-dimensional character who in the end is little more than a stand-in for the collective conflicted feelings of guilty white liberals (Hughley, 2012). The critic obviously does not feel that Mamets production is an exciting show, but more a production that consists of plain characters with a mix of a somewhat conflicted story. When dealing with the theme of race, playwrights tend to cross boundaries and take plots to the limits so that they can push the audience to see how the topic affects their own lives. By using a character like Susan, David Mamet is able to connect with audience members, to show how race and views of race can induce certain thoughts on events that take place. Susans actions and the emotions that she shows allow for the audience to experience Aristotles catharsis and also to elicit Nussbaums philosophy of emotion in art. Both philosophers find that emotion within art not only allows the audience to live the piece but also to leave the theatre and find something knew within their thinking. By using race as a driving theme and topic within his production of Race, David Mamet explores and presents the feelings that work toward the value of the work of art.

Works Cited Gibson , L., Kleinerman, L. & Palmer, T. (2012, January). David mamet's race:provocative playwriting and politics. Goodman Theatre: OnStage, 27(2), 2-7. Retrieved from http://www.goodmantheatre.org/Documents/OnStage/1112/RaceConvert_OnStage.pd f Hughley, M. (2012, March 12). 'race' review: David mamet drama puts america's personal and social conflicts in black-and-white terms. The Oregonian. Retrieved from http://www.oregonlive.com/performance/index.ssf/2012/03/race_review_david_mam et_drama.html Johnson, A. G. (2002). Privilege, power, and difference. (2nd ed.). California: Mayfield Publishing Company. Korsmeyer, C. (1998). Aesthetics, the big questions. (1 ed.). New Jersey: WileyBlackwell. Mamet, D. (2009, Sept. 9). Notes of the production. New York Times. Retrieved from http://newrep.org/images/1213/Race_Production_Notes.pdf McDowell, R. (2012, July 26). David mamets race at hsn explores perceptions that divide white america from black america. Triangle Arts & Entertainment , Retrieved from http://triangleartsandentertainment.org/2012/07/david-mamets-race-at-hsnexplores-perceptions-that-divide-white-america-from-black-america/ Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Merriam-webster. Retrieved from http://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/catharsis Nussbaum, M. (1998). Form and content, philosophy and literature. In C. Kormeyer (Ed.), Aesthetics, the big question (1 ed., pp. 201-208). Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishers Ltd.