NOVEMBER 26, 1993 GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE

ENTERTAINMENT

Women's sexuality is focus of CPT double bill

by Barry Daniels

The Cleveland Public Theatre's next production is a double bill of plays by local playwrights that deal with women and the expression of their sexuality. Janet Feindel's A Particular Class of Women is about women in the striptease industry. Originally performed by Feindel as a one-woman show, the CPT production will feature eight actresses in a staging that was recently seen in Toronto, produced by Libra Productions, a new company devoted to producing challenging pieces that contain strong, interesting parts for women. Playwright and performance artist Mike Geither's new solo piece, Arthur 33, will be the second half of the bill. It is an autobiographical monologue in which he imagines the sexual awakening of his late great-aunt.

Mike Geither is a Cleveland area native who completed an MFA in playwriting this year at the Iowa Playwrights Workshop of the University of Iowa. During his second year at the University of Iowa, he spent a semester as a literary intern at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles. He currently works in the psychiatric ward of an area hospital. Since 1989, his work has been regularly seen on Cleveland stages. His play 80, about Interstate 80, was first read at CPT in January 1992, and subsequently performed at Akron University and the University of Iowa. His solo work, Map of My Mother was premiered at CPT in August 1992, and was invited to be part of the 1993 Cleveland Performance Art Festival. His new solo piece, Arthur 33, was first performed by Geither at the University of Iowa Playwrights Festival in May. Fellow University of Iowa graduate, Chicago-based director Amy Pigott, will stage the CPT production.

In a recent discussion with Geither and Pigott, Geither indicated that he is mostly working now in what is called "performance art," where the writer performs material that is generally drawn from his personal experiences. "When I write a play," he says, "I know other people are going to be doing it. When I write performance art, I'm writing it for myself to do, and I'm not taking on much of a role."

"I'm not pretending any more," he adds, "I'm just being. It makes you kind of define yourself."

Although Geither incorporates his experiences as a nurse in a Cleveland hospital psychiatric ward into Arthur 33, the central narrative in the work was inspired by his great-aunt. He recalls, "She died right around the time I was moving out of my parents' house, so consequently, I got a lot of her things. I got a table, the dish towels that I use in the show, things that are with me all the time. I found I was always kind of thinking about her." He remembers her as being "the

most reserved person I ever knew." The trip she takes in the piece is totally fictional. Geither explains that "she had this life that was so limiting that I think I had to free her up some way."

Director Pigott comments that "there is a lot of caretaking in the play. When Rose was left with no one else to care for, she goes on this journey, and that is when she gets all this freedom and explores her sexuality. And, at least for a moment, she finds someone who cares for her."

Arthur 33 has an off-beat kind of humor and is rich in observations of the world around us. The story of Aunt Rose's sexual odyssey is funny, liberating, and celebratory. When she finds happiness with the "floating woman," Geither's writing is both lyrical and moving. When asked if the saga he's imagined for his aunt might offend some of his audience, he replies, "It's part of my job to speak the unspeakable. We go to theater to get comfortable with the things we're uncomfortable with."

A Canadian from Montreal, Janet Feindel, is living in Ohio, and is an assistant professor and head of the voice training program in the School of Theatre at Kent State University. (She is both a colleague of mine and a dear friend.) She has worked as an actress in Canada, notably at the Stratford Festival, and has served as vocal coach at the Shaw Festival and the New Jersey Shakespeare Festival. She is also on the advisory board of the International Women's Playwriting Conference. For almost ten years, early in her career and between acting jobs, Feindel worked as a stripper. A Particular Class of Women is based on her experiences and is an affectionate portrait of eight very different women in that profession. She developed the play from 1985-1988, performing it herself in Canada and the United States. It was published by Lazara Publications in 1988, and will be reprinted next year in a collection, Singular Voices, by the Canadian Playwrights' Press.

The title of the play comes from a court case in which a man, who raped a stripper at knife point, was given a lenient sentence because the victim belonged to "a particular class of women whose profession was to promote lust." Feindel has explained that "the title of the play not only reflects the contempt of the judge's comments but the fact that strippers come from many walks of life, that no one class is drawn to the profession. But once they do become part of the strip world, they become a class of their own, a subculture with its own set of values and traditions."

Feindel believes the play is “very affirming to women." She says, "It affirms women's right to speak about their sexuality and about their lives and about issues that have affected them. It shows a sisterhood. It is an

Janet Feindel as “Luv” in A Particular Class of Women

environment where women support each other."

"Politically," she notes, "the women are a group which is discriminated against not just by society, but unfortunately, sometimes by the mainstream feminist community... I think that sex workers have been an embarrassment to the feminist movement. They don't know where it fits in because their line has been that these women are victims. Yet these women are standing up and saying they are not victims."

The sexual explicitness of the language in the play as well as a kind of natural acceptance of a great variety of sexual tastes that are not considered "normal" by straight society have caused controversy. When asked about this Feindel notes, "It is acceptable for a man to talk about sexual issues, and men have traditionally dominated in that domain. When women do it— especially if it is done in an assertive way— it's threatening."

"If somebody has unresolved feelings about sexual issues," she states, "the play is going to disturb them almost inevitably.

PHOTO: PAT FEINDEL

And if they are pretty comfortable with themselves and their sexuality, they will probably love it.”

Feindel concludes that "the real reason I wrote the play was as a tribute to the women... It's really more about the characters and how they deal with the contradictions of the whole whore/madonna question. For me the characters were so vital and alive with such a great sense of humor that I was able to take these contradictions and see society from a different point of view."

A Particular Class of Women will be performed on December 9-11 at 8 pm; December 15-18 at 10 pm; and December 19 at 7 pm. Arthur 33 will be performed December 9-11 at 10pm; December 12 at 7 pm; and December 16-18 at 8 pm. Tickets for both shows are $12 and $8 (students and seniors); or, for one show only, $10 and $6. All tickets are $2 on Thursday. CPT is at 6415 Detroit Ave on the near West Side. For reservations telephone 631-2727.

PRIDE RIDE

Every day is a gift Unwrap it carefully

Use it gratefully

Live it lovingly . . . and

EAT POTATO PANCAKES!

miracles

Restaurants

Near Downtown: 621-6419 University Circle: 721-6244

The all new Celica for '94!

METRO TOYOTA

W. 137th & Brookpark Road OFF 1-480 267-7000 Please Ask for Jim Greenfield New, Used & Leasing