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 woman Speaker of the House 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, to close off.
Pelosi. AOC. Trump.
Still with me?
There 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 for 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’d soon be labeled, too. Unknowingly, I’d picked a side.
I got out of politics.
Fast forward to after our show: A man in the audience – a big theater lover – tells me he’s just returned 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 thrown around. “Childless cat ladies” barely scratches the surface.
Maybe one day, our politics will be less prone to labels and name-calling. Maybe we’ll even get back to a time when just hearing a person’s name doesn’t end a conversation.
(Maybe…)
For more info:
- “N/A,” at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater, Lincoln Center, New York (through September 1) | Ticket info
Story produced by Annie Iezzi. Editor: George Pozderec.