march 3, 2000 »
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* !5 *
t’s a challenge to say enough about Lips to
inspire you to dash out and buy your tickets
while not spoiling too many of the surprises
in this exciting new play.
The first act is quite mysterious, not so
liuch a whodunit as a whydunit: Why does the
st female president of the United States
ecide to tell the world she’s a lesbian? Known
lly as Joni, this prez is elegantly delineated by
Leed College faculty member Kathleen Wor-
^y. Her Joni is a bold, straight-talking dame
nth a very unusual secret agenda.
The set for this three-character play is mini
malist—all black and white and hard surfaces,
"hough there are at least 10 different settings,
11 scene changes are accomplished with light-
ng and a few shifts of props. Although there
>n’t much visual texture to linger over, that
jck redirects all attention to the actors and
heir words— and the words by veteran play
wright Constance Congdon are the star attrac-
a.
Congdon’s script provides many heartfelt
ipeeches on the subject of gay rights, as well
is plenty of laughs along the way. Joni
[escribes herself at Vassar as a “L U G — les-
)ian until graduation.” Later on she says:
And so it came to pass that dead-from-the-
vaist-down June Cleaver moved into the
IXTiite House.”
Another character with some mystery about
mim is Andy, the all-purpose aide to the presi
dent ably acted by Sean Parker, who seems to
be playing both sides of the political fence as
he plays matchmaker for his boss. His romantic
candidate is Rachel, a young woman with a
scarred past and a strong motivation to cooper-
te. The two of them have their own complex
ast together, which adds to the drama. Rachel
|is not all that likable at first, but Linda Hay
den’s emotionally charged portrayal makes her
incredible adventure easier to believe.
More evidence of Congdon s wit is found in
an exchange in which Rachel asks Joni if there
has ever been a gay president. “You mean after
Eleanor Roosevelt ?” Joni asks back.
After the inevitable press conflagration
begins, Congdon demonstrates her facile use of
language while showing that Joni is prepared
for any consequences: “We’re setting a big, sort
of righteous fire that will attract all the cameras
and writers like moths.” She then adds, “A 21
alarm fire.” When Andy asks why 21, she
replies: “T hat’s how many guns they fire when
they bury a president."
Lips is mounted by the Profile Theatre Pro
ject, a fledgling company in its third season,
which also has a unique premise— to focus
each season on the work of one playwright.
Last fall the group presented Congdon’s Tales of
the Lost Formicans, a play whose title reveals
the author’s quirky sense of humor. And
despite its very serious themes, which include a
lesbian mother’s fight for custody of her child,
Lips also is a comedy.
Congdon can’t resist referencing her inspi
ration, Monica mania. After Rachel asks Joni
for a favor and is turned down, she says: “I
thought you could do anyth.ng.” To which
President Joni replies: “Watch any news at all
in the last few years ?”
ongdon, whose first professionally produced
play premiered in 1981, currently teaches
playwriting at Amherst College in Massa
chusetts. She recently squeezed in an e-mail
interview with Just Out.
When’ asked about the settings for her
plays, she replies: “A sense of place is very
strong in my work. You can see it in Lips — I
lived in Maryland for five years. D.C., northern
Virginia, Camp David are in the play. I don’t
know if I’ve ever written a play without some
scene outside.”
•
i * 5
£3 »
From left: Sean Parker, Kathleen Worley and Linda Hayden flesh out the characters in Lips
Kiss these lips
There’s much to love about this new play
featuring a very gay-friendly female president
by
“ *137
O riana G reen
their lecture circuit speak
In Lips, which was
ing fees would skyrocket,”
inspired by President Clin
the author says. “And
ton’s sexual escapades and
then I started thinking,
the media frenzy that fol
what
would a president
lowed, Congdon wanted to
think who followed this
explore what might happen
mess?”
if a president in the near
How long does she think it
future had another kind of
will
be
before we really have a
sexual secret.
woman in the oval office?
“The subject matter was much
Constance
Congdon
“Lips is set not so far in the
on my mind during the Clinton
future. I think the country is more
ordeal, particularly the self-right
than
ready
for a female president,” Congdon
eousness of the media pundits who were feast
asserts. “There are so many factors involved on
ing off the nonevent, meanwhile ensuring that
the road to a strong candidacy. I guess Anne
Richards isn’t young enough. I was actually
sorry Elizabeth Dole dropped out. I wish Bar
bara Jordan were still alive. I’ll never forget the
euphoria of Geraldine Ferraro’s candidacy.”
So, does Congdon consider herself a femi
nist?
“I consider myself a humanist. I feel strongly
about the rights and need for social justice for
all people,” she says. “As a woman, I am, of
course, very interested in feminist causes. I’ve
learned a lot about politics watching the
tremendous strides women have made in my
lifetime.”
And would she call herself a political
junkie?
“I’m not a political junkie, but I read
books,” Congdon answers. “1 recommend
Breaking the News by James Fallows.”
How did she come to write such a queer-
focused play?
“The play has an idealistic center and it’s
based, partially, on my longing for a cause that
is unequivocally righteous and right,” she
explains. “Gay rights is one of those righteous
causes. It’s been, like civil rights in general, one
of those beacons. The gains in my lifetime,
here, too, have been amazing and are a con
stant sign for hope for the century we’ve just
started. 1 was bom in 1944, so I know how far
we’ve come.”
And this isn’t the first time Congdon has
tackled gay issues.
“There are a lot of queer themes and char
acters in my plays,” she says. “Dog Opera is in
the Actor’s Book of Gay and Lesbian Plays ; my
play Casanova, in my collection Tales of the Lost
Formicans and Other Plays, has more than one
gay character and gay themes; my play The
Bride, about my growing up, has gay themes
and characters.”
Achieving success as a playwright is so rare,
why take that challenging road?
“I started out as a poet, but I had one play
produced and I was hooked on the perfor
mance-production experience,” Congdon
explains. “There’s nothing in the world like sit
ting in an audience having a good time at your
play. And there’s no hell like being there when
they hate it.”
Does it bother her that she often has so lit
tle control over actual productions?
“I’m always involved in the first production
of my plays, from casting on— that’s how I
make the script better,” she says. “I love actors.
I am amazed by what they do and that they
want to do it. And, just like any novice, I can’t
believe they can remember all those words,
even if I wrote them myself. O f course, there
are productions I haven’t liked, but a play has
to be produced or else it’s a bird without
wings— or wings without a bird. Or a kite with
out wind. Before I start sounding like bad
haiku, I’ll stop. But I think you get what I’m
saying.”
Constance Congdon will be coming to
Portland in April for the performance of her
play No Mercy and for the world premiere of
her play One Day Earlier. She will also be
teaching a series of playwriting workshops and
engaging in post-show discussions with the
audience. Don’t miss these opportunities to
experience contemporary theater at its best.
■ LlPS is playing at Theater! Theatre! through
March 26. The theater is located at 3430 S .E . Bel
mont St. in Portland. For show times and ticket
prices, call the box office at (503) 242-0080.
ORIANA GREEN
u * xs
once president of the
National Thespian Society and didn't mmd at all
when people thought it was a lesbian organization.
She is also the Entertainment Editor of Just Out and
can be reached at oriana@justout.com.