Bath House Cultural Center. Photo by Renee Umsted.
Picture this — a play about David Mamet writing a play about Harvey Weinstein.
You likely know who Harvey Weinstein is — the disgraced Hollywood producer who was accused of sexual misconduct — but you might not be as familiar with the playwright Mamet.
“David Mamet, in the theatre world, is shorthand for misogynistic, sexist, arrogant, ‘man’s man’ in the worst sense of the term,” Jared Culpepper said.
Culpepper is a producer for Echo Theatre’s Echo Reads Salon Series, in which professional actors perform readings of plays for free. And that play about David Mamet and Harvey Weinstein? Culpepper is directing it, and you can see it for yourself at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 20 at the Bath House Cultural Center.
A Play about David Mamet Writing a Play about Harvey Weinstein by Mathilde Dratwa may have been inspired by the fact that Mamet actually did pen a play about Weinstein (and Culpepper said, “It sucked from most accounts,”), but that doesn’t have much to do with the story.
“Our show follows a white actress firmly in her adult years encountering a young Black ingenue actress. As our protagonist conceptualizes a play about Mamet writing a play about Weinstein, we witness a very abstract examination of sexism in the entertainment industry specifically, but which will be relatable to anyone living in the real world,” Culpepper said in an email. “The male monsters discussed in our show are largely at the invention of our female protagonist. This is presented to the audience in scenes depicting the extremes of such situations. The trigger warnings will hopefully indicate to our audience that this isn’t a gentle show, but I believe the dark humor is consistent with a present trend in comedy, and am fortunate to have a great cast who can navigate this deftly.”
Echo Theatre “champions the diverse voices of women-plus,” which includes cis and trans women as well as people born female and gender non-conforming folks, according to Echo Theatre’s website. This season’s theme for the Echo Reads Salon Series is entitled “Her Terms: A Female Perspective on the Male Gaze.” These readings do tackle heavy topics, but they are also meant to be comedies revolving around “social sexual dynamics and female agency therein.” After the show, the audience is encouraged to stick around for a moderated discussion.
“The season’s theme is an unusual one for Echo Theatre,” Managing Artistic Director Kateri Cale said in an email. “We noticed that women playwrights are creating scripts that explore their opinions about The Male Gaze in a post #MeToo world. Honestly, the stories in these plays are in-your-face and even triggering for some audience members. Though the theme of this three-script season might be somewhat upsetting for some, it is a trend that we felt should be examined. If women are writing scripts in this vein, we want to attempt to understand the impetus and hear them out. Our Echo Reads Salon Series is a safe space to experience and discuss them.”
A Play about David Mamet Writing a Play about Harvey Weinstein got to Echo Theatre by way of Culpepper’s recommendation.
“As Kateri said, our series is promoting a feminist voice which may speak differently from what our audience is used to,” Culpepper said. “With our theme, Her Terms: A Female Perspective on the Male Gaze, we sought scripts in which women dissect men’s attitudes toward sexuality.”
Last month’s reading in the series — Donna Hoke’s Elevator Girl — addressed sexual assault, rape culture, consent and inherent gender inequity.
“My belief is that an earnest conversation about these topics must take place among all genders and sexual identities and even ages, together,” Culpepper said. “In that conversation, ugly truths and ugly stereotypes will be confronted. We found stories that present that ugliness in a respectful, digestible way. In my observation, the TikTok generation is ready to have loud uncomfortable conversations (perhaps to a fault?) and while I’m a couple decades too old to claim any ownership of that energy, I’m glad that Echo is reflecting that youthful vigor for tough talks, and I believe we’re facilitating progress in these kinds of discussions.”
A Play about David Mamet Writing a Play about Harvey Weinstein is over an hour long and intended for audience members ages 18 years and older. The show is expected to include explicit language, discussions of and references to sexual discrimination and assault, sex acts, violence, and bodily harm.
For more information, visit Echo Theatre’s website.
