‘The Butterfly Effect’ inspired by a worldwide movement of anti-bullying video messages
Published 10:49 am Tuesday, May 29, 2012
When you’re young and struggling with questions about sexuality, the future can seem dark and uncertain. Factor in taunting and bullying from classmates, and it gets even worse.
Orcas Center is presenting “The Butterfly Effect,” an Orcas play inspired by a worldwide movement of anti-bullying video messages. It is adapted from local stories by Janet Brownell and directed by Jake Perrine.
“It’s a direct response to the epidemic of gay teen suicides across the country,” Perrine said. “It is a message of hope from our gay island elders to our youth that it does get better after the awkward trials of high school. If the faith of even one person seeing the play is restored, or if one person reconsiders bullying someone else for being different, we will have succeeded in our aspirations.”
Using author and journalist Dan Savage’s “It Gets Better” project as a model, the play portrays a broad array of experiences from those who came out early to those who waited until their mid-60s to those who are bisexual.
“Part of the commonality is that there is no ‘normal,’” Perrine said. “And when you see people as three-dimensional, it’s harder to ostracize them. It’s ignorance that creates aggression.”
The production, which is sponsored by a grant from the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender fund, will be shown on the OffCenter stage on June 1, 2, 3 at 7:30 pm. The play is rated PG-15 for its mature language and content. Younger theatre-goers can attend with parental consent. Celebrity guests such as Senator Kevin Ranker and former Seattle police chief Norm Stamper have been invited to introduce the play.
The content of the production comes from locals – ages 40 to 70 – who wrote down stories about how they came out, who they are today and everything in between. Their words are used as dialogue, both in scenes and as monologues.
Cast members are Christopher Evans, Diansa Anuenue, Kim Secunda, Ladd Lindholm, Suzanne Olson, Deborah Sparks, Jim Schaffer-Bauch, Jules Mann, Nate Feder, Angelica Mayo, Rene Sturk and Conrad Wrobel.
In chaos theory, the butterfly effect is where a small change in one place can result in a larger difference somewhere else. That’s the goal of the play: to educate and inform, resulting in a minor shift with larger implications.
Jared Lovejoy, who contributed his story to the play, was bullied for much of his youth. Among his experiences: being chased by bat-wielding men in trucks and tied to a tree. He and his family, including a twin brother who is also gay, relocated frequently.
“Because we moved all the time, there was this small window where the kids didn’t realize we were different,” he said. “Bullying is still a really big issue. It’s not just about being gay, it’s being different. We have an unbelievably violent culture … it’s hard for me to talk about it because I know it still goes on. We seem to despise and ostracize anything different. The kids who bully, it’s just a symptom of something bigger.”
Despite that, Lovejoy and Perrine hope the U.S. might be at a tipping point of moving towards acceptance, especially with such shows as “Glee” portraying positive gay characters.
“We need to come into harmony with nature and the full array of possibilities,” Perrine said. “We try to fit people into this narrow way of living. We need to just let people be.”
Tickets for The Butterfly Effect are $15 ($2 off for Orcas Center members). All high school students can attend the showing for free. Tickets are at www.orcascenter.org or 376-2281 or visiting the Orcas Center box office.
