SubUrbia

Subject: Burger Manifesto
Sooze’s performance art piece was a subject of great trepidation for me. Touch myself on stage? Spread my legs in front of an audience? Why I would never…but I did. I was incredibly nervous about the whole spectacle. Sooze is a seasoned gal who uses and celebrates her body all in the name of art. I, on the other hand, am a sweet country bumpkin who was taught to keep my hands firmly behind my back. I am uncomfortable with my body and I pray it didn’t show, especially after working so hard to overcome it. I also found that each audience presented different challenges that altered my performance. My focus during the piece was usually on the back row center. Friday night was a little rough because the director’s twelve-year-old sister just happened to be sitting in my line of focus. It was difficult in the beginning but I suddenly found that my frustration was boosting my energy. I quickly dismissed the little girl in front of me and went on with the monologue. My parents came on Saturday, which presented an entirely different obstacle. Our small town has more churches than stop lights and my family is conservative to say the least. When I first began work on the play I informed them not to come. Yet after I recovered from the initial shock of it’s explicit content, it became something I was growing quite proud of. I told them to come if they wanted but to prepare themselves. On Saturday, I did not even attempt to look for my parent’s faces in the crowd. Later, to my horror, I discovered they were sitting in the front row. In the lobby after the show, the look on their faces was “classic,” a mixture of surprise and nausea. But I’d like to think there was a tinge of pride there too. They were stunned, but I think that was what Bogosian intented.
SubUrbia for most people points out the flaws of the American dream. It shows the daily antics of beautiful disillusioned youngsters who stumble so tragically when reality finally sets in. SubUrbia became something much more personal to me. It was my first college production and I learned a great deal from my older costars. But most importantly it helped me remember that my parents love me unconditionally. I am fairly certain that I will screw up sometime in the next three years and I can use this experience as a reminder that I need not be afraid. Unlike Sooze, I do not have to distance myself from those I love.