“The Humanities”

*** Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture, including certain fundamental questions asked by humans. During the Renaissance, the term “humanities” referred to the study of classical literature and language, as opposed to the study of religion or the concept of “divinity“. The study of the humanities was a key part of the secular curriculum in universities at the time. Today, the humanities are more frequently defined as any fields of study outside of natural sciences, social sciences, formal sciences (like mathematics), and applied sciences (or professional training). They use methods that are primarily critical, speculative, or interpretative and have a significant historical element—as distinguished from the mainly empirical approaches of science.^[1]

The humanities include the academic study of philosophy, religion, history, language arts (literature, writing, oratory, rhetoric, poetry, etc.), the performing arts (theater, music, dance, etc.), and the visual arts (painting, sculpture, photography, filmmaking, etc.).^[2]

These are things that I learned about when I was in Junior College, in my Humanities course. Is it true that Ideas have consequences? After watching Zayd Ayers Dohrn’s “The Humanities” now on the stage at the Victory Gardens Theatre, in it’s World Premiere, I guess, so. The play ( two acts, approx. 2 plus hours, with an intermission) takes us on a trip exploring the college campus culture wars, that are far different than the days when I was in school.

It is about students and faculty members as they grapple with issues such as gender, race, sex, violence, position, and their futures. Directed by Edward Torres, the 9 characters in this story are quite realistic. There are parts of the production where the actors are in the audience and play from there, being brought on the stage as if they were truly guests that were called on. This was quite believable as we had no idea that the so called audience members/students attending a guest speaker’s talk were not really among us, until they hit the stage.

I will tell you that this play explores complex and challenging subject matter, has strong language, sexual content, and partial nudity. It is best to know this prior to entering the theater, so there will be no surprises. The set is very simply: some pillars and a blank stage, allowing different set pieces to be carried on for each scene. The scenes for the most part are “books”, and the scenes that we witness are what one might call insider looks at what might be going on at our college campuses throught America. As a grandparent of five college students, in different locations around our country, there are some scenes that I found myself concerned about.

The speaker, Luka ( Daniil Krimer), and his attitude were shockingly realistic. Steve Pickering’s Martin reminded me a great deal of one of my professors, way back in the 70’s. He is a recovering alcoholic ( what does that truly mean?) and while he has a major position, how safe is anyone in their job? I was very impressed with the performances of Deaughn Asante Loman, as the non-student who on his own becomes a “student” and goes unnoticed, and Ernest Bentley as Jonas, ended up being quite moral.

The other cast members, Isa Arciniega, Naomi Evans, Piper Murphy, Derrick Sanders III , and Sabine Wan all hold their own in bringing many characters alive and having to deal with the subject matter of Dohrn’s play. We all know that in real life, just as we see on this college campus, our world is divided. This play shows just how much and by what means.

This is for adults, so I would suggest that you call this that. I am unsure as to how a soon to be college studient might react to its content. I know that many sitting around me will have viewed it from a different perspective, so I think the reviews will be very mixed as the opening audience was composed of many older people, and lots of etnic groups were representedas well.

I will say that it was great to be back at The Victory Gardens Theater. Soon this venue will be alive and thriving with the sound of Porchlight Music Theater, but from now until October 4th, you can see this World Premiere, “The Humanities” with performances as follows:

Thursdays   7:30 p.m

Fridays        7:30 p.m.

Saturdays   2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Sundays      3:00 p.m.

For tickets www.eventbrite.com or boxoffice@victorygardens.org

Vistory Gardens is located at 2433 N. Lincoln Avenue in Chicago. Lots of dining in the area as well.

photos by Michael Brosilow

To see what others are saying, visit www.theatreinchicago.com, go to Review Round-Up and click on “The Humanities”.