“Bill of (W)Rights” doesn’t shy away from tough issues

Mixed Blood Theater artistic director Jack Reuler is the closest thing Twin Cities theatre has to John Brown. A crazy white man who not only believes we're all created equal but also doesn't think some of us are more equal than others. Putting money with that belief, Reuler established a haven for renegade thought and, in the process, built an outfit that's known all over America for confronting social issues with wry candor. This time around, Reuler is producing "Bill of (W)Rights," a little something he and Guthrie Literary Director Michael Bigelow cooked up. The project was spurred by the Supreme Court's 2003 ruling on a case that began with authorities barging into a Texas bedroom. The production enlists 9 playwrights, 6 directors and 24 actors on eight stages to do 10 plays that, Reuler believes, "tackle the impact of America's social contract on our most intimate relationships with [the Constitution] in a society increasingly governed by fear." Scripts were from Jeffrey Hatcher, Janet Allard, Rebecca Gilman, Syl Jones, Gavin Lawrence, Melanie Marnich, Jane Martin, Kelly Stuart and Elizabeth Wong. Directors include Stan Wojewodski (former head of the Yale School of Drama and Artistic Director of Yale Rep), Elizabeth Engleman (Literary Director of the McCarter Theatre), Michael Dixon, Aditi Kapil, Lawrence and Reuler. A week before opening, Reuler discussed the show with Pulse.

Pulse of the Twin Cities: There are, what, only three writers of color and two of them of are black. There's no depiction of gay life at all. In a show about civil rights. What's up with that?
Jack Reuler: I'll tell you what's up with that. While you're right that the final version does not have a significant gay voice and was inspired by an event involving gay people, the first two writers on the list that were approached were Tony Kushner and Margaret Cho. Tony considered it, but time didn't allow. There were too many layers of people to get to Margaret Cho. Elizabeth Wong, though, whose work is being used in the production, was a writer for Cho's show on television. Some accepted the commission, but didn't do it in a timely manner. Or wrote something and we didn't use it. About 16 or 17 people ultimately were approached to contribute to the thing. Jose Rivera is one. So, that's what's up with that.

Pulse: Cool. How were the amendments divided among the writers?
JR: Well, it was kind of first come, first served. Oddly enough, there wasn't any great competing. No one felt slighted if they didn't get to write about a particular one. Jeff Hatcher does a bookend for us. He had to wait for the other eight to be written, because actors in the first one and the 10th one can double-up. The fact that he's writing on Freedom of Speech resulted in something incendiary. He took the approach that here's all these things that the Bill of Rights allows us to say, but do we really want to hear them? The writing assignment could be viewed two ways. Just theatrically illustrating one of the amendments in a contemporary manner. Or have a point of view as you do that. Jeff presents the overall piece with a point of view. I don't think it falls on a lefty or righty side.

Pulse: You're kidding, right? I mean, just producing something like this makes a statement.
JR: Well, I think it's doing what theater's supposed to be doing. Hopefully everything we try to do at Mixed Blood has some political statement to it. [The show] shouldn't be a museum piece. It has a voice.

Pulse: What voice? Or, at least, saying what?
JR: We want people to analyze whether those basic rights, those ideals we think we have as Americans really come to play in the way we lead our daily lives. And it's not just watching your ass from what the government will do. It's literally how we deal with each other in a different spectrum of fear. I went to the dentist this morning. And they had this privacy thing to fill out that says your information can be released anywhere. I said, 'I'm not signing this thing.' It was a clear answer to me. It was, like, does that mean don't get dental treatment? I'll go somewhere else. Would I have done that in a different time, I don't know. But I certainly was screening myself because of the way information is being shared in this particular snapshot of history. That's what's it's about. How, in our daily lives, are we watching what we do. Some people been watching their ass their whole lives. Some people are doing it differently today. Some who never did it are doing it for the first time.

Pulse: Tell me some more.
JR: If you have a house that shares a computer, now there are people, if they're good at it, can find out all about your world. Your privacy issues and the world [of access by] telecommunication can mean two different things. Someone can track my cell phone and bust me on things I want to do in my life that are no one else's business. Almost by doing less, we're taking care of ourselves. Not taking advantage of opportunities that technology may offer us is one way to protect your privacy. That's just one thing. As I lead my daily life, there are these things that are available to me, but if I take advantage of them, am I really compromising basic rights that I have.

“Bill of (W)Rights” opens February 20, 8 p.m. ($22) with performances on Saturdays at 7 p.m. ($22), Sundays at 3 p.m. & 7 p.m. ($16), Thursdays at 8 p.m. ($10), and Fridays at 8 p.m. ($19). Runs through March 7. Box office 612-338-6131 or www.mixedblood.com. Mixed Blood Theatre at 1501 South Fourth Street on the West Bank in Minneapolis. Because audience members climb and descend three flights of stairs, posing accessibility issues, for the final performance on Sunday, March 7, at 3 p.m., all 10 plays will be performed in the Alan Page Auditorium. This performance will be ASL-interpreted and audio-described.