Talking about politics is tough, especially in a divisive presidential race in which each side claims the other is a threat to democracy.
But what if the subject could be navigated through the arts, with people coming together for a shared performance meant to provoke thought instead of arguments? That’s the hope of the Charleston Gaillard Center’s Fall for Democracy program taking center stage this election season.
“We just think artists have an interesting lens to bring to the conversation,” says Charleston Gaillard Center CEO Lissa Frenkel. “They often open up the conversation in a way that's different than how we're experiencing it.”
From now through November 22nd, the center is offering performances, panels and community events aimed at celebrating the ideals of democracy and lifting the voices of all Americans.
The Belgian theater and performance group Ontroerend Goed invites audiences to explore democratic principles in the U.S. premiere of Fight Night. The show begins with five candidates who are whittled down to one, as the audience votes live following a series of guided prompts and questions from a host.
“All of the audience will be sitting on the stage,” says Frenkel. “So, it will be a very intimate performance that is new for us.”
Several musical performances address divisive topics like immigration and LGTBQ+ rights. For example, Rhiannon Giddens returns to Charleston with the Silkroad Ensemble to perform American Railroad, which explores immigrant communities and the creation of the U.S. Transcontinental Railroad. Then, there’s Och & Oy! A Considered Cabaret starring Alan Cumming and Ari Shapiro, two LGBTQ+ performers.
Frenkel says she’d most like to hear someone say after a performance, “I never thought about it that way.”
There will also be a conversation with author Ta-Nehisi Coates who wrote Between the World and Me, which delves into what it means to be Black in America. The book was banned from being taught in South Carolina schools last year after students complained it made them feel ashamed to be white. Coates will discuss his latest book, The Message, which explores how the stories we tell — and the ones we don’t — shape our realities.
And an interactive exhibit in the Charleston Gaillard Center’s lobbies will invite families to get their kids involved in talking about democracy. It uses grains of rice to represent human populations and statistics, like the number of people who vote in our state.
The League of Women Voters will also be on hand to help audience members register to vote and learn more about the process before election day.
The Charleston Gaillard Center is a financial sponsor of SC Public Radio.
