Gonzo Theater Incites Passion and Truth

"Because there's no right way to write, because there's little time to self-censor, because the anonymity promotes boldness, and because the only judges of the work are the people consuming it, we sometimes get closer to the truth."

So states EMU theater professor Patrick Reynolds in reference to the innovative and expressive plays of Gonzo Theater. Gonzo Theater is a monthly event here at EMU that features short, five minute plays written by any student who wants to participate. A theme or "inspiration" is chosen and posted on campus for several days, during which time these short plays are composed. Prior to the show, these plays are rehearsed for no more than one hour and then the actors/actresses, which can also be anyone with interest, present the plays onstage in a casual setting without costumes and with scripts. As an extra bonus, snacks and door prizes are given out to the audience.

Reynolds first created Gonzo Theater while in his doctorate studies after experiencing a similar program in his graduate studies. The term "gonzo," which means "freewheeling or unconventional," was used because the plays were intended to be improvisational and impromptu, while at the same time allowing the writers to share their "deep work, not the pretty work," with the audience. Gonzo theater has received a good deal of positive reception from the EMU campus, with generally large crowds and lots of plays submitted by students. Reynolds believes that audiences enjoy Gonzo because "they are present at the birth of something new. All the filters of time and rehearsal and remote authorship are gone." He also believes that writers enjoy the opportunity to participate because the format of Gonzo prohibits the censorship that is prevalent in our society today.

At this time of year, when many students are given a "right" way of writing their final term papers, for example, students are unable to freely express their ideas because they are subjected to a certain framework to work within. Reynolds argues that this approach will "[never] produce much authentic truth, [much] less beauty." So in contrast, Reynolds offers Gonzo as an outlet for students to ignore all inhibition and truly share of themselves.

For Reynolds, the plays are "inventive, impulsive, challenging, and amazingly revealing." Through Gonzo, Reynolds feels that he has gotten to "know the students on this campus better after three nights of gonzo than after three years of teaching and directing" because of the large amount of control the students have over these productions.

But the biggest reason that Reynolds does gonzo here at EMU comes from something a professor of his once said. Reflecting upon the role of theater the professor said, "[It] should be like a kiss, not like the prom. It should be reflexive, delightful, passionate, strange, and sometimes sloppy, not formal and infrequent." Since we are instinctively like this with some forms of art anyway, like singing in the shower or dancing to a good song in the grocery store, theater should certainly be no different, and Gonzo aims to attain this romantic picture of theater.

There are no more Gonzo nights scheduled for this semester, but one can certainly expect performances in the spring. However, in contrast to this semester, when all plays submitted were performed, only five will be selected in future Gonzos, in order to shorten performances. Reynolds remains excited for the spring because "most of the best writing has come from non-theater students, so we [will] see a broad range of voices on stage."