“I don’t want to go to a play where five women are going to yell at me.”
There have been a lot of conversations about the play I’m in right now, and this sentiment was one that caught me a bit off guard. The play is Collective Rage. The full title is Collective Rage: A Story In 5 Betties; In Essence, A Queer And Occasionally Hazardous Exploration; Do You Remember When You Were In Middle School And You Read About Shackleton And How He Explored The Antarctic?; Imagine The Antarctic As A Pussy And It’s Sort Of Like That.
My first thought on hearing this, I guess, “critique” of the title was, “Would you go see 12 Angry Men?” Like. Would ya, bruh? Why is the idea of 12 men yelling at us somehow desirable, but 5 women yelling so repulsive? Hmm? Collective Rage was released in 2019 after the Me Too movement when women’s rage was…fashionable? There is certainly a societal overcorrection that comes from powerful movements such as Me Too. But once the novelty of Women’s Rage as a concept has dwindled, what’s left? Are we right back where we started where women are expected to feel all emotions…that is, all emotions EXCEPT rage. Because rage is something men feel to exude power, therefore is not a REAL emotion. And certainly not one that women ACTUALLY feel.
/sarcasm
The response to this statement by those involved with the show has been to say the title doesn’t reflect the show’s content. To lament having to use the licensed artwork depicting a femme mouth screaming. To make sure people know this isn’t about angry feminists.
And that makes me want to…well…rage.
This show IS about 5 women, and they are going to yell at you. They are going to yell with joy, with despair, with confusion, and fucking yes, with rage. Rage takes so many forms, and is expressed so differently by each character in this show. That’s WHY I audioned for it. That’s WHY I wanted to be a part of this story. Because women’s rage SHOULD be depicted. It IS a femisist show because we don’t have nearly the amount of plays with all-female cast as we do with all-male casts. While these women don’t narratively challenge men in the audience, the simple act of existing (un-fucking-fortunately) IS the challenge.
These women are in love. And lust. These women just want to have friendships, and be a part of something greater than themselves. They are desperate. They are sad. They are exploring the world and their place in it. This is a comedy for goodness sake. And rage and yelling and femisism can exist in that.
And frankly, if you “don’t want to go to a play where 5 women will yell” at you, you are EXACTLY the kind of person that should have 5 women yell at you.
If you’re in the Louisville, KY area and would like to see the show, click here. We run thru March 10, 2024.
💜🦄FK
Fløren K 