Bechdel Fest goes virtual to showcase underrepresented theater artists
The theater artists participating in Broken Nose Theatre's 2021 Bechdel Fest are a committed group. To comply with COVID-19 pandemic-mandated shutdowns, they initially agreed to take part in a virtual edition of the annual short play showcase, which was scheduled for last July.
But the civil unrest that followed the killings of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd prompted Broken Nose to postpone the festival until now. Artistic director Elise Marie Davis worried theater artists who initially agreed to participate might not be available if they put off the festival for six months. But almost everyone stuck with it, said the Lake Zurich native, adding "it has almost created a new artistic outlook and excitement."
Inspired by the Bechdel-Wallace Test, which tracks how often female characters in film, television or theater converse with each other about subjects other than men, the fest was conceived in 2013 as a one-time event presented over two weekends, said Davis, who was not a company member at the time.
Over the years, it has evolved into a showcase for women, female-identifying, nonbinary, trans and queer artists.
"There's clearly a desire for these types of stories," Davis said of the festival's increasing popularity. "The hunger has definitely grown, especially over the last few years. We started to sell out."
This year's virtual performances can't re-create the communal experience live theater provides, but they can expand the audience whose members have eight weeks to check out the plays.
"You can take it (the fest) in bite-size little moments," said Davis who appears in "The Ladies Next Door" by Iris Sowlat. "There's a story for everyone ... Regardless of your personal interests or experiences, there's always a personal nugget you can take away."
As successful as Bechdel Fest has become, Davis can't help but wish the need for it no longer existed.
"I would wish in three years we wouldn't have to do a fest like this," Davis said.
Still, Davis said, showcasing underrepresented voices serves an important purpose in "championing those types of stories you're not seeing that should be represented."
This year's festival marks Sonja Lynn Mata's debut with Broken Nose. The Wheeling native appears in "Cowabunga," Jamie Olah's play about a pair of friends and their long-standing tradition of attending a Wisconsin cow chip throwing contest.
"I'm always interested in stories that are different," she said, "stories that are of me but not of me."
Bechdel Fest does just that, she said.
A physical theater artist, Mata has found performing virtually challenging.
"Theater is about pulling your audience toward you. Making them lean forward in their seats," she said. "Physical elements allow that to happen."
Virtual theater doesn't lend itself to much physical expression. Yet Mata believes ensembles such as Broken Nose have risen to the challenge of creating art in the pandemic era.
"Now that we're settling into a temporary, new norm, how do we make it engaging? ... How do we make it delightful and allow our audiences to experience joy?" she said.
Davis has no doubt theater artists will resolve those and any other issues virtual performances pose and urges audiences to experience the alternative format.
Watching and supporting artists during such tumultuous times can be grounding, Davis said, and help us remember "we're all in this together, trying to do the thing we love to do."
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Bechdel Fest 8: Realign
When: Plays released weekly through March 19
Where: Productions stream through March 26 on Broken Nose Theatre's YouTube channel
Tickets: Pay-what-you-can. See brokennosetheatre.com.