{"id":368058,"date":"2025-05-10T06:16:51","date_gmt":"2025-05-10T10:16:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/?p=368058"},"modified":"2025-05-10T06:16:51","modified_gmt":"2025-05-10T10:16:51","slug":"reflections-on-an-open-hearted-open-rehearsal-of-we-are-gathered-at-arena","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/05\/10\/reflections-on-an-open-hearted-open-rehearsal-of-we-are-gathered-at-arena\/","title":{"rendered":"Reflections on an open-hearted open rehearsal of ‘We Are Gathered’ at Arena"},"content":{"rendered":"

In his talk \u201cTheatre of Be Longing,\u201d the playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney noted: \u201cI\u2019ve been chasing belonging, knowing this: I cannot create it. I must return to it by first returning to my community.\u201d<\/p>\n

If Atlanta is the Brigadoon of Black Queer Folk, Washington, DC, is our Mecca. The first Black Gay Pride Celebration in the country was held here on Banneker Field across from Howard University. So it\u2019s fitting that We Are Gathered<\/em>, McCraney\u2019s new play, is opening in Washington, DC, at Arena Stage on May 16.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Kyle Beltran and Nicholas L. Ashe as W. Tre and Free in \u2018We Are Gathered.\u2019 Publicity photo by Tony Powell courtesy of Arena Stage.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Based on what we saw at a recent open rehearsal, the play looks to invite its audience to consider the power and possibility of publicly committing oneself to another person and to one\u2019s community. The play also suggests that its audience not only consider the possibility that each individual in the audience is worthy of making that choice to commit but also consider \u201cWhy would you want to?\u201d And \u201cAre you allowed to?\u201d<\/p>\n

In the brief Q&A session that followed the run-through of two scenes from the play, McCraney noted: \u201cMarriage is not a necessity. It is not air. But to be in service to a relationship for the rest of your life is a calling.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

Two of the cast members are also clergy, and at every performance, audience members who decide to do so will have the opportunity to make that commitment: by proposing to their beloved, affirming their vows, or in fact being legally married in front of an audience of witnesses. In the culture in which I was raised, such a public invitation to engage in a ritual of connection would be termed \u201ccalling the children home.\u201d This ritual gives the title of the piece \u2014 We Are Gathered<\/em> \u2014 a weight that is worth meditating over conscientiously or, for those who practice it, prayerfully.<\/p>\n

During the open rehearsal, McCraney referenced Essex Hemphill,* whose poem \u201cCommitments\u201d<\/a> describes the breach that is being mended in this play:<\/p>\n

\n

I will always be there.
\nWhen the silence is exhumed.
\nWhen the photographs are examined
\nI will be pictured smiling
\namong the siblings, parents,
\nnieces and nephews.<\/p>\n

In the background of the photographs
\nthe hazy smoke of barbecue,
\na checkered red and white tablecloth
\nladen with blackened chicken,
\nglistening ribs, paper plates,
\nbottles of beer and pop.<\/p>\n

In the photos
\nthe smallest children
\nare held by their parents.
\nMy arms are empty, or around
\nthe shoulders of unsuspecting aunts
\nexpecting to throw rice at me someday.<\/p>\n

Or picture tinsel, candles,
\nornamented, imitation trees,
\nor another table, this one
\nset for Thanksgiving,
\na turkey steaming the lens.<\/p>\n

My arms are empty
\nin those photos, too,
\nso empty they would break
\naround a lover.<\/p>\n

I am always there
\nfor critical emergencies,
\ngraduations,
\nthe middle of the night.<\/p>\n

I am the invisible son.
\nIn the family photos
\nnothing appears out of character.
\nI smile as I serve my duty.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

It\u2019s not surprising, then, that We Are Gathered<\/em> \u2014 at least the part we were able to see \u2014 feels like a feast, an affirmation, a revival, and a welcoming home of prodigal sons and daughters. The focus here is on LGBTQ+ folk and their relationships with their families \u2014 of origin or chosen \u2014 and their communities. This is a queer love story.<\/p>\n

McCraney, director Kent Gash, and the entire cast and crew are working to create a space that is safe. As Gash describes it, they are hoping to create a space that encourages the audience to go on a journey of \u201cendless possibility but that also feels like we have our seatbelts on for the ride.\u201d<\/p>\n

The two main characters \u2014 Free and W. Tre \u2014 who are going to be married to each other, met while looking for someone to have sex with in a wooded public place: a park (aka cruising<\/em>). The words that describe W. Tre\u2019s journey through understanding and acceptance of his value are poetic and scriptural. The journey into the forest by which one is changed has mythological resonance.<\/p>\n

To prepare yourself for We Are Gathered<\/em>, I suggest you take a moment to listen to what McCraney had to say in his talk on “Theatre of Be Longing” from which this quote is taken:<\/p>\n

\n

Remember when the Vice President was heckled at a Broadway show? Remember how the President said that the theater was supposed to be a safe space. He was right. President Trump signaled that he and his cohorts belong to a theater that is safe for them always. That is the theater that they belong to. The theater I belong to isn\u2019t safe from ideas, though. I want to walk home shaking.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n