Latest / The BSB Podcast / Exclusive Interview: Leta Chrisman & Lisa Hanes of 'Perfect Arrangement'

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Exclusive Interview: Leta Chrisman & Lisa Hanes of 'Perfect Arrangement' · The BSB Podcast

• 0:00
  Thank you so much for joining me today, Leta and Lisa.
• 0:02
  How are you two doing?
• 0:03
  Fantastic, are you?
• 0:06
  We're doing okay.
• 0:07
  Thank you so much.
• 0:07
  know that you have rehearsal tonight, so I know that very busy schedules, but thank you for taking some time to talk with us.
• 0:15
  So you're currently hard at work with Stagecrafters on their production of Perfect Arrangement.
• 0:18
  How do you feel the rehearsal process has been going so far?
• 0:21
  It's been kind of intense.
• 0:24
  We started a little bit later than we normally would due to scheduling things.
• 0:29
  But it's been great.
• 0:30
  It's been such a good experience across the board.
• 0:33
  um Lots of really good work.
• 0:36
  Everybody's bonded.
• 0:37
  Yeah.
• 0:38
  And we're having a lot of fun.
• 0:41
  Yeah, it's a great camp.
• 0:43
  Yeah.
• 0:45
  It's supposed to be.
• 0:46
  That's why we do it.
• 0:48
  If it's not fun, then why are we doing it?
• 0:50
  Right.
• 0:51
  Lisa, how's the rehearsal process been for you?
• 0:55
  It's been amazing.
• 0:58
  I mean, I started off as her assistant director, which in itself was amazing.
• 1:04
  And now being in the role of Kitty, it's just, it's been a blast.
• 1:08
  We have a wonderful cast.
• 1:09
  We are all so quirky and fun and there's such a good group of people.
• 1:15
  So I've loved every moment.
• 1:16
  So for those who maybe aren't aware of what the show is, Lisa I'm start with you.
• 1:20
  What is Perfect Arrangement about?
• 1:21
  Um, will probably explain it much better than I will, because this is her baby.
• 1:27
  But to me, Perfect Arrangement is set in the 1950s and it's about lavender marriages, which at that time were marriages between gay couples.
• 1:38
  So because of McCarthyism and the era, people were not too keen on men marrying men or women marrying women or even them being together, not even marriage.
• 1:50
  So, and this is what happened then, is that a man and a woman, even though they were not into each other, would get married for convenience so that they could live their life and
• 2:01
  also have their love who was of the same sex in their lives.
• 2:08
  And this shows what two couples go through and how what they thought was a perfect arrangement ends up not being.
• 2:17
  And then there's another couple in this.
• 2:21
  craziness who are a heterosexual couple and who kind of put in their two cents and one of them Kitty is She's good good gal at heart.
• 2:33
  She just kind of follows along with the times and with what her husband says So it's a beautiful show.
• 2:38
  It's funny It also pulls at your heartstrings But lead I think could probably add a lot more than I could that was really good.
• 2:47
  Thanks really good
• 2:48
  that hit all the important parts, but obviously with this being your baby as she described it, I want to hear from you about what a perfect arrangement is to you.
• 2:56
  So the word that pops in my brain first and it's uh kind of sad all at the same time is relevant.
• 3:05
  I've been trying to find a place to do this show for a couple of years now and it gets more relevant by the day.
• 3:14
  Which is, it's kind of a large responsibility for all of us to kind of be true to the source material but.
• 3:20
  Two of the main characters, one of the men and one of the women, work at the State Department.
• 3:24
  And it is 1950.
• 3:25
  It's the height of the communism hunt.
• 3:28
  And they've married each other's partners as cover so they can maintain their lifestyle and go about existing.
• 3:34
  And it's...
• 3:37
  It starts off really fun.
• 3:38
  The playwright, Topher Payne, set it firmly in I Love Lucy as a framework.
• 3:43
  So the first part of the show is very sitcom.
• 3:46
  It's very goofy.
• 3:48
  There's random little product placement, commercial type things that happen in different places.
• 3:53
  I'm spoiling so many good things, but you don't really get the whole experience unless you see it.
• 3:57
  ah But then as it goes on, there's a transition towards, it's kind of at the beginning of the show where instead of just hunting communists, the state department
• 4:07
  decided they also need to find people who are deviants and people who go out and party and people who are homosexual and people who don't follow.
• 4:18
  the standard traditional moral code of the time.
• 4:21
  we have all of our people kind of get swept up in this experience.
• 4:25
  One of our main characters, Bob, is actually the head of the program and he is also gay.
• 4:30
  So him trying to figure out ways to keep himself from getting clocked, but also find ways to find other people in the department so it's not obvious he's deflecting.
• 4:40
  uh It's a struggle for all of them.
• 4:45
  And then we also have...
• 4:46
  There's a fabulous character named Barbara Grant who works with them at the State Department who is a very forward-thinking gal for 1950.
• 4:55
  And she kind of gets swept up in it because she doesn't really subscribe to society norms.
• 5:00
  And it's just, it's a beautiful story.
• 5:05
  My favorite thing about it is that it takes these characters who not everyone, you know, has people in their lives who have alternative lifestyles or who are gay or who are just a
• 5:15
  little off the beaten path.
• 5:16
  So
• 5:16
  It's grounded so firmly in it just being a fact of their existence as opposed to the focus of their existence that we really just kind of get a really great story about some really
• 5:26
  great relationships and characters and the fact that some of them are indeed gay kind of just Although it is a plot point kind of isn't as important It's more just that they're
• 5:38
  humans and they're going through struggles.
• 5:40
  So
• 5:41
  Which obviously as a uh therapist and as a gay man, love to see it normalized where it's just an aspect of who they are.
• 5:48
  It's not who they are, you know.
• 5:50
  Yeah, there's a decent amount of objectionable language that was perfectly commonly used in 1950 to describe people.
• 5:57
  And we've put some, I've posted some warnings for people coming to see the show because while we are using the language because it's true to the script and true to the time, we
• 6:07
  don't condone it.
• 6:08
  It made us all feel really icky when we started saying it in rehearsal.
• 6:12
  There's a lot of hugging that goes on because it's a very emotional process to get through.
• 6:16
  But there is no trigger warning for same-sex relationships because I don't
• 6:20
  think that's something that needs true warning.
• 6:22
  It is a fact of life and existence.
• 6:25
  I would say out of the people involved, cast and crew, at least a solid 50%, if not more, identify somewhere on the queer spectrum, which is a beautiful thing to work with, because
• 6:35
  everyone brings a sense of authenticity to it and a sense of respect to it, and also a sense of really, really fun to it, which is great.
• 6:46
  Absolutely.
• 6:47
  mean, again, like we said, if you're not having fun, why are we doing this?
• 6:50
  But it's also an important story to be telling.
• 6:53
  So, you know, is this kind of what drew you to wanting to direct this show or like, it sounds like you've been very passionate about this.
• 7:00
  Were you familiar with it beforehand?
• 7:02
  ah So I came across the script a few years ago.
• 7:05
  I was just looking for stuff.
• 7:06
  I do personally identify in the queer spectrum.
• 7:08
  So I was looking for stuff that I could see myself in, that I could see myself invested in.
• 7:14
  I think it's important as a director to approach things with a really solid intention for what you're putting on stage and why you're telling the story.
• 7:22
  And I read the script and at the time, thankfully, it wasn't as...
• 7:29
  relevant to what we're going through right now, societally and politically.
• 7:32
  ah But I was like, this is a beautiful story.
• 7:35
  Someone should do this.
• 7:36
  I would love to do this.
• 7:37
  I wonder if any of the theaters will give me a chance to do this.
• 7:40
  ah And it just so happened that the timing and the stroke of luck that worked out that we are currently doing it here at Stagecrafters.
• 7:52
  And Lisa, you said in the show you're playing Kitty, correct?
• 7:55
  ah So you kind of gave us a little bit of it, but who is Kitty and then how does she really factor into all of this?
• 8:01
  Because she sounds like she's kind of on the outskirts of the main lavender marriages.
• 8:06
  She is.
• 8:07
  Kitty is a typical 1950s suburban wife.
• 8:11
  ah She's a delight.
• 8:15
  She uses words like goody and you know, she's just, God bless her.
• 8:21
  She's a little not intelligent in some areas, but she has the biggest heart.
• 8:28
  And all she wants really is to fit in and have some girlfriends and...
• 8:34
  because she never really had that growing up.
• 8:36
  And she adores her husband because he didn't want to have kids and she didn't want to have kids.
• 8:42
  And, but she's very...
• 8:45
  She notices things that maybe other people don't notice.
• 8:48
  Everyone just thinks she's stupid and just sits there and is like, da da da da da.
• 8:51
  But she notices things.
• 8:53
  And it isn't until she finds a friend in Millie that she starts sharing what she notices.
• 9:00
  But I love her.
• 9:01
  um I wasn't sure about her at first, because she's so not me.
• 9:06
  But I have grown to love this beautiful little creature who...
• 9:11
  She's about, to me she's love, right?
• 9:13
  She just wants to love, she loves her husband, she wants friends, she just wants to have a good time.
• 9:19
  And I think she starts to realize though towards the end that maybe what she's been thinking really wasn't appropriate.
• 9:28
  But I love her.
• 9:30
  And she's actually married to the boss who instigates all of the drama in the first place.
• 9:35
  It's a really interesting relationship to see because he is super business guy who runs half of the State Department and is on a crusade to get rid of anything different.
• 9:48
  And to see the two of them.
• 9:50
  uh
• 9:51
  And we only see them on stage together at the very beginning of the show.
• 9:54
  We see a lot more of Kitty because she's forming relationships with one of the ladies in a friendship sort of way and in a bonding over life sort of way, ah which I love because
• 10:04
  Kitty is very much not a lesbian, unlike the other two women that are the center of the story.
• 10:09
  ah But her ability to form those connections.
• 10:13
  and just see people as people is really a beautiful thing.
• 10:18
  Because you don't always, a lot of times characters like that are written as very one dimensional and very judgmental and very narrow.
• 10:25
  she just, I think she has one of the best arcs in the whole thing.
• 10:28
  She just opens up over the course of meeting these women and she doesn't really get the big aha moment at all.
• 10:35
  The big unraveling happens after she's gone from the stage.
• 10:39
  But it's just really great to see her just accepted that a person is a person and not really questioned.
• 10:43
  any of it.
• 10:45
  She's a sweet.
• 10:46
  used the word connection and it sounds like that's what she's really craving is like human interaction and connection in a time where she didn't have that.
• 10:52
  So there does seem to be a level of heaviness when I was researching this show.
• 10:55
  was like, oh, this feels a little heavy, but it's also being described as a comedy.
• 11:00
  How do you feel like Perfect Arrangement balances that tone?
• 11:03
  We joked that when we did our first read through, most of the cast had seen parts of the script at auditions, but none of them had actually seen the show or were familiar with the
• 11:13
  whole thing.
• 11:15
  The first half is very light.
• 11:17
  There are points that it's just zany and silly, and then we get to intermission and then things slowly start taking on a bit of a darker, more serious tone.
• 11:27
  And at the end, it's...
• 11:29
  Comedy is such an interesting, it is very much a comedy for most of the show.
• 11:34
  The ending is realistic and very emotional.
• 11:42
  We spend a lot of time dealing with processing our own personal emotions around it because it is heavy stuff.
• 11:52
  But what I love is that it feels so real.
• 11:58
  for them, for me.
• 11:59
  I've seen it so many times now, just watching rehearsals and running rehearsals.
• 12:04
  We had a couple of people who are gonna be doing technical stuff for the show who came to watch the run through last night and they were just like, so many emotions.
• 12:11
  It's like, yay.
• 12:12
  um But it's very real.
• 12:17
  There's a line that Kitty has and it's one of my favorite in the show which is sometimes things just don't work out.
• 12:22
  oh
• 12:23
  and it's kind of her mantra for a lot of the things that she's had to overcome in her life.
• 12:27
  And it gets echoed by some of the other characters towards the end.
• 12:30
  And it's so real.
• 12:33
  There's not, mean, was not a great time in history for people who were not Cishet white men.
• 12:42
  Relevance.
• 12:43
  uh just.
• 12:46
  being able to make it so fun and bring the audience in and really just engage them and invest them in these relationships and then give us an ending that is not at all, I don't
• 12:58
  think what anyone really wants to see, but kind of what we need to see and what's true to the story and true to what life would have been like is, it's pretty great.
• 13:08
  truly think it is important too that people see realistic stories that don't always have the per- you know, a lot of the times we grew up, I grew up in a family that we watched a
• 13:16
  lot of rom-coms and everything gets kind of wrapped up in their pretty little bow and life is not like that.
• 13:21
  So Lisa, for you, how do you get into the mindset of Kitty then?
• 13:25
  So would you have to do anything specific?
• 13:27
  She actually reminds me of a friend of mine from college in her naivety, her just la-di-da-ness.
• 13:45
  I have a dear friend that reminds me of her.
• 13:48
  That and I just kind of dig deep into my heart and think what would I, if I could make the world how I want it.
• 13:55
  How would I want it?
• 13:57
  would want it happy and I would like everyone to get along and I would just like everyone to be friends.
• 14:02
  I kind of think like Snow White.
• 14:05
  So that's kind of where I pull from and the fact that I just find her hysterical.
• 14:12
  And so I just dig into that and I get to be a little ridiculous and Leta lets me be ridiculous and hey, okay.
• 14:21
  So I am.
• 14:23
  I just think about my friend, I throw in little Snow White in there and then I just let it loose and I have a good time.
• 14:30
  Fantastic.
• 14:31
  um Leta, what is your kind of approach to directing a show?
• 14:36
  I know that every director has their own approach to how they kind of bring their vision to life.
• 14:40
  What is your approach to this?
• 14:43
  I am a huge collaborator.
• 14:44
  um go in with a very strong vision of what I want to see and how the show is going to go, but we don't ever precast, we don't ever really look at things like that.
• 14:56
  em I like to see what people bring to the table.
• 15:01
  em
• 15:02
  After the first read through, spend a solid like half hour to an hour with each of the people in the show, regardless of size of role, and we talk.
• 15:09
  We talk about backstory.
• 15:10
  We talk about where did you come from?
• 15:12
  Who are you?
• 15:13
  Why are you here?
• 15:14
  And just kind of fill in those gaps for people and start building themselves as characters, and then we start working on those relationships.
• 15:23
  Some of the characters in this show have the most fascinating backstories that no one will ever see.
• 15:30
  but it really informs what we get to see on the stage.
• 15:33
  I'm really big on intention and things being real and grounded and believable.
• 15:40
  Even if I do super crazy musical stuff where everyone's bursting into song every five minutes, no one should be on the stage who doesn't have a point of being there and
• 15:49
  understand what their purpose is.
• 15:53
  I tend to do comedies a lot for some reason.
• 15:55
  The last show I did here was Clue back in 2023 and that was just physical comedy and zaniness, but it was the same process.
• 16:02
  It was like, these are all characters based on a movie, but let's talk about it.
• 16:06
  Let's give our own spin on it.
• 16:07
  How do you feel about the things and just kind of building those connections with everyone?
• 16:11
  And then it's a very, it's a very open process.
• 16:14
  My opinion, although technically the final word is never the only word.
• 16:19
  I love when people say to me, this isn't working for me, can we try something else?
• 16:23
  Because the answer is indubitably, unless it's a safety issue, always yes.
• 16:27
  um I like the feeling of making the art as a group.
• 16:32
  Because at the end of the day, they're all on the stage and I'm up in the back just watching the thing and watching other people watch what we've done and making sure that
• 16:39
  they get it.
• 16:43
  I also do perform, so it's kind of an interesting, it's like, I would like to give you what I would like if I were in your show kind of a thing.
• 16:51
  I want there to be that safe environment where people feel comfortable experimenting with stuff and playing with stuff and just having a really good time.
• 17:00
  Yeah.
• 17:00
  em And we're all volunteers and that's something I remind everyone of consistently through the process is no one who does community theater generally gets paid.
• 17:09
  So we're all here after work on our own free time.
• 17:13
  So just making sure that everyone is having a positive and fun experience with it.
• 17:17
  is so important because why would you do it if not?
• 17:20
  She's amazing.
• 17:21
  She's...
• 17:22
  No, you are.
• 17:23
  She's uh a great director.
• 17:25
  This isn't my first show with her.
• 17:26
  This is your third.
• 17:27
  Third.
• 17:28
  It was supposed to be my first as her AD, but you know, things happen.
• 17:32
  And ah she is.
• 17:34
  She lets you develop the character.
• 17:37
  And if she doesn't like it, she'll stop you.
• 17:39
  She's open to your thoughts.
• 17:41
  She's a lot of fun.
• 17:44
  And you're safe.
• 17:47
  That's key with me.
• 17:48
  We're safe with her.
• 17:49
  And I've been in shows where it hasn't been safe.
• 17:53
  And so I never want to deal with that again, but she's great.
• 17:56
  Thanks.
• 17:57
  ah
• 17:58
  ah I mean, it's good though that you have such a collaborative approach because it does make for a more believable story, you know?
• 18:07
  If the people are buying into it that are on stage, the audience is also going to buy into that.
• 18:11
  And it's so important.
• 18:12
  I can tell when someone's faking it.
• 18:15
  We talked a lot about building those relationships with our main two couples and making sure that it felt comfortable, that it felt natural.
• 18:23
  We did some intimacy work around just physical contact.
• 18:27
  you know, when you get home at the end of the day, how do you greet your partner?
• 18:30
  How do you act when you're leaving?
• 18:33
  You know, are you guys super touchy?
• 18:34
  Do you snuggle a lot?
• 18:35
  And just kind of exploring those things.
• 18:38
  Not specifically saying, and here you will touch their shoulder for 4.2 seconds.
• 18:42
  Just kind of creating that environment where they can figure out what that would look like for them.
• 18:47
  ah
• 18:49
  Because some people are real smoochy when they leave the house or come back into the house.
• 18:52
  And some people are more huggy and just kind of establishing those boundaries for everyone and creating those relationships so they do feel natural is always really important.
• 19:04
  Absolutely.
• 19:04
  oh So I saw, I got to see some of the pictures of the, of the cast already and stuff like that.
• 19:10
  You really are capturing the, the fifties uh feel, you know, how, how does that come to be?
• 19:17
  Like, I'm sure that's probably a lot of searching, a lot of building and stuff, but how do you make that, that aesthetic?
• 19:22
  We have a fabulous team.
• 19:25
  have a fabulous costumer, a wonderful hair and makeup and wig artist.
• 19:30
  And we just all kind of talked through.
• 19:32
  It's kind of a joke for me that every time someone says we need to do promotional photos, I'm like, I need one outfit per person.
• 19:38
  It doesn't have to actually make it on stage, but we just need something that looks good for pictures.
• 19:43
  But they nailed it.
• 19:45
  And we got the opportunity to go shoot over at Leon and Lulu in Clawson They opened up their building to us.
• 19:53
  They have all kinds of really cool furniture and some really cool vintage-y things.
• 19:56
  And they were like, yes, please come.
• 19:58
  So if you're ever in the market for cool furniture and stuff, Leon and Lulu in Clawson.
• 20:02
  ah
• 20:02
  But they invited us in, we had the photographer with us, and we just kind of found a couple places to set up and got everybody dressed.
• 20:12
  had a really nice time and just got kind of captured that like slightly whimsical.
• 20:18
  It was super cute because we did photos where it was the couples with their alleged partners and then we swapped out so the boys are with the boys and the girls are with the
• 20:26
  girls.
• 20:26
  And the photographer was laughing.
• 20:28
  He was kind of familiar with the show, but not really.
• 20:31
  And I was like, no, we have to switch partners again.
• 20:32
  And then he just started laughing and it was just a really good time.
• 20:35
  But now the photos turned out great.
• 20:37
  We were super excited because it really does kind of capture that feeling of the show.
• 20:42
  I mean, and that's such a hard aesthetic to nail, you know, like, like everybody has like specific vision and I there's so many great examples, but it is that's a tough one to nail
• 20:53
  because the 50s were so vibrant, but also so business and you know, there's a lot of different things that you could go with.
• 21:00
  How has this show challenged you in your respective roles?
• 21:03
  And, Leta I'll start with you.
• 21:05
  How do you feel like it's challenged you as a director?
• 21:06
  It is, I'm kinda out there with my political views a lot.
• 21:10
  I'm pretty active in the community and there is this weight of responsibility that this show has given me to make sure that we get it right and that the message comes across and
• 21:25
  that we're really being representative of the community and the struggles that they were going through and are still going through.
• 21:34
  And as much fun as it's been and as artistically satisfying as it's been, it's been a lot.
• 21:41
  I feel like it's been kind of mentally and emotionally challenging more than I think I did.
• 21:47
  I will say it's a tie because the other show that I've done that's challenged me in this capacity was the Vagina Monologues a couple of years ago, ah which is very much grounded
• 21:58
  in the female experience across the board.
• 22:00
  Lisa was in that one too.
• 22:01
  ah
• 22:03
  We do this a lot.
• 22:04
  do.
• 22:04
  just having those things that kind of come with social and community responsibility, as much fun as they can be, it's a whole other layer of doing the work.
• 22:16
  And I take the responsibility really seriously.
• 22:19
  It's an absolute pleasure to be able to put shows on stages and share stories with people who might not have seen them before, but.
• 22:28
  Also, self-care best care.
• 22:32
  We do a lot of resting and lot of recharging and we have a lot of open communication, um especially when I ask people to do stuff that's really emotional.
• 22:41
  um So I think that part of it for me has been the biggest challenge for sure.
• 22:47
  And Lisa, how about for you?
• 22:48
  How has the perfect arrangement challenged you?
• 22:50
  I think, you know, kitty as a whole has been a little bit of a challenge, just trying to, you know, as I was listening to Leta I kept saying, how's it challenge me?
• 22:58
  I just want to be the best kitty I can, is what came through my head.
• 23:02
  But I think in being the best kitty means supporting, looking so ridiculous that it shows the difference in the folks who were hetero back then and how ridiculous they were.
• 23:20
  and on.
• 23:22
  than making it so that my castmates who are playing these amazing, rich characters, how they can shine.
• 23:30
  Because I'm just, I'm not the four, right?
• 23:33
  I'm just Kitty who flies in and flies out and acts ridiculous.
• 23:37
  But I just, I wanna tell everyone about this show.
• 23:41
  I want us to do the best we can so that people get the message of this show and people walk out saying, wow, that was great.
• 23:49
  And oh my God, that's kind of relevant to what's going on right now.
• 23:53
  And so, and just getting to know new people in the cast.
• 23:56
  Some of the people in the cast I've been in shows with before.
• 24:00
  And then there's a few others that I haven't.
• 24:03
  So just getting to have those bonds and just tackle this amazing historical subject.
• 24:12
  and show that yeah, it happened in the 50s, but here we are in 2025 and it's starting to happen in a different way.
• 24:20
  But again, it's a lot.
• 24:23
  But I don't know if I answered your question, but I just want to be the best kitty I can so that I can show that those ridiculous people were back then and they're still here now.
• 24:34
  And we've got to like.
• 24:37
  either teach them and bring them into the real world or find a way that they can't make changes that will destroy human lives, pretty much.
• 24:50
  sure.
• 24:50
  I mean, I think, like you said too, about the relevance of this is the term lavender marriage I've heard increasingly over, you know, the past couple of months and this is
• 25:00
  something that we're coming back around to for fear or for self-preservation.
• 25:04
  So like there is a huge relevance to that and there is a weight to that.
• 25:08
  There's a there's a heavy weight to that.
• 25:11
  Final question for both of you is just what are you hoping audiences take away from this production of Perfect Arrangement?
• 25:16
  And Leta, we'll start with you.
• 25:17
  I think it kind of depends on the audience for me.
• 25:21
  I would love people who are part of the queer community to feel seen and to feel respected on stage instead of being, know, sometimes we are the punchline.
• 25:34
  So I want those people to feel like we've done them right.
• 25:39
  And I would like the people who are not part of the community or who are maybe not really strong allies.
• 25:44
  to kind of just see the humanity in the story and understand that it's not specifically a gay thing.
• 25:52
  It's a anyone could be targeted thing.
• 25:55
  Because they started with the communists first and a lot of them were just people who thought maybe people should be treated better.
• 26:02
  And their lives got uprooted and destroyed.
• 26:04
  So just kind of being able to see themselves.
• 26:09
  in some part of the story and maybe if the part they see themselves in is the bigoted boss that they kind of evaluate their life approach on the way out the door and kind of just
• 26:22
  take away the whole humans are humans and maybe we should treat each other better would be great, would be so great.
• 26:30
  I want people to leave talking.
• 26:33
  I want them to be having conversations on their way out the door.
• 26:35
  And even if there's a small amount of people who just don't get it or who don't agree with it, uh I'd be 100 % okay with being stuck in their brain for a while and making them have
• 26:47
  those difficult conversations with, why not?
• 26:50
  Why does this bother you?
• 26:52
  Why did it upset you?
• 26:53
  uh Because I think a lot of times people who are inherently
• 26:58
  opposed to things just haven't met them or been exposed to them in a way um that could open their mind a little bit.
• 27:07
  And even if they aren't fully on board with the whole thing, um if they can at least appreciate it for what it is and identify humanity instead of identifying everything as
• 27:19
  other, um I would be over the moon.
• 27:23
  Lisa, I'm sorry, you have to follow that perfect answer.
• 27:26
  uh
• 27:32
  Sorry, not sorry.
• 27:33
  No, it's okay.
• 27:34
  I hope people so I was thinking when leader was talking I listen and then I try to think about what I'm gonna respond You know, you see all these movies and these television shows
• 27:46
  and books about history and it's based on history and it's this show and it might be about a movie star might be about a different culture, you know or war well
• 27:59
  Here's a play about history.
• 28:01
  Here's a play about what people who identify as in the LGBTQ plus community, this is what they went through in the 1950s during that era in McCarthyism.
• 28:16
  And so I want people to go, wow, that really happened?
• 28:19
  Maybe some people don't know.
• 28:20
  Who knows what they're teaching in schools these days, right?
• 28:23
  We don't know how much they touch on this era.
• 28:26
  ah
• 28:27
  So I want people to have that same kind of response like, wow, people really went through this.
• 28:33
  And then maybe a connection.
• 28:35
  Whoa, this is what's going on right now.
• 28:38
  When we look politically, what's going on, what's coming out of.
• 28:43
  Educated adult mouths about people who don't identify as hetero and and how they feel about that.
• 28:52
  And I hope people walk away with compassion.
• 28:56
  and empathy and I hope light bulbs go off and I want them to say like I've never seen this before but wow that was a beautiful story because beauty doesn't have to be a happy ending
• 29:11
  beauty can be it got me here right so I want people to walk out here going wow
• 29:17
  You know, and just think about it.
• 29:19
  That really happened.
• 29:20
  And if we aren't careful, could it happen again?
• 29:25
  So I'm hoping that so, but I just I want people to walk away with empathy and compassion and love and the aha moment.
• 29:33
  Perfect.
• 29:34
  That's two beautiful answers.
• 29:35
  I appreciate it so much and I appreciate both of you for being here today with me.
• 29:39
  Thank you so much.
• 29:41
  A perfect arrangement arrives at Stagecrafter's second stage, May 2nd, and runs through the 11th, so get your tickets now and we'll see you there.