Unwashable Dust

"Art washes from the soul the dust of everyday life." -- Pablo Picasso

Isn't that beautiful? I just love the imagery of a beautiful painting or a lovely song falling rinsing off our dust. 

But in some cases, I think our souls are too easily washed off. Sometimes it is all to easy to wash off that dust and forget about the everyday life that we try not to think about or remember. 

Sometimes, like after watching a show like HERstory, art leaves your soul with a thick layer of dust that leaves you walking away with questions and thoughts unexpected and uncomfortable.

HERstory's goal is to make the audience think -- think about what they've accepted, what they've laughed at, what they believe, and what they do. We go about it in unconventional ways, making them feel uncomfortable. 

I wrote up an explanation for the show in the program I'll share below. We are doing the kind of art that puts on a thick layer of dust on souls because this dust is often ignored, washed off to easily. Everyday life is hard for so many people. HERstory tells a few of those stories, a few stories that encapsulate those of thousands like them.

Government housing. The projects. Bad part of town. Disregard whatever your connotation is, because for thousands of people in Waco, and other cities like it, it’s home. For people like Ms. Ethel and her grandson Black, it has been home for the majority, if not all, of their lives. For young men and women like Amerigo and Nina, it is the only place children know after their parents brought them to the United States, legally or not. Students like Linda and Assata are there out of necessity after racking up thousands of dollars of student debt. Whether they like it or not, that is where they find their homes, their families, their communities. 

While these may be characters in HERstory, their stories are not unlike the real stories you would hear if you found yourself in similarly situated communities in Waco, and took the time to listen. You would hear tales of injustice felt by generation after generation of people unable to break the cycle. 

But this issue goes back a lot farther than just the past decade of community revitalization. As integration started in the 1960s, white flight happened, creating parts of town labeled ‘good’ and ‘bad.’ It is our human instinct to want to fix the bad parts, but at what price? 

So what would happen if one day you received notice that your home was being taken away from you? Where would you go? How would you get the money to go? What if there was no other place to go? And all this for a ‘nicer’ sidewalk to walk down? That is what this play explores, along with countless other social justice issues, including racism, stereotypes, Messiah complex, and religion. 

Working hand in hand, this play focuses on many issues Mission Waco seeks to be about: revitalization rather than gentrification, racial reconciliation rather than of stereotyping, confronting issues rather than avoiding them. 

Our hope is that this show will open eyes, shift realities, and stretch comfort zones. The plan was never to sugar coat the issues; it is a very real, very important story we are attempting to tell. Our methods are unconventional, our ideas a little wacky, but the message is hopefully loud and clear. A message we hope you think about long after the play is over.

Opening night went beautifully. People were touched. It took a lot of work to get the show up and running smoothly, but our hard work paid off. Two more shows, and we're ready for them. 

My hope is that the layer of dust our art put on the souls of the audience members isn't dust that is easily washed off. I hope that the dust sticks around, making them think about this show for months and years to come. 

Until next time, remember that sometimes boldness is the only way to tell the truth.