The San Francisco Mime Troupe will be performing at the Sebastiani Theatre on Thursday, Sept. 25 at 7 p.m. Submitted Photo.
Prior to the last presidential election, the term “red state” sounded more like a medical condition than a political identity. Times have changed, and changing with them for nearly 50 years is the venerated San Francisco Mime Troupe. The award-winning collective of actors, writers, musicians, composers, designers and technicians bring their latest foray into political satire, “Red State,” to the Sebastiani Theater for a single engagement, Thursday, Sept. 25.
Comedy and commentary collide when the citizenry of a small, forgotten town in a decidedly “red state” finds itself at the crux of history when an electoral college tie for the presidential election puts their district on the front lines. Directed by the troupe’s head writer, Michael Gene Sullivan, “Red State” promises to be as entertaining as it is provocative.
“In general, there is always a fine line in political satire because there are people out there who just want to make fun of politics, which is very disheartening. ‘Well, we’re going to dress this person up like George Bush and this person as Barack Obama and throw pies at them.’ And they’ll show them being goofy and stereotypical in one way or another, and they call that political satire. It’s really not. It’s vaudevillian slapstick comedy with political figures,” observes Sullivan, whose troupe mounts a new, original production every year. “Real political satire involves analysis and a particular point of view. The great satirists are taking a bit of truth and showing the audience things that they will recognize, whether they are saying this is actually this person or somebody who represents this person, and then trying to elicit a response from them. You want them to leave the theater as slightly different people than when they entered.”
To get people to leave a theater “slightly different,” of course, means getting them there in the first place – an issue the troupe has remedied by taking their shows on the road to a variety of venues. The troupe recently returned from the Democratic National Convention in Colorado and has slated a number of Bay Area appearances in venues as varied as high schools and public parks, as well as more traditional performing arts spaces.
“The tough thing about theater, or any art, is the ‘self-segregating’ audience. People come to see it because they want to see it,” Sullivan explained, citing the notion of “preaching to the converted,” as an issue the troupe regularly faces. “You’re doing the show for whoever shows up. You can’t go out and grab at people and drag them into the theater and strap them down and make them watch it, because we’ve tried. And you run out of straps. If you use too many, the strap budget goes through the roof and you have to get grants,” he laughed.
Sullivan, however, remains steadfast in his belief that theater can engage and inspire political consciousness in an audience, no matter what their beliefs happen to be. Moreover, the troupe’s shows are an opportunity for audiences to challenge themselves on several levels while being entertained. At the risk of sounding glib, the San Francisco Mime Troupe puts the “act” in activism.
“In my opinion, all theater is political because if it’s not, it’s not interesting. I’m not saying that as a political person, it’s just that it’s always going to be a power struggle,” said Sullivan. “That’s what plays are about – it’s a power struggle in family, power struggle in society, whatever the situation, somebody is in power and somebody wants power. There’s always a struggle and you’re either upholding the status quo or you’re challenging the status quo.”
The San Francisco Mime Troupe’s production of “Red State” commences at 7 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 25 at the Sebastiani Theatre, 476 First St. East. Reserved seating tickets are $20 and can be purchased by calling 707.996.9756.
