Donald Freed takes pride in Studs Terkel’s assessment of him as “the most political and pertinent of all American playwrights.” The award-winning writer is perhaps best known for “Secret Honor,” his incisive play and film portrait of former President Nixon coming apart at the seams.
Freed’s latest endeavor is “The Einstein Plan,” an interactive experience in which the audience is invited to participate in creating their political future. With the show slated to premiere soon at Los Angeles Theatre Center, I interrogated the perpetrator.
Jordan Young: I understand you were on Nixon’s enemies list?
Donald Freed: There were any number of dirty tricks going on, income tax audits and so forth. In the 1930s, Hoover built an FBI dossier on every major writer… it was a paranoid world. Today theatre is so frail, dependent on season ticket holders—we’ve never recovered from the ‘50s. Theatres most noted for their political audacity were afraid of “The Einstein Plan.”
JY: What’s the significance of the title?
DF: Albert Einstein suggested that if 2% of the population refused to pay their taxes to support the war… it would render the bureaucratic system impotent. It forces it to the media, the airwaves, certainly the Internet today; it starts a creative agenda.
JY: I take it “The Einstein Plan” is a call to action? You’re telling us to wake up and take our heads out of the sand?
DF: It’s to appeal to those already historically and politically aware of a given culture. It’s a hope against hope of… a hero coming along to satisfy the pressing needs of the hour, whether it be health care, climate change…
JY: Basically, you’re advocating non-violent civil disobedience?
DF: That is right. This is adapted for the American scene of today—there are no heroes, no Gandhis, no Berrigans. This slow-moving civil disobedience doesn’t take the place of people marching against the war. But with the Internet as a kind of spine… civil disobedience is now possible. That’s the wager of the play.
JY: People may debate whether it’s actually a play.
DF: You’re right. It’s an event, with people being called up on stage to play theatrical games. But it’s not meant to be a simulation. People will have to exchange addresses at the end… the next stage will be how many show up…
JY: To take action?
DF: Only a few people need take the arrest. I will take one of the arrests. The media will be involved… there will be no surprises. Eventually what you want is a real town hall meeting.
JY: Are you afraid of damaging your career?
DF: Euripides was driven out of Athens and killed. “King Lear” was only performed once in Shakespeare’s lifetime. So there’s a long history…
“The Einstein Plan,” starring James Cromwell and Debra De Liso, performs March 27 & March 28 at LATC. Call (213) 489-0994 ext. 107.
[via Examiner, Bitter Lemons]
© Graphic Image: robbieconal.com
