The Mountaintop, Discussion and Community Connecting: This Friday, March 10, 7:00 PM at the Grove Theater
Last Wednesday was my first live viewing of Katori Hall’s “The Mountaintop,” although I had read the play (twice) and watched a few other theater companies’ productions on video. I have to say that what River & Rail, and the actors, were able to do with this rendition of the play was simply amazing. I very much enjoyed it and hope to bring more things like this, not just to the Grove Theater, but to Oak Ridge.
Bringing the community together to enjoy the Arts, good food, and great conversation is life-long passion for me. We spend so much time in separated silos reading and hearing about each other, and so little time in shared spaces and conversation with each other, that it is no wonder that divisions in America feel as though they are at an all time high.
As I have mentioned, this play made me nervous – mostly because I want everyone to be happy (which is a problem unto itself!), but also because I feel like we were mostly introducing “Periodic Tables” to the community with the play. I was hopeful for a good first impression, something that might make folks excited to show up again for future events.
In order to learn more, grow, and keep working toward a better future, we are asking folks who saw the play and who might like to discuss further the themes it presented to a table-top conversation on Friday, March 10, 7:00 PM at the Grove Theater.
Here are some sample questions that I took away from the play, things that I want to learn about my neighbors in our community. Feel free to bring a few questions of your own too!
#1 Have you ever had an experience when someone you really looked up to, maybe a long-time hero of yours, made a mistake or maybe presented themselves as an ordinary human person? Did that endear them to you more, or was it hard to think of them as being ordinary?
#2 Given the way white culture has tried to weaponize questions surrounding Dr. Martin Luther King’s shortcomings, should Katori Hall have presented him as a flawed human being?
#3 In Dr. King’s last speech, he said that he’d “been to the mountaintop” and that he had “seen the Promised Land.” Did he see us? Our community? What would the “Promised Land” look like in Oak Ridge if it were to be fully realized?
I am excited to just be with you all and talk about this thought-provoking play. Bring your questions and a smile. It’s going to be wonderful.
Life is good here.
David