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May 6, 2014 | What Did You Think?,
What Did You Think of SONTAG: REBORN?
Thank you for joining us for Sontag: Reborn – please take a moment to share your experience of this production.
Are you familiar with the writings of Susan Sontag?
What aspects of Sontag’s coming-of-age resonated with your own experiences?
Did you see House/Divided? What differences did you note in the use of multi-media?
What did Sontag reveal in her diary that surprised you or challenged your perception of her?
Thank you for sharing your thoughts!
I am familiar with Sontag’s writings but the play has inspired me to revisit them, especially On Interpretation, which includes Sontag’s iconic “Notes on Camp.”
Resonances between Sontag’s experiences and mine: I too love literature and ideas and have ambitious reading lists in my adolescent diaries. I too struggled with a dichotomy between being female in this society and being an intellectual. I came of age in the San Francisco Bay Area in the ’60s and often visited Berkeley and San Francisco.
Sontag says in her diary that she writes to define herself. That coming to terms with her lesbianism gives Sontag freedom to be herself, to find and develop her voice, especially impresses me. .
In simplest terms, the play is about a very young woman writing in her diary as viewed by that same woman at a later time in her life. I experienced it as dramatic conflict between Sontag’s demons and doubts and her passion for continuous self-realization. Bravo to the actor, playwright, and director for this exhilirating, provocative production!
Highly recommended! I thought it was a fantastic production, and an amazing one-woman performance.
Like many, I suppose, I’ve only read Against Interpretation, and (no credit to me), only “heard of” all the rest of her books. Prior to this season, I had also “heard of” The Builders’ Association. So my primary reason for attending both Builders’ shows this year was to get to know their work. I very much appreciate ArtsEmerson bringing them here twice in one year. In the course of things, I’ve learned more about Susan Sontag too. So it’s been enriching all round. And yes, the performance was astounding.