Mitch and Murray Productions\u2019 presentation of Heroes of the Fourth Turning co-stars, left to right, Jennifer Clement, David Kaye, Elizabeth Barrett, Aaron Craven and Nyiri Karakas. <\/i>(Shimon Photo)<\/i><\/p>\n
This is a story about the interesting and intersecting balance of faith, peace, politics, sex, sexuality, deceit, forgiveness and mysticism with the modern world. How do we grapple with the changing self, while clasping hands with those we no longer align with, but feel we must commune?\u201d said Mitch and Murray Productions\u2019 Kate Craven about Will Arbery\u2019s play Heroes of the Fourth Turning<\/i>, which has its Western Canadian premiere Jan. 31-Feb.9 at Studio 16.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s about letting go of preconceived notions,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s about being wrong, even when convinced otherwise. It\u2019s complex and startling and astonishing and I truly think it is one of the great plays of this generation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Heroes of the Fourth Turning<\/i> has won multiple awards and was a Pulitzer Prize finalist. In it, reads the synopsis, \u201cfour young conservatives have gathered to toast the newly inducted president of their tiny Catholic college \u2013 one week after the Charlottesville riots in 2017. Their reunion spirals into spiritual chaos and clashing generational politics, becoming less a celebration than a vicious fight to be understood.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe play\u2019s title is a take on the book The Fourth Turning<\/i> by William Strauss and Neil Howe, which hypothesizes the cycles of history and attempts to teach us how to live through these cycles via examples from past generations,\u201d explained Craven, who is the theatre company\u2019s board chair and operations manager. \u201cThey base their hypothesis on the past 500 years of American history and uncover what they deem as a distinct pattern: that modern history moves in cycles, each one lasting about the length of a long human life and each composed of four times 20-year eras, aka \u2018turnings\u2019 that comprise history\u2019s seasonal rhythm of growth \u2013 maturation, entropy and rebirth. Otherwise broken down as the High, a period of confident expansion, followed by the Awakening, a time of spiritual exploration and rebellion. Then, the Unraveling, in which individualism triumphs over crumbling institutions. Finally, the Crisis (the Fourth Turning), when society passes through a great and perilous gate in history, a specific time that requires a generation of heroes to rise up, resolve crisis and reset imbalances created in prior turnings.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe Fourth Turning<\/i> was written in 1997, at the tipping point between Gen X and the Millennial generation,\u201d said Craven. \u201cIt references the Fourth Turning being in line with the coming of age of Millennials, a generation which three of the play\u2019s characters fit into.\u201d<\/p>\n One of those characters is played by Jewish community member David Kaye.<\/p>\n \u201cI play a Catholic man in his late 20s named Kevin who is currently experiencing tremendous crises of identity and faith while struggling with alcohol abuse,\u201d Kaye told the Independent<\/i>. \u201cA graduate of the Transfiguration College of Wyoming, Kevin received wilderness training, learned to scale mountains, ride horses, build igloos, memorize poetry and speak conversational Latin. Initially believing that he was being groomed to become \u2018a leader of the world,\u2019 Kevin has realized that he was woefully underprepared to actually live in the real world.\u201d<\/p>\n While the character is drunk for most of the show, he is the only one asking questions, said Kaye. \u201cHe is often the butt of the joke but, ultimately, I think Kevin is the wise fool. Kevin wants so badly to connect with other people, regardless of their political leanings or religious affiliations. He wants to have hard conversations and expand his mind and is open to new ideas; unfortunately, he is not the greatest conversationalist.\u201d<\/p>\n The role has certainly expanded Kaye\u2019s mind. Having attended Vancouver Talmud Torah and King David High School growing up, the actor said \u201call of the knowledge of Catholicism I have is from pop culture, so building my character\u2019s world has involved quite a lot of reading in theology and philosophy that I was completely unfamiliar with. As far as being a Jewish actor in the context of this play, I think that Kevin is actually the easiest character for me to identify with because he is constantly questioning things, and that was a core part of my Jewish education and exploration.\u201d<\/p>\n Craven, who is also Jewish, \u201chad the unique experience of growing up in a bi-faith family, one half Jewish, the other Pentecostal Christian.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a difficult thing to belong to a family unit which falls on both sides of the faith divide and subsequently (often) political divide,\u201d she said. \u201cPerhaps this prepared me for a play like Heroes of the Fourth Turning<\/i>. I find myself reaching for empathy for these often confused, sometimes wildly misguided characters and that makes this play very uncomplicated and uniquely human.\u201d<\/p>\n She added that it feels like Arbery, the playwright, \u201cis managing a perilous dance between faith, violence, truth and real-world events as his characters evolve and devolve in front of us. It feels much less about faith, religion and belief than it does about the crisis of being human. That\u2019s relatable no matter who you\u00a0<\/span>are or which people you belong to.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis show can be viewed through many different lenses and each one will have a different takeaway,\u201d said Kaye. The play will \u201cruffle some feathers,\u201d he said. \u201cBut, if you are open to it, this is a show that will provoke thought, challenge perceptions, and might make you question the world around you.\u201d<\/p>\n For Kaye, that is one of the main things he has learned from the character he is portraying \u2013 \u201cthat it is OK to question everything you have ever known to be true. It may be ugly and uncomfortable, but challenging your beliefs can lead to more authentic connections and a more fulfilling life.\u201d<\/p>\n Craven said Mitch and Murray Productions\u2019 goal has always been to present \u201cbold, smart pieces that require the audience to be willing participants in the discourse and discussion. Our hope is that our productions showcase what it is to be a complex, imperfect human, as opposed to being a human who fits into a specific political, religious or cultural box, the aftermath of which potentially opens us up to empathy and understanding instead of division and despair.\u201d<\/p>\n Set in rural Wyoming, Heroes of the Fourth Turning<\/i> references hunting, there is a prop rifle on stage and gunshots are heard throughout the play. Other warnings include the use of coarse language and \u201cheavy political debates which cover a range of difficult topics,\u201d said Craven. \u201cWith this in mind,\u201d she encourages people to come to the play with \u201ca spirit of open-mindedness and an attitude of willingness \u2013 to see, hear and learn. All of which hearkens back to what I mentioned earlier about the plays Mitch and Murray attempts to produce \u2013 stories about a conflicted and imperfect humanity. We may not be able to see ourselves uniquely and specifically reflected in these characters, but there is certainly a reflection of humanity that is profound and deeply moving.\u201d<\/p>\n Stories, she said, have \u201cthe capacity, when told well, to move and shape our molecules in a unique way. If we can be even a small part of creating compassionate debate, then we\u2019re doing our job.\u201d<\/p>\n