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In 19th-century America, a couple of passionate political revolutionists, Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass, shaped the country’s Constitution. But though these two young abolitionists were on the right side of history, they managed to get in one another’s way when they prioritized different aspects of their fight.
While Anthony chose to fight for universal suffrage — that is, voting rights for everyone, all at once — Douglass chose to make the enfranchisement of Black men the focus of his work. To complicate matters further, the two were also great friends.
The story of their frayed friendship will be brought to life on stage in “The Agitators,” a historical drama that traverses around 45 years of their lives, from 1849 to 1895.
Produced by The Pear Theatre, the play will run from Nov. 22 through Dec. 15, in Mountain View.
For Kerry Gudjohnsen, director of this two-character play, one of the most compelling aspects of the piece is the way it balances the “historical” with the “human.”
“A lot of the interactions between these two friends probably were not documented,” she said, reasoning that (playwright) Mat Smart took some creative liberty to flesh out their relationship. “I think he did a lovely job filling in the holes with the humanity.”
Though it’s about two public figures who shaped the course of America’s history, it is nevertheless very relatable, she finds. “Anybody who has had a dear friend can identify with so many aspects of this play,” said Gudjohnsen, who likens the process of directing this play to the gilding of the proverbial lily.
While the team has worked to re-create the 19th century through theatrical elements like costuming, sound and set design, Gudjohnsen cautions against letting aesthetic embellishments take away from the “intimacy” of the piece and prefers to keep the spotlight on the relationship between the protagonists and the impossible choices facing them.
Much like their characters, actors Adam C. Torrian and Krista Joy Serpa, who play Douglass and Anthony, respectively, are good friends off-stage.
“It’s a reminder of how many stories and nuances are erased from history when it comes to minority groups, when it comes to people of color, when it comes to women,” said Serpa. “What I think this play does well and what I hope we embody in it is showing the whole person and making sure the blame lies where it belongs, which is the society that put these people in situations where they had to make decisions they never should have had to make.”
In her book, when activists are compelled to choose between two equally noble causes — in this case, universal suffrage versus suffrage for Black men — the fault lies entirely with “unjust and cruel systems.”
Playing real — as opposed to fictional — characters, is very challenging, the actors said.
“I was always intimidated by the idea of playing somebody that was real,” admitted Torrian. That there are no recordings of Douglass did take some of the pressure off because he can’t be critiqued for his portrayal of the man. To prepare, he looked up other people’s accounts of Douglass’ voice and demeanor to piece together a faithful portrayal. “You can only go off of like his speeches and a couple things people have said that got picked up by history; you do get a lot of creative freedom there.”
Years ago, Torrian was offered to play Douglass in a short film. “I turned it down, purely because I was intimidated,” he said. “Funny enough, when this show came up, I was like ‘Well, I think I’m ready now’.”
Also challenging for him is playing an older person — his character ages on stage from his 30s to his 70s. Making sure he doesn’t stereotype or parody older people is something he’s being mindful of.
Serpa’s research involved reading Susan B. Anthony’s personal letters, material she is grateful to have had access to. She finds that knowing “secrets” about her character, even of the kind that don’t come up in the plot at all, help her create an accurate portrait on stage.
“One of my favorite things about this play is how much of the script, even in the fictionalized, dramatized scenes between them, the text is taken from their quotes or their personal writings…” Serpa said. “When you’re playing a real person, the more that you know about their real life, the more you can use that as the building blocks to create that character.”
Another difficult aspect of non-fiction storytelling is making peace with the actions of the characters, especially the ones that don’t age well. As Serpa puts it, the challenge lies in resisting the urge to over-correct history.
“It’s not our job to make them look more like how we wish they had looked or how we would do it now,” she said. “It’s our job to tell the story.”
It’s noteworthy that the story of these activists who fought for the voting rights of women and the Black community is being told so close on the heels of an election in which both gender and race were front and center. The serendipity is not lost on the team.
“One of the most compelling questions this play brings up is that we see in hyper-relevant fashion right now the idea of gradualism, of incrementalism…” said Serpa. “Justice should never be incremental but that’s the tale of human history.”
“The Agitators” runs Nov. 22 through Dec. 15, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m. and select Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., at The Pear Theatre, 1110 La Avenida St., Suite A, Mountain View. Tickets are $20 – $42. For more information, visit thepear.org.
