Long-time readers will remember a play I wrote that I talked about back in 2006 to early 2007 called: War is Kind: The 1968 Democratic Convention. It was the story of two young women in 1968 - a campaign worker for Senator Eugene McCarthy and a peace activist. The first act of the play followed the events from January to July of that year. The second act was the convention itself, including the riots.
I spent just about 18 months in Austin, Texas researching the play at the LBJ Presidential Library. I also went to the Chicago Historical Society, as well as the National Archives in Chicago to conduct research. I dug through many used books, collected ephemera, and made every attempt to bring an historically accurate version of events to the stage.
This story is important because the perspective of women from that time period has been largely ignored. This is due to the rampant sexism of that period. There was a reason, after all, that the women's movement gained momentum - just after 1968. McCarthy's story has also been ignored. He hasn't been given the credit he truly deserves for the role he played that year.
I was not alive back then. This is an advantage. I'm not plagued by the nostaligic baggage of those who are still invested in memories of their youth. I will publicly admit, for the first time, that I'm a political agnostic. For me, the question isn't who I will support in 2008 - it's whether or not I'll vote. After all, the last time I voted in a presidential election was in 1992. There are a number of reasons for that, which is just one of the reasons I chose to write this story.
After the third draft of the play was completed back in 2006, I began submitting it to development organizations throughout the country. I needed to hear the play out loud to get a better understanding of where I was in the writing process. Theater is an art that requires community. I was lucky enough to get a reading from Austin Scriptworks, which helped a great deal. After that, I edited the play rather mercilessly. When the fifth draft was completed, I once again attempted to get a reading of it. That's when I hit a brick wall. No development organizations would touch it, and I couldn't get a reading of the play anywhere.
Several agents looked at the fifth draft. One well-known agent said "It is original, well written and constructed with good parts and makes a valuable contribution to the understanding of the historical period." Despite that, she wasn't sure if it would be "commercially viable" in New York. But could she keep a copy of it anyway?
Another agent thought the play was a good idea, but alas, I didn't have the proper resume to have written it.
For a while after that, I tried to get readings - without luck. Finally, there came a point when I just didn't have the money to continue submitting the play. It also seemed like a losing proposition. Either I pay my bills or pay reading fees and postage. Since this project was entirely self-funded, meaning no grant money either, I had no other choice than to shelve the play.
My friends and family, however, had other ideas. They insisted that I do something with the story because it was worthwhile and needed to be told. I had gotten so much positive feedback from "audience members" that it was beginning to seem that the only people who didn't want to do something with the story were theater people.
Last year, I committed to blogging the story. Taking a play, which was a macro version of events and whittling it down to a day by day accounting required more research, more writing and more thought. Sometimes, I wasn't sure if it would be worth the effort, but I figured at the very least I would finally have a voice for my work. That alone would make it worthwhile.
And so today, on Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday, I'm launching Project 1968, a blog docu-novel about the lives of two young women during that turbulent year. As the sidebar says, "Janine Stephenson, an 18-year old freshman from the University of Wisconsin, took the semester off to campaign for Senator Eugene McCarthy. She is accompanied by her best friend, Becca.
Amy, an anti-war protester, works at a well-known peace group in Chicago.
Links to source notes, ephemera and commentary are located at the bottom of many entries. Comments are allowed on these back pages."
Project 1968 will be updated daily.
I had some domain-mapping issues, so for the next few days, you can reach the site by www.project1968.com. It will be a dot net very soon.
Since this is brand new territory, I'll be tweaking the site as I go. The sidebars will say different things. The comments are moderated, for the moment. We'll see how it goes. The subject matter is volatile, but the moderation may be temporary.
I'll discuss other thoughts and issues with the creation of this project periodically on this blog. Otherwise, welcome to the world of 1968, though the eyes of Janine and Amy.
