"Twelfth Night" is a show that has meant a lot to me since Geek Parties did our first production of it in 2017. It was a ridiculous show, full of references to other media and directed by someone who has no attachment to theater but a significant attachment to Shakespeare. As a result, it was chaotic, energetic, and possibly more fun for the cast than it was for the audience.
It was also a time in my life where I was heavily deciphering my own identity. I was 14, had just made my first tumblr account a year prior, and was learning that gender and sexuality aren't quite as set in stone as many might have you believe. When I read through the script for the first time, I immediately started picking up on queer themes, places where this story could be moved around slightly to tell a different kind of love story.
Ever since that production I've sat with and considered the ways I'd adjust this story, the other options present to the characters they just didn't take in the original text. What if Viola and Olivia did end up together? What if Sebastian married Orsino? Could Andrew and Malvolio have had something going on behind the scenes? Did we really need to have the character that came across the gayest get arrested?
This show is a labor of love, and an act of defiance. The world around us seems to always be on fire, and the people in power still want us gone. In an era where once again even the corporations have deemed us 'unprofitable', it's more important than ever to stay loud and stay proud- This show, for me, is my own personal act of resistance, a reminder that it's not 'gay' as in 'happy', it's 'queer' as in 'fuck you'. But it’s also a beacon of hope, and of light; The fact that we deserve our happy endings, too.
This is a show where no one dies, where a trans man gets to fall in love, where romance isn’t the only way to end everyone's story, and a drag queen is universally beloved. This is also a story about grief, about persevering through terrifying circumstances, and about family, the kind you choose regardless of blood relation. This is a story about the sort of life that people like us- regardless of identity- deserve to live.
I’m so incredibly grateful to get to tell this story with this amazing group of people, and that we get to share that story with you. Geek Parties Theater is a community program, and I’m ever so thankful for the community we’ve built here. Thank you all, so much, on the stage and beyond it, for being here and being a part of this. I wouldn’t be the person I am today without you, and neither would this show.
-Cas Hartter, Director
