Being a wretch has never been easy. Just ask my friend David Templeton. This playwright (and journalist) is performing his critically-acclaimed, award-winning one-man show Wretch Like Me this month at the Occidental Center for the Arts stage.
The performance is a coming of age story. In folklore terms, it is the telling of a hero's journey, namely that of a young puppeteer – a resident of Southern California's blissed-out believer landscape of the 1970s. He travels around and into beliefs about faith and joy - most of them unexpected and life-shaping.
We talked a little about the show:
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Q: The world of folklore operates on many levels and centers around individual and cultural expressions of universal themes. In this one-man show, you tell your story as a California boy coming of age in the 1970-80's. The journey begins, as many hero journeys do, as a quest.
Can you tell us what you were searching for?
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A: Simply put, I was looking for acceptance, for friends, for love. As a slightly weird kid who was obsessed with puppets (inspired by Shari Lewis) and with death—starting when I watched my brother accidentally cook a salamander during a pre-adolescent science experiment in the kitchen—I was not too popular. I was constantly bullied and terrorized at school. At any point, I would have joined any group, any clique, any gang that accepted me. It wasn't until high school, when I was invited to check out the Jesus Club on campus, that I found my people.
Q: You chose to title the piece WRETCH LIKE ME. Please explain what this title means to you.
A: "Wretch Like Me" is, of course, a phrase from the beloved hymn, 'Amazing Grace,' a song I reference in many ways in the show. I sing it, forwards and backwards (literally), dance to it, and perform it to all kinds of tunes, like 'Supercalifragilisticexpialadocious' and the Gilligan's Island theme song. In my life, the word 'Wretch' became a lightning rod for feelings of inferiority and failure. The overall story arc of the performance is that of a young man embracing his own wretchedness only to, eventually, grow to a point where he is ready to let go of that sense of himself. Imbedded in the story, also, is an examination of how some faith systems depend on inflaming followers' sense of inferiority, enforcing a belief that outside that community they will never survive.
On this journey David realizes that he has been spreading this same message of universal brokenness and that it runs counter to what Jesus said. This is an eye-opening moment in the show.
Q: As a storytelling vehicle, solo performance provides specific opportunities for a story to be told/shared. How did you come to select this format rather than, say a one or two act play that involved other characters?
A: I was twenty-three, less than a year or two after the events of the play concluded, when – after seeing Josh Kornbluth perform - I hit upon the solo monologue art-form as the right vehicle for this story. Unlike a traditional play structure, novelization and film, this format is ideal for an intimate story told by the person it happened to. As the project developed, of course, more theatrical elements were added, including playing all the characters. But at its heart, this is something I am sharing in an old-fashioned storytelling style. One guy spinning an incredible yarn has always been an effective way of transporting people into the lives and shoes of other people.
Q: Is the hero's journey of this story over?
A: I do believe the hero's journey of this particular story is over. It ends when David grows enough to challenge the monster—in this case the super-serious, ex-surfer, man-of-God Reverend Dude—and in the process becomes his own person. This tale has many painful moments and serious turns as well as humor. The story is about transformation and with that I clearly can look back with a sense of affection and love for those involved in the story. So the final step of my hero's journey, in a way, is standing on stage and telling the story. This completes the loop and shows that survival from abuse and disappointment is not only possible, it is part of the process of being alive.
Q: What is it you hope audiences will gain from seeing WRETCH?
A: I believe that the primary purpose of theater, art and storytelling is to make other people feel something. In 'Wretch Like Me,' I hope the audience laughs, cries, and feels compassion for the characters, and in turn for themselves. I also hope it touches and comforts those who have similar experiences. I am never happier than when someone approaches me and says, 'I thought I was alone! After hearing your story, I know there are others who experienced what I did.' And if they are then able to laugh with me about our shared experience—all the better!
The show runs September 28 (8pm) and 29 (4pm). Tickets: $10 For details: http://www.occidentalcenterforthearts.org/david-templetons-wretch-like-me/
