INTERVIEW: Two men navigate their virtual relationship in ‘Borders,’ now playing at The Tank
Image courtesy of Dirty Laundry Theatre / Provided by official site.
The new play Borders has taken on a new meaning during the COVID-19 pandemic. On its surface, the show, written by Nimrod Danishman and directed by Michael R. Piazza, is about a relationship that is playing out on virtual channels. Even though Boaz and George yearn to see each other in person, there are struggles with their partnership: one lives in Israel and the other in Lebanon. Of course, during this global time of isolation, one can also consider the health borders that have kept loved ones separate and needing of human contact.
Borders, which is performed live, comes to The Tank in New York City on their streaming platform, CyberTank. Those live performances continue through Feb. 27, followed by on-demand viewing Feb. 28 to March 13. Tickets range from $10-$30.
The play, according to press notes, first premiered in 2019. This new edition has been adapted for a virtual format, specifically speaking to an audience that is relegated to enjoy the performance from the comforts of their own home. In some ways, the medium matches the message.
To keep the conversation going about the themes brought up in Borders, The Tank will join with their partners on the project, The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center and Dirty Laundry Theatre, for a special program called Queering the Middle (East) Wednesday, Feb. 24 at 6:30 p.m. The panel discussion is free, with a suggested donation of $10.
Recently Hollywood Soapbox exchanged emails with Danishman, Piazza and producer Maera Hagage. Questions and answers have been slightly edited for style.
What inspired you to write Borders?
DANISHMAN: I have always been fascinated by Lebanon — the dissonance between the beautiful country called ‘Switzerland of the Middle East’ and the country I learned to be an enemy state. I once visited a friend who lives in northern Israel, near the border with Lebanon. At night, I was chatting in the Grindr with a guy from Lebanon. We talked for a whole day. It was exciting: He’s a guy from the other side of the fence, but in a moment we find out we have a lot in common. After 24 hours of chatting we parted ways, and I thought — what would happen if we kept talking? Would we give this relationship a chance? Would we meet? I think the longing for the encounter was my main motivation in writing Borders.
What were some of the challenges of adapting the piece for a virtual audience?
HAGAGE: Our first challenge in adapting this piece was to find a format that will work and will provide the quality experience I was looking for. We’re a young indie theatre company with very limited budget. Considering our resources, I did not want to put a single camera in front of the staged play and just film or broadcast it. I also didn’t want to force this play on a Zoom format and make it look and feel like a reading. I was willing to invest in a digital format that will provide an experience as a whole and won’t feel missing or compromising. Luckily for me, my cast and crew put shoulder to shoulder in researching, experimenting and came up with this beautiful wholesome experience I’m proud to produce.
Our last challenge is to ‘fight what’s out there’, mainly the notion that ‘digital/ virtual theatre cannot be of quality’ as well as bring the audience to the screen in times of general screen fatigue.
PIAZZA: The challenges were numerous. Most importantly was learning this relatively new medium and figuring out the best way to present our story within it. That took experimenting with the various programs that would allow us a certain amount of control of the audience experience while still being live. That also took adapting the play but also adapting the actors to a new way of working. When we did the play in a theater, the actors never looked at each other. Now they were forced to look at each other as this is a video call, but pretending not to be able to see one another. It’s a strange experience for them.
The final challenge is still one at the forefront of our minds, which is the ability to garner an audience for the piece. How do we get people online to watch?
What do you think the piece says about borders, both real and perceived?
DANISHMAN: When I wrote the play, I read an article by a political science researcher from the Hebrew University. He argued in a very unintuitive way that a border is a meeting place because it marks the place where one culture ends and another culture begins. In this place between the two countries there is a meeting between the two cultures. In the play, Boaz and George meet virtually when they are closest to the border between Israel and Lebanon. I think this is the greatest meaning I have found in my writing for the term ‘border.’
Do you feel like love can be a solution to some of the world’s problems, or is that too easy of an answer?
DANISHMAN: Totally. Love and compassion.
Do you feel like relationships like the one between Boaz and George are severely hurt by physical separation? After all, many relationships are dealing with separation during this pandemic.
DANISHMAN: I think today more than ever you can do a lot of things from a distance: You can consume art, you can run a business, you can learn, and you can also connect with another person and fall in love. This is what happened to me, to be honest, with my ex-partner. We lived in other countries and were in a long-distance relationship. But I think like art, so does the relationship between people, it works better when it’s in reality — outside of virtual boundaries. It seems to me that quite a few relationships have been damaged as a result of the social distance imposed on us because of the plague. On the other hand, I’m sure a lot of other relationships have flourished as well — perhaps the ones we had taken for granted before the COVID-19.
What have the reactions to the play been from around the world?
DANISHMAN: Amazing. To be honest, I do not believe that this play, originally written for a final exam in my studies, has become what it is today. I owe a huge thank you to the Dirty Laundry Theatre who believed in the play and decided to produce it in New York, and opened the door to the big world for it.
PIAZZA: I think the reactions to the play have been how universal the experience is no matter where you are around the world. We are all, worldwide, experiencing each other digitally. The pandemic has only intensified this, but it was present before as well. Gay dating apps have been around for a decade at this point, and internet dating a decade before. There is a new method of meeting and communing with people, and I think this play taps into a new universal that hasn’t been explored in art and theater.
HAGAGE: Really encouraging overall. I initially picked this play because the beautiful way it deals with the human experience. Although the political climate is in the background and plays [a] part in the characters’ life, the play is really about human connection, seeking the truth and dealing with gentle emotions while struggling with life circumstances. When we first staged this play in NYC, people came out of the theatre saying, ‘I cannot decide who’s the bad guy, who’s the good guy.’ After presenting it all over the world, viewers were excited about the format, and days after the show sent notes how the characters stayed with them — and the reach has been amazing! We’ve got feedback from the U.S. and Canada through Europe, Israel, Australia and even Cayman Islands!
Do you feel theater that focuses on LGBTQ issues has been strong these past few years? Are these plays having a positive effect and moving the world toward better acceptance?
DANISHMAN: In Israel, there is almost no LGBT theater. When I first produced Borders in Tel Aviv, it was one of three LGBT shows in total. I feel that one of my tasks is to expand the LGBT repertoire in Israel. As we traveled around the country with the show, we saw how much the LGBT community longed to see itself on stage. I’m sure LGBT theater repertoire is making the world a better, more accepting, more diverse place.
PIAZZA: I think it’s best to expand this question to all forms of art. I am a firm believer that LGBTQ+ representation in media is the explanation for the rapid acceptance we’ve been seeing in the last few decades, particularly in the western world. I think as stories of LGBTQ+ people start to be experienced by audiences, it is only natural that acceptance becomes more possible. My own white, western experience points to this with Will & Grace and other ‘normal’ and non-tragic stories about our community become popular.
HAGAGE: I couldn’t agree more. The more we share those stories, the more familiar people will be with ‘the other,’ will accept them more and eventually treat them as a natural part of life. One of the things I recently saw online asked, ‘when will ‘coming out’ will only be ‘I fell in love’ story?’ I strongly believe that the more LGBT+ life will be represented in the public domain via any form of art and media, the more acceptance it will drive.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Borders, written by Nimrod Danishman and directed by Michael R. Piazza, is a Dirty Laundry Theatre Production presented in association with The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center. The shows plays live on CyberTank through Feb. 27. After that, the play is available on demand Feb. 28 through March 13. Click here for more information and tickets.
