Profiles Theatre presents “Gideon’s Knot”
Reviewed By Sara Eisenbaum
The problem with being a viewer is that you need to be open-minded at all costs. Unfortunately, I recognize a bias in myself that when something is meant to imitate a real life situation and in my opinion it doesn’t, I automatically tune out. “Gideon’s Knot” fell prey to this situation. The premise of the play is a parent-teacher conference a.k.a a setting that should mirror a real life situation. As an educator myself I have a wealth of experience with conferences so had high hopes for the narrative between mother and teacher. About ten minutes into the production it is revealed (you shouldn’t read this as a spoiler alert) that there has been a tragedy in the mother’s life, which makes the parent-teacher conference unexpected. This part makes complete sense; however, the teacher’s handling of the interaction is unlikely. The writer/director clearly was hoping to have an audience that couldn’t necessarily choose sides with assurance but it’s problematic to have yet another venue where teachers can be bashed for their inability to connect to their students as well as their enjoyment with traditional educational standards that don’t inspire or engage young people. I don’t find this to be an interesting concept. The teacher in this piece was aggressive in a manner that (personal bias here) doesn’t fit with reality. I just can’t wrap my mind around a teacher who would accost a parent with hard words, negative body language, and angry facial gestures after understanding the severity of the tragedy they had experienced regardless of their personal feelings towards that parent’s child. My bottom line: if reality isn’t present then credibility is marred and therefore myself as an audience member is tuned out.
At Profiles Theatre, 4147 North Broadway
Written by Johnna Adams
Directed by Artistic Director Joe Jahraus
Thursdays and Fridays at 8 pm; Saturdays at 5 pm and 7:30pm; Sundays at 7pm
Thru March 9, 2014
For more information, visit http://profilestheatre.org/box_office.html