Local theaters strive to diversify audiences

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 worked towards their goals. Despite this, the theater states that they “remain steadfast in their commitment to transforming the theater for the better.” looks like me on stage, that’s a story that feels valuable or meaningful to me.’ ” audience demographics.

Shotgun Players is also working to dismantle some of the theater practices that can feel hidden to new audience members.

Jeffrey Dahmer: a convicted serial killer and sex offender. This man is a monster, yet he has been consistently sexualized by the media. The 2017 addition to the Jeffrey Dahmer franchise came in the form of “My Friend Dahmer,” inspired by a graphic novel of the same name.

It was written and illustrated by John “Derf” Backderf, a friend of Dahmer’s in high school. The movie looks into Dahmer’s experience as a teenager in Ohio. True crime is a giant business and is highly popular. But has this interest gone too far?

The term “serial killer” was popularized in the ‘80s, which is also when serial killers really started to make their mark as a public fascination. There were 104 serial killers in the ‘80s, classified as someone who killed three or more people. The highest recorded peak of serial killers was in 1989. True crime media involves movies, TV, books, podcasts, and merchandise about serial killers. The demographic for true crime media has often been young white women. In classic horror movies, they are also often the protagonist. This has brought forth the archetype of the “final girl” — the last girl left alive, often the narrator of the story.

These violent monsters often have their crimes put aside because of their looks. Ted Bundy and Dahmer are notoriously sexualized, which is not helped by the fact that they are often cast as conventionally attractive men in movies and TV. Even celebrities contribute to the lore around serial killers. Camille Rowe, a French-American model, has talked publicly about her love and obsession with Charles Manson. People have even gotten the faces of serial killers as tattoos — Bundy, Dahmer, and John Wayne Gacy being the most popular.

I’ve struggled with watching true crime media, and “My Friend Dahmer” was no different. I found it difficult when the red flags in Dahmer’s behavior were passed off as teenage quirkiness and awkwardness, which I found unrealistic in depicting how teenagers would actually react to him.

In the ‘80s, men of color didn’t have a place in the mainstream LGBTQ+ community. They were also often abandoned by their families and left to fend for themselves, leaving them isolated and looking for support. Dahmer used this to his advantage and targeted an especially vulnerable group.

A victim’s family isn’t helped by countless media money grabs where their family member’s stories are glossed over. True crime media desensitizes people from the reality of these horrors, but also normalizes them. It distorts the reality of the occurrence of crimes and the demographics they affect. There are plenty of real monsters in this world; let’s stick to depicting the fictional ones.

Berkeley Repertory Theatre has also established a dedicated budget line which goes towards antiracism staff training and development. “We’re really trying to think broadly about making sure that, given the relatively powerful platform that we have for storytelling here in the Bay, that we are uplifting, representing, and supporting a wide variety of voices,” said Johanna Pfaelzer, the artistic director at Berkeley Repertory Theatre.

Local theaters have been taking steps to welcome in a spectrum of audience members. For many theaters like Shotgun Players, this takes shape in focusing on the type of stories they’re telling and the ways that they cast.

“Specifically, we’re looking for plays about, you know, Black joy over Black trauma, right, or stories that have not historically been told on mainstage,” Lisle said. “For audiences it’s like, ‘Wow, there’s someone who

“There’s a lot of unspoken rules that go along with the culture,” Lisle said. “Like, I have to look this way, or I need to be quiet at these times, and I can clap at these other times. And so a lot of what we’re trying to do is throw that out the window a little bit.”

The playhouse is making efforts to combat this dynamic by encouraging interactions with the audience.

“We have audiences that are like, vocally responding throughout the show, supporting the cast,” Lisle said. “There’s just like an energy and electricity in the room that feels really different, I think, than in traditional theater spaces.”

According to Cyndii Johnson, an actress currently working with Berkeley Repertory Theatre, the industry has changed dramatically since she first started. Johnson has noticed an increase in diversity, including cast, crew, box office, and production. She has also seen shifts in the

“In the past, theater audiences were always old, rich, white people, a very specific kind of person,” Johnson said. “But now, people are beginning to realize that theater is supposed to be an inclusive place for all people. People are adjusting their ticket pricing, they’re having initiatives, and really being a part of the community.”

At Shotgun Players, this goal to bring in a more diverse audience is through the Make A Difference (MAD) program. People who are 25 or younger can purchase a ten dollar MAD ticket, used for any performance any time.

Shotgun Players also offers the Community Ticket, which isn’t age based. “(If) you want to come see the theater and prices are the barrier, you can get a $15 ticket for any show,” Lisle said.

Continuing to strive for diverse audiences is crucial to Lisle.

“The experience of sitting in the theater next to someone you don’t know, who’s not necessarily like you and has totally different experiences from you is the whole name of the game,” Lisle said. “Why bother to make theater if you’re making it for the same type of people all the time? If the theater audience is homogeneous, then a lot of the possibility of the beautiful transformative power of theater is lost.”