BR: “Two Strangers,” Morgan Carr, pre-Broadway days. I was listening to it yesterday on the bus and sobbing. I was like, “What am I doing?” FR: I’m the same way. But it’s Bob Dylan for me. Like with every experience I’ve ever had. BR: What do you think fml is about? FR: It’s about being an outsider, and yet still having hope, even in the darkest times. And it’s about friendship—about being there for the people in your life and standing up for them. BR: What do you hope audiences will take away from the show? FR: I think we’re really lucky to be doing this show for exactly the audience members
novel]. Jo and Mick both share this idea of an “inside room,” of feeling alone even when you have all these people around you. Jo doesn’t let people know when things get to her because she doesn’t want people to worry about her. She’s that person who says, “I’m going to get by. I’m going to get out of here. I’m going to make myself a better life.” You know? BR: So, in many ways, The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter is Jo’s “It Gets Better Project?”* FR: I think so. There is a lot of hope in the show. fml: how Carson McCullers saved my life is the title of Jo’s graphic novel. Through her book, she can tell anyone going through a hard time, “it does get better.” She has something to offer: hope that it does get better. If you have people there who are
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willing to help you, or if you have some sort of outlet like Jo, you can move past that kind of despair. BR: Do you have an outlet? FR: Like Mick, when I listen to music, I really put myself into it. I have certain friends who listen to a lot of music, and they eat it up, almost like a drug. They listen to albums two days straight, and when they’re done with it, they move on to something else. But for me, I listen to something over and over again. It becomes the soundtrack to whatever I’m going through at that time. I put my emotions into it, and I let the music take on whatever my feeling is. That’s my outlet.
“Jo’s that person who says, ‘I’m going to get by. I’m going to get out of here. I’m going to make myself a better life.’”
I think should see it: teens, kids our age. In terms of bullying, it seems there is a lot out there for parents in terms of how to talk to kids about bullying and a lot for teachers, “What do I do if I see bullying?” but we don’t have that kind of education for us, for students. I hope people who see this will be more conscious of their behavior. And for kids who are being bullied, I hope they will know it does get better, and that they are not alone. If nothing else, people should understand there is something going on, that the consciousness around LGBT issues is shifting. Like, you know—if you are stuck in the past, these times, they are a-changin’. BR: Did you mean to quote Bob Dylan just then?! FR: You know I did! BR: Thank you so much for talking with me. FR: Thank you. I hope you enjoy the show.
*The It Gets Better Project is a campaign started by Dan Savage and his life partner to “show young LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) persons the levels of happiness, potential and positivity their lives will reach—if they can just get through their teen years. The It Gets Better Project wants to remind teenagers in the LGBT community that they are not alone—and it WILL get better.” www.itgetsbetter.org
-Fiona Robert
BR: That’s like me! This whole week, I’ve just been replaying this one song over and over again. FR: What song?
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