prej•u•dice     /'pre jə dəs/

What an interesting journey this has been, working with a cast of black and white men and women, on a play that doesn't only spear racism head-on, but lances a whole host of other prejudices. And when you open the lid of the box, you realize that there are a bunch of biases inside. I have realized, through working on this contemporary masterpiece, that unfortunately it is human failing to band together in a group (which could be based on absolutely anything: age, race, religion, sex, geographical location, accent, language) and deem another group "other". While they may not be as strong, or large or damaging as something we would call "prejudices", we do have pre-conceived notions about people. Being from New York and of Italian-American descent, I can easily outline the biases I've heard about myself, ranging from "they're all in the mafia" to "they can't talk without using their hands" and "who does that hot shot from New York City think she is?" Seriously, who among us doesn't automatically think that people from New York City are rude? I swear, we're not. We're just always in a hurry!

We all have them in one form or another: toward people from the South, or people from the North, old people, young people, fat people, skinny people, rich people, poor people, Republicans and Democrats....get my drift? Let alone people from other countries, with other religions or of different colors.The only way we can evolve as a race, the human race, is to finally come to the realization that there is so much "other" it must mean one thing: we are all one. And if we embrace all of this "other-ness" as aspects of our grand self....we can look at it all with relief, and smile. And accept.

What's so wonderful about this play, however, is that Mr. Mamet wraps all these very interesting themes and topics into a very interesting legal case. The attorneys are smart, the case is interesting. And by the way, the actors are terrific! It is an evening at the theatre you're sure to enjoy!

Talking about race, prejudice and pre-conceived notions, as well as legal battles, innuendo and criminal charges is never easy, so as an addendum to this article, I would also like to talk about...the desk.

Many of you may not realize that Gulfshore Playhouse is a 501c3 not-for-profit charitable organization. It is normal for an arts organization to raise only 40-60% of it's budget with ticket sales which means donations are not only gratefully accepted but vital, and extra money....well...we haven't experienced that yet...so when we do I will let you know!

When I founded Gulfshore Playhouse, there was only me, and I wasn't getting a paycheck so our bottom line was pretty easily met. As we grow, I still make every effort to keep our staff as small as possible (thus the fact that we all wear about 7 hats each) and try to economize each decision. Hence, the seven us who now work out of the office seasonally all work out of one office space, a room approximately 20 ft. x 20ft. It's all one big happy family, although when three of us are talking on the phone at once it can get a little hairy! Most importantly, we're being responsible with the dollars that our patrons and donors have trusted us with. Every dollar counts. So when we realized we needed a large desk for the office of Jack Lawson, Esq. in "Race", I suggested my own. And now I have a table as my desk, with two banker boxes filled with files below and the table shakes every time I print something.

And finally, we come to a pre-conceived notion that is quite possibly true: "Oh, you know those people who work for not-for-profits...they like to pinch pennies!!!" Yes, indeed we do!

I hope to see you at the show! Believe me, you'll leave with plenty more to talk about than the desk!

Kristen Coury
Producing Artistic Director