Rights of Passage: At 36,000 Feet

Friday, December 4, 2009

At 36,000 Feet

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The Boeing 777 dipped suddenly and then lurched to the right. The seat belt light flashed on immediately casting a wary glow throughout the otherwise dark cabin. Ahead of me, I could see into the first class galley where three flight attendants had quickly huddled around one of their own. An ice pack was produced and applied to the forehead of a colleague. A sheer curtain is drawn to shield the curious eyes of the passengers from what must be a rather frequent occupational hazard when caught short during unexpected turbulence.

We are 5 hours into the flight. Our jet continues bouncing towards the international dateline. No one seems overly concerned. However, the unsteady weather outside is an apt metaphor for the rumblings I am feeling inside as I begin this journey back to Indonesia to work further on Rights of Passage. It is odd to make this trip without Robert who was unable to take the time off work. We have traveled together to these magical islands more than ten times. This time I am flying solo.

At 36,000 feet and 2,719 miles away from San Francisco I feel my energies shift. My daily routine already begins to feels distant. I start to think about being a writer on a mission. As the jet continues to “rock and roll” it seems to be shaking up my sensibilities - urging me to give into thoughts about making this play. Lately, I have been feeling anxious about just getting on with the project but the pressing tasks of our day jobs have been formidable distractions. The plane shudders once more and I decide that the jet stream is insisting that I put these thoughts behind me.

I turn my attention towards the persistent question swirling around my brain since boarding the aircraft. Why so many trips to this part of the world? After careful thought and few more unpredictable air pockets, I decide that every immersion into South East Asian culture has simply been another step towards the play. The desire to tell a story about global LGBT human rights with the highly ceremonial Hindu way of life at its center is very strong. Unexplainably, it just feels right.

For several more hours I will have my head up here in the clouds. I am suspended in mid-air heading towards untold adventures. Without warning, the turbulence has subsided. My feet will be on terra firma again soon enough.

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What is Rights of Passage?

Rights of Passage is a new play about courage and love. About people all over the world who want to be who they are and why that simple concept is not always so simple to make real. The play is both personal and universal as it illuminates the lives of LGBT people from different cultures and backgrounds. The storytelling style of the play is based on the ageless performance techniques found on the Indonesian island of Bali; these same theatrical techniques, in somewhat different forms, also represent cultures throughout the world. Monologues, scenes, puppetry, masks, and dance will bring the play’s stories to life. Rights of Passage has been developed through extensive research, hundreds of interviews, and the unyielding support of LGBT citizens and activists around the world. Rights of Passage will have its world premiere at The New Conservatory Theatre Center in San Francisco, beginning its run on August 17, 2012.

Post your story here or contact us privately at sfwave@comcast.net

Project Background

In the summer of 2007 we began our research for Rights of Passage, a new play project for The New Conservatory Theatre Center in San Francisco http://www.nctcsf.org/. At the same time, The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) http://www.iglhrc.org/ in New York enthusiastically offered their support to the development of the play. Their assistance ignited our relationships with the vast international LGBT human rights network . ILGHRC continues as a primary guiding force for Rights of Passage, as does the work of Human Rights Watch http://www.hrw.org/ and Amnesty International http://www.amnesty.org/

The themes in Rights of Passage are based upon the Yogyakarta Principles http://www.yogyakartaprinciples.org/ a set of international principles relating to sexual orientation and gender identity. This document is a universal guide to human rights which affirm binding international legal standards with which all States must comply. They promise a different future where all people born free and equal in dignity and rights can fulfill that precious birthright.

Thanks to the power of the internet we are able to reach out to LGBT organizations, individuals, and our allies around the globe. We have also traveled traveled througout the US, Europe, Canada, Thailand, Cambodia, and Indonesia conducting research for the play. Our future travel plans will take us to the Middle East, Africa, China, South America and the Ukraine.

Rights of Passage is supported in part by The James Hormel Small Change Foundation and the generosity of individual donors world wide. We welcome new sponsors at http://www.nctcsf.org/donation