In a board meeting over the winter, Danny brought up the work that he had been doing in school, research on gay relationships and most interestingly interviews he conducted with people on both sides of the argument. Immediately the idea came about to create some type of play that would showcase the stories, and he had my full support.
Arouet was started with the purpose of presenting works that speak of civil rights. Our company name comes from Voltaire’s last name after all, well known for his works on civil rights and freedom of and from religion.
Marriage equality does not deny anyone’s rights. It allows you to keep your beliefs, have your intimate relationship the way you want it, and deal with your god(s) however you see fit. On the other hand, the current laws openly discriminate against me. They tell me I cannot, if I chose, get married and have all the civil benefits afforded to me by the government, based mostly on religious teachings.
The irony is that I don’t actually believe in marriage, for anyone. I do believe, however, that your relationship status should be your choice, and not someone else’s. To paraphrase Voltaire: “I may not agree with your decision to get married, but I will defend to the death your right to do it.”
The process of creating Lawfully Wedded has been exhilarating. A creative process like none I’ve been a part of before, collaborating with writers, actors, and fellow directors in a very limited time frame has taken us to new heights. I have grown tremendously as an artist, producer, and most important, as a person.
During the next few weeks you will see here the experience of others on our team. Stay tuned!