The rest of the Logan family arrived. Well, except for the Slayer, but she was probably off in another county or state or something. I didn't bother to ask. The group now consisted of myself, Jaeger, Captain Logan, and both of their parents. Jaeger's dad gave me my ticket, and I reimbursed him for it. We talked briefly, and then entered the auditorium.

They handed us our programs, and we found our seats without much trouble. We talked about random stuff for a while, and I informed Jaeger's parents that I was now working for a startup company known as x13. The name wasn't familiar to them at first, until Captain Logan pointed out its affiliation with scottgalvin.com.

That got nods of understanding. "Oh, I see."

Too funny. (What goes unsaid is sometimes far more interesting than what is stated.)

But anyway, on to the relevant subject at hand.

I looked over the program, and began reading over the Director's Notes. The blunt directness of the message was stunning. It it so well written, that I think I'll just transcribe the whole thing here. Copyright be damned.

Director's Notes

George Orwell's 1984 is probably the most haunting book that I have ever read. It terrified me when I read it for the first time as a teenager; it still has the power to terrify me today. If you have never read it, you should. George Orwell wrote Nineteen Eighty-Four in 1948 as a chilling indictment of a post war/cold war society. Since its publication in 1949, the book has been hailed as one of the 100 most influential in the modern Western literary tradition. The question must be asked: Influential how: as a warning against totalitarianism; or, as a handbook for those in power today? As a society, we are certainly watched more closely than ever before. The Internet tracks our interests, our communication, our bank and charge accounts.

Doublespeak is the official language of the government in 1984. Our government also uses it. Think about the slogan "War is Peace." Today, the military uses terms like "Peacekeeper Missile" and "Collateral Damage" (civilian casualties). Recently, Jan Simonsen, an independent member of Norway's Parliament, nominated George Bush and Tony Blair for the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize. His logic--with its Orwellian twist--is that "by removing Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, they lessened the chance of a war using weapons of mass destruction." They lessened the chance of a war using weapons of mass destruction BY CREATING a war using the same weapons? Bush himself has claimed that war was necessary to achieve peace. Killing is not an act of peace; subjugation is not a form of freedom; imposing a form of government on another country falls well short of democracy. Swedes, too, understand that peace is actually the lack of war, not the result of it; they were overwhelmingly against Bush and Blair's war of choice. The Nobel committee decides the winner, however, not the citizens of Sweden, so it is theoretically possible that the Bush and Blair team could be on the front of Time and Newsweek later this year, with little doves of peace floating above their heads.

Orwell depicts a society in 1984 that is in a state of constant war. The people need an enemy. It helps them rally round Big Brother. Big Brother promises them protection. Of course, this protection removes freedom and individuality; however, fear makes people behave in strange ways. Citizens of Oceania unite by participating in Two Minute Hates, where they collectively watch a television that defines their enemies, while it assures them that Big Brother is at the moment doing everything possible to defeat them. America used to have the Cold War; today, because of 9-11, we have the War Against Terror. Now this one has the ring of a winner and may rival the Cold War for its ability to distract and divert over the long haul. It will work as a long-term distraction because it has all the essential ingredients of a permanent diversion. It is un-winnable. There is no point when we will be able to conclude, once and for all, that this war is over. Unlike the Cold War, where the fall of a wall was a tangible symbol of victory; no walls will crumblein this war. Even if we chased terrorists into the most remote corners, there would always be the fear that more were brewing somewhere. In fact, the very policies of such a war will breed new terrorists like the heads of a hydra. This, from an Orwellian point of view, is the perfect situation.

Also, there will always be an enemy. Given that 'terrorists' can be constantly created out of any conflict between groups, we will never run out of an enemy. And, anyone who criticizes the government is accused of being unpatriotic. I will be accused of being unpatriotic for writing these notes. Americans have always spoken their minds; they have always criticized their government, always, until 9-11. The television program "Politically Incorrect" with Bill Maher, was canceled after Maher criticized the government. Suddenly, those who criticized were silenced. The most secretive presidential administration in our history is changing our government. How did all of this happen? Fear of the enemy and fear of being labeled as unpatriotic. 1984 is definitely a book of our time. That is why I chose this play as my final play at Fairview High School.

I will miss teaching; most of all, I will miss this theatre and the wonderful students and parents that I have worked with throughout the years. I have been extremely lucky to have been able to do the things that I love best. Thanks to everyone who made my job easier, especially Joe Zender, Sara Doolittle, Jim Keller, Ron Revier, Steve Christopher, and the light and loves of my life: Joe and Justin.

--Roz Boatman

Wow. Strong indictments. Though I fully agree with her, I was surprised that such a commentary would be printed in the official program for a play held at a public school.

Thus the tone was set.

The lights went out, and the curtains were raised, for the opening scene. The setting was made apparent by a spotlight shining on a sign near the edge of the stage that said "Winston's Apartment" at the beginning of the scene. There were several such signs, each of which would be used at various points during the play.

Wintson was scrunched over on the ground, writing in a book. Behind him was a giant screen with an imposing face. He was writing down his thoughtcrime about how much he hated Big Brother. The stage faded to black.

Then commenced an absolutely fascinating twist (I'm tempted to say "brilliant" here). Over the speakers, an announcement was made that the audience progaganda session would now begin. Actors wearing appropriate brown uniforms with red sashes filed out into the aisles, and took positions scattered throughout the auditorium. They stood there imposingly, each watching over the portion of the crowd that was within their vicinity.

Two television screens, one on each side of the stage, began to play footage taken from various actual newscasts. It was a montage. There were pictures of the 9/11 attacks, of Osama bin Laden, Saddam Hussein, and George Bush giving speeches assuring the country that we would fight the terrorists to the end.

As the tv footage played, the Party Patriots all through the building started shouting. One would holler, "Down with terrorists!" and the rest would respond, shouting in unison, with angry tones. "Yeah!"

A moment before the Patriot nearest to me made it obvious, I caught on to what was about to happen. She shouted, "Come on audience, say yeah!"

I decided to play along with the game, and added my voice to the "Yeah" chorus. I believe I was one of the first audience members in my section to do so, but I would not be the last.

Footage with newscasters talking out the attacks was drowned out. "Down with terrorism!"

"Yeah!"

The image of the President appeared onscreen, talking about hunting every one of them down. "Go George Bush!"

"Yeah!"

At one point, someone, most likely an audience member, shouted, "Down with Bush!" And several others laughed.

This was sternly rebuked by one of the nearest party member, who shouted sternly, "That is unpatriotic."

Some of the others started chanting, "Go Bush, Go Bush, Bush, Bush, Bush!"

Even though we all knew it was a joke, and these were actors, the effects were palpable. In a certain regard, it was invigorating, a truly great piece of interactive performance art that gets the whole audience involved. On another dramatic level, it was scary, even with the knowledge that it was all just an act.

The voice on the speakers announced that the audience propaganda session was over, the screens flickered out, the Party members made their exit, and the first act of the play began.

The exposition, though not bad, was the weakest part of the play in several regards. For one thing, the actors didn't seem to be fully into their roles at first. I decided that it's probably not realistic to expect too much from a bunch of high school students, and did my best to just soak it in and enjoy what was.

The specifics of the story early on differered fairly drastically from the book. Some of it, I can see, was necessary. A bunch of dialog that was never spoken by anybody in the book had been tacked on to various characters' lines. That I can forgive, because some of the things that the book states in narration wouldn't easily translate into play form without the added dialog.

But the part where Winston and Julia meet, and each learn about the other's secret, was a complete departure from Orwell's novel. Instead of passing a secret note, in this version, they had some scenes with long dialog where, when a telescreen was having a temporary malfunction and hence couldn't surveil them, Winston tried to explain concepts like doublethink to Julia.

Then at one point during the debate with one another, they ended up in a spontanious kiss, right out of romantic comedy cliché world. Weak.

But it got better.

The first really impressive bit of acting came from a monologue by the man whose task it was to translate everything into Newspeak. This was right out of the book, and he delivered it spot on. He enthusiastically and animatedly exclaimed about how the language could be shrunk to just a few hundred words, and all thought could be hewed down into a few concepts. This would obliterate the possibility of a document like the Declaration of Independence retaining any meaning, except perhaps as something that could be summarized simply as thoughtcrime. Right out of Orwell.

Each act was punctuated with another audience propaganda session, complete with Party supervisors marching into the aisles to overlook the proceedings, recorded announcements to herald the beginning and end of the event, and newscast footage. As the images appeared, more and more audience members started to holler in unison, as well as adding spontanious outbursts, raging against the terrorists, Saddam Hussein, the Axis of Evil, the anti-war protestors, the Dixie Chicks, the French, and all the other enemies of America, both at home and abroad.

As for the play itself, the drama (and humor in parts) got better and better. I gradually warmed up to the actors who were portraying Winston and Julia. The scene with the neighbor's kid was hilariously played, and quite true to Orwell's description.

The Rented Room scenes were awesome, as was the scene where they went to visit O'Brien. The actor in the role of O'Brien was outstanding. The following portion which, according to my recollection, was almost word for word from the book, was absolutely bone-chilling.

O'Brien: For this cause of bringing down the Party, would you be willing to die?

Winston: Yes.

O'Brien: Would you be willing to kill, to murder?

Winston: Yes.

O'Brien: Would you be willing to plant a bomb on a bus, killing innocent people, if it would help aid the cause?

Winston: Yes.

O'Brien: Would you throw acid in the face of a child?

Winston: Yes.

O'Brien: Would you be willing to be separated, and never see one another again?

Julia, interjecting: No.

Winston: No.

Though the portion of the play that happened on stage made no mention of any of the modern contexts which framed it, could there have been anybody in the audience who wasn't thinking about terrorism during that scene?

More audience propaganda sessions occurred, and we saw the fearless leaders of our nation defending us against threats to national security. Spurred on by the Party Patriots, we cheered for the battle in Iraq, which would make us safe from the weapons of mass destruction. At one point, when a clip of Bush talking started to role, Captain Logan, seated next to me, cried out, "I love you Big Brother!"

They saved the best for last. After Winston and Julia were apprehended for their thought crime, and taken to the Ministry of Love to be tortured, the O'Brien actor gave another tour de force performance in the role of Winston's interrogator. Again, in this part, they stayed very true to Orwell.

Winston struggled and agonized as they patiently taught him, sometimes with violent beatings, sometimes with dancing distractions to keep him awake all the time. Slowly, he began to learn that 2 + 2 = 5.

At the end of the scene with the rats, in which he cried out to make them do it to Julia instead, and expounded on his love for Big Brother, the lights faded to black, and the music of Pink Floyed played over the dark auditorium for a couple of minutes.

Then the lights came back up to the final scene, with Winston in the coffee shop, expounding about the urgency of the latest war effort. He met Julia again, they admitted their betrayal, even as the eye of Big Brother peered over them. It didn't matter anymore. Their souls were dead.

When Winston heard about the great victory they had made in Africa, he became overjoyed that his homeland was protected. Safe from all threats, he could breathe easy. He had learned to love Big Brother.

Curtain.

To roaring applause, the complete cast returned to the stage and bowed. Since this was the last night of the play's running, as well the director's final year as drama instructor at Fairview, she was invited up to the stage to accept the undying devotion of her students. The tech crew and others involved were also invited up. All were applauded. It was a magic moment.

We filed out of the auditorium, saying little. I told Jaeger that I had to say I was impressed. But it didn't really need saying. The impression it left at the end was that good.

Outside, we all separated into our respective vehicles, and I journeyed back to where I am now.

(to be prequel-ed.)