![\"Theater](\"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/the-words\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/603\/2019\/04\/DN2_4528-300x200.jpg\")
One of the productions the program is exploring this semester is <\/span>Hedwig and the Angry Inch<\/span><\/i>, currently onstage<\/span> at Theater Latt\u00e9 Da in Minneapolis. Hedwig and the Angry Inch<\/em> follows the titular German emigrant rock singer living in a trailer in Kansas who is the victim of sexual abuse by his father growing up, and later a botched sex-change operation, in her search for stardom and love. As advertised on the theater\u2019s website, \u201c<\/span>Hedwig and the Angry Inch<\/span><\/i> is an inspiration to anyone who has felt life gave them an inch when they deserved a mile.\u201d <\/span>The Words<\/span><\/i> sat down with Professor Matt Burgess, and students Jackson Ullmann \u201920 and Ash Ma \u201921 to talk about the experience and community engagement.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Professor Burgess appreciated for the opportunity to work with On Stage. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThey\u2019re working on a show, and it\u2019s interesting to hear the students, sixteen smart young people, talking about the themes of the show,\u201d he said. \u201cI structured this course around genres, and so I wanted us to read and talk about a bunch of different types of things\u2014short stories, novels, poetry, but also comic books and video games, and plays\u2014and I liked the idea of a musical like <\/span>Hedwig and the Angry Inch<\/span><\/i> that is dealing with issues of the body. I liked that it was in the genre that I wanted to explore with the class and that it was about body and identity politics, which I wanted to make space for in the course.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Going into the experience, the class didn\u2019t know what to expect. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI thought we would talk more about musical itself and more about the differences between staging a musical and what a musical can do as genre that others can\u2019t, and we didn\u2019t, but that\u2019s fine,\u201d Burgess said. Instead, Burgess noticed that the class talked about \u201cthings that as human beings we probably think a lot about, but don\u2019t make a lot of space in classrooms for.\u201d Representatives of On Stage read through the lyrics of songs from the production and led students through an analysis of the show\u2019s major themes. According to Jackson Ullmann \u201920, much of the discussion engaged with themes of \u201clove, soulmates, and identity as a crossroad,\u201d which students found deeply interesting. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n The ultimate goal of the program, as stated by Erickson, is to \u201cenhance in-class learning, make local theater relevant to younger and non-traditional audiences, and to lay the groundwork for building future theater attendances.\u201d On Stage provides discounted student tickets to help achieve this goal. And after class, it seemed that their goal had been achieved. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI really want to go see the play now,\u201d said Ash Ma \u201921.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n When asked why community engagement is important in higher education, Burgess responded, \u201cWhy do you think it\u2019s important?\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n I considered the question before responding, \u201cI plan on staying in the Twin Cities [after graduation], and having opportunities to connect with that community is important if I want to be a part of it. Community engagement, a pillar of Macalester, is something I believe in, too. I don\u2019t want to live somewhere where I\u2019m not engaged with the people who live there and engaged with the place itself because I\u2019m not sure that\u2019s responsible citizenship.”<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cCan you just take what you said and say that I said it?\u201d Burgess joked. \u201cAnd can you also put that in the article, too?\u201d On a more serious note, he added, \u201cI think we live in a cool place with lots of cool stuff, so let\u2019s take advantage of it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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