Written by Ashley Wehrs, Photos by Eden Buchert
Writer and director Dominic Bell, a third-year dramatic writing student, exudes humble confidence and produces the self-aware, authentic comedy the entertainment industry needs today.
Leading up to the live production of his play, “slouching towards heterosexuality – A Gay Comedy Told Straight,” Bell shared the reality of his creative process, his standards for representative entertainment and his biggest excitements for his final production.
“slouching towards heterosexuality” follows five characters, but specifically the journey of a character coming out to their friend group. “It’s an intimate coming-of-age story with a screwball comedy weld into it,” Bell said.
As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, Bell said he combined elements of autobiography with moments of fictionalization to create what he wished he could see on stage and screen. “[Many coming out movies] do way too much work to be like, ‘I’m just like every other teenager. I’m just like you. I’m also a human being, I love my iced coffee, I love my friends, I’ll show you guys,’” Bell said. “If I was able to tear that apart and find something genuine, I think it would be a much-needed corrective to an unnecessarily over told story.”
Growing up in a family of creatives, Bell said his sister and mom were both involved in theater. “[Theater] was my first interaction with art,” Bell said. “It’s the most direct and authentic and I think I like it for that reason because I’m not usually an authentic person in terms of art.”
Bell said the concept for “slouching towards heterosexuality” had been in his head for more than five years, but he had never felt like it was the right time to write it. After taking dramatic writing professor Renee Bishop’s introduction to playwriting class, she challenged him to dig deeper.
Determined to find the authenticity in his naturally comedic tendencies, Bell said he wrote “slouching towards heterosexuality” in Bishop’s advanced playwriting class in fall 2020.
While simultaneously striving to deconstruct the frequency of othering in LGBTQ+ content, Bell said he wanted to talk about the complexities of how often people say that Generation Z is the most tolerant generation. Although he believes Generation Z and Y have been exposed to more information than those in the past, he feels it has become clear how many individuals actively embrace their ignorance.
In February, Bell had a reading of his play over Zoom. He said he was hopeful it would be produced on stage eventually and fortunately, Bishop reached out soon after for it to be a live production this spring quarter.
Despite the show coming together quickly, Bell was incredibly intentional in the creation of his cast and crew. His casting posters purposefully put inclusivity at the forefront, encouraging any masculine-identifying actors to audition. “Sometimes when people say ‘yeah, I’ll see anybody,’ they don’t see anybody,” Bell said. “I was like, ‘I will see anybody.’”
When it came down to Bell’s casting process, he said he prioritized improv skills and comedy chops. “I’m also a very collaborative person,” Bell said. “I am a big believer in if you have a joke that’s funnier, we’re going to go with that.”
The cast includes a mix of dramatic writing and performing arts majors, who transformed “slouching through heterosexuality” in a way Bell hadn’t imagined they would. “They took it out of transcription, out of autobiography, which is exactly what I wanted and that made it universal,” Bell said. “They made it really accessible for anybody.”
Beyond being performed in the unusual circumstances of COVID-19 and isolation, Bell said the whole cast got vaccinated and that their rehearsals have included temperature checks beforehand. “I wrote the play alone basically and isolated, but a community showed up to put it on,” Bell said.
Reflecting on the upcoming performances, Bell said he only has a few hopes for the show. “I hope [the audience understands] every character. They don’t have to like them. I don’t think they’re going to,” Bell said. Most of all, he said he hopes people have the much-needed emotional catharsis after such a crazy year.
“slouching towards heterosexuality – A Gay Comedy Told Straight,” premieres May 6-9 at the Arnold Hall theater. Tickets are free to students with a SCAD ID and can be ordered through eventbrite. There are 20 tickets available per performance and socially distanced seating.
