AN APPRECIATION OF “FENCES” AND OF PUBLIC DISCUSSION

Having read “Fences” twice, I was unimpressed, and even the Beck Center’s superb rendition of the play failed to make me see it as any more than a collection of insightful episodes.

Then I sat in on the after-performance discussion with several dozen other members of the audience. As their comments probed the fences metaphor, my own ideas changed. I began to see the play as a brilliant jewel, each facet reflecting an aspect of our lives – fences between one group and another; between the generations; between different parts of our selves; between what we are and what we aspire to be. Fences delimiting our possibilities and defining the human condition.

This discussion also showed what the drama is. A movie mogul is reported to have said, “If I want to send a message, I’ll use Western Union.” Broadly speaking, he was right. A drama, like any work of art, does not tell us, but shows us, what we are. It shows us the human condition, rendered intensely in the experience of a few hours.

This I learned from the comments of my fellow audience members. So the final lesson is that we need each other to bring our thoughts to full flower. To help each other think well is a necessary part of community life.

-- Gordon Brumm