FUCKING A
by Suzan-Lori Parks
Set The Scene:
FUCKING A Pre-Show Info
Content Disclosure
This production of FUCKING A by Suzan-Lori Parks uses stylized and non-realistic representations to explore topics including abortion, loss of life and freedom, issues of fertility and infertility, punishment and violence (including sexual assault and vigilantism).
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The production also employs pulsing lighting, simulated cigarette smoking, and language that some may find offensive.
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Weapons, including knives that have been modified for safe use and a deactivated firearm that cannot fire will be handled on stage.
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Please utilize our "opt-in" below if you'd like more specific information about the content you can expect to encounter.
Optional "opt-in" For More Information Regarding The Play's Content
Mentions and Descriptions Of:
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AbortionHester is branded with the letter A to signal to the community she is an abortionist. When she is on stage her brand can be seen on her chest. Throughout the play we will sometimes see Hesters tools, a bloody apron or blood on her clothing. This "blood" is comprised of strings and fibrous materials so the blood is a stylistic and unrealistic representation.
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Loss of life / Violence / Murder / Bodily HarmIn scene 10, Monster grabs Hester, puts his hand over her mouth so she can't yell and threatens to kill her. In scene 19, Hester deceives the First Lady and takes her off stage. It is understood that offstage she is given an abortion which we never see a clear consent too. On stage we see nothing but hear the First Lady exclaim "Oh!" twice. At the end of the play, in scene 19 with the Hunters closing in on Monster. Monster begs Hester to kill him. As he sits in front of her we see Hester hold a knife to his throat. The platform turns and as it finishes turning all the way around it is understood that Hester has killed Monster as we see his lying on the ground. The Hunters come and drag his body away.
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Sexual Violence / Sexual AssaultIn scene 12 when Hester goes on her picnic she is sexually assaulted by Jailbait. The representation of this is not realistic and the audience does not see anything explicit. We see Jailbait caress her and bury his head in her lap. Hester's body is covered in her cloak with only her head visible. Two actors hold up her cloak from behind her with only her head poked through. We see Jailbait go behind her, bend down, and disappear. It is assumed that when he disappears behind her he is assaulting her. The audience see's Hester's face only as she sings and the assault happens.
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Blood / Bloody ClothingBoth Hester and Butcher wear bloody aprons and clothing. Blood is often depicted as strings and fibrous materials so the representation is unrealistic and artistic.
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SexWe see a simulation of sex between The Mayor and Canary Mary. All the audience sees is them getting partially unclothed and then go behind a sheet being lifted up by two other actors. Their arms and legs poke out beyond the sheet in a funny manner.
Click the arrow to learn more about the specific mentions and descriptions and what you will hear on stage.
Depictions / Interpretations On Stage Of:
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AbortionHester is branded with the letter A to signal to the community she is an abortionist. When she is on stage her brand can be seen on her chest. Throughout the play we will sometimes see Hesters tools, a bloody apron or blood on her clothing. This "blood" is comprised of strings and fibrous materials so the blood is a stylistic and unrealistic representation.
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Loss of life / Violence / Murder / Bodily HarmIn scene 10, Monster grabs Hester, puts his hand over her mouth so she can't yell and threatens to kill her. In scene 19, Hester deceives the First Lady and takes her off stage. It is understood that offstage she is given an abortion which we never see a clear consent too. On stage we see nothing but hear the First Lady exclaim "Oh!" twice. At the end of the play, in scene 19 with the Hunters closing in on Monster. Monster begs Hester to kill him. As he sits in front of her we see Hester hold a knife to his throat. The platform turns and as it finishes turning all the way around it is understood that Hester has killed Monster as we see his lying on the ground. The Hunters come and drag his body away.
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Sexual Violence / Sexual AssaultIn scene 12 when Hester goes on her picnic she is sexually assaulted by Jailbait. The representation of this is not realistic and the audience does not see anything explicit. We see Jailbait caress her and bury his head in her lap. Hester's body is covered in her cloak with only her head visible. Two actors hold up her cloak from behind her with only her head poked through. We see Jailbait go behind her, bend down, and disappear. It is assumed that when he disappears behind her he is assaulting her. The audience see's Hester's face only as she sings and the assault happens.
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Blood / Bloody ClothingBoth Hester and Butcher wear bloody aprons and clothing. Blood is often depicted as strings and fibrous materials so the representation is unrealistic and artistic.
-
SexWe see a simulation of sex between The Mayor and Canary Mary. All the audience sees is them getting partially unclothed and then go behind a sheet being lifted up by two other actors. Their arms and legs poke out beyond the sheet in a funny manner.
Click the arrow to learn more about the specific depictions and interpretation of each topic and what you will see on stage.
Writing of FUCKING A
FUCKING A is the second of Parks’s “Red Letter Plays,” both of which take inspiration from Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter. Parks explains that The Scarlet Letter is an even more relevant story now than when it was published in 1850. Parks conceived In the Blood and FUCKING A during a canoe trip in 1997, after which she read Hawthorne's book for the first time.
She wrote draft after draft, struggling to find the story, until she stepped back from attempting a direct adaptation and instead aimed to tell a new story inspired by Hawthorne’s themes, which she describes as "taking
the chords and writing your own melody." She ultimately deleted her initial script of FUCKING A, realizing it was a different story altogether—a tale of a woman named Hester with five children by five different lovers. This draft became her Pulitzer Prize finalist In the Blood. Only after completing
In the Blood was Parks able to finish FUCKING A the following year.
Brechtian Influences
Primary goals of Epic Theatre include:
- Alienating audiences and breaking theatrical illusion to remind them they are
watching a play
- Prioritizing critical thinking over empathy or sympathy for characters
- Making theatre challenging and uncomfortable, rather than safe
- Interrupting emotional responses to analyze character actions critically
- Revealing and critiquing societal and class relationships
- Encouraging audiences to question what they see on stage
- Teaching moral lessons and inspiring societal change
- Planting thought-provoking questions in the audience's minds
AESTHETICS OF EPIC THEATRE
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1. Actors Involved Practically ​
2. Bright Lighting​
3. Fourth Wall Breaks and Direct Address
4. Gestus
5. Montage​
6. Multi / Split Roles
7. Narration / Speaking Stage Directions ​
8. Signs, Placards, and Written Text ​
9. Song and Dance
10. Spass ​
11. Third Person Reviews / Figures ​​
12. Visible Stage Mechanics / "Unfinished" Set
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On September 8, 2022, Senate Enrolled Act 1 – 2022 (special session) (“SEA 1”) became law and made changes to Indiana’s abortion laws. The implementation of SEA 1 was halted by the Indiana courts on September 22, 2022. Subsequently, the Indiana Supreme Court decided that SEA 1 can go into effect. Based on court rules, SEA 1 became effective upon certification on August 21, 2023.
SEA 1 eliminates the state licensure of abortion clinics and requires all abortion procedures (surgical and medication-induced) to be performed in a licensed hospital or licensed outpatient ambulatory surgical center whose majority ownership is held by an Indiana hospital. Therefore, all abortion clinic licenses issued by the Indiana Department of Health have been rendered void and abortion clinics are no longer permitted to provide abortions under any circumstances.​​​​​​
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