2008 Woodie Awards
Acting for AIDS awareness
Sonia Booth
Issue date: 3/9/07 Section: Arts & Entertainment
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This past Friday and Saturday, Colby alumni Steve Kidd '95 presented a one man show of two interwoven stories entitled Sigh/Omelas. Anyone who watched either of the performances came away feeling moved, and most likely with wet tissues or a wet shirt cuff like me. The show was about children with AIDs, inspired by Kidd's work at a camp called Amerikids. Throughout his performance, Kidd switched back and forth between monologues about a boy named Sirus with the HIV virus and an adaptation of a story by Ursula K. LeGuin called The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas.
The show begins with a description of Omelas, a utopian society. In this perfect society, there are horse races and music and people always smile and laugh. But Omelas has one dark secret: they keep a child locked up in a dungeon all alone, malnourished, with only a small jug of water and a bowl of greasy gruel. Sometimes a person from Omelas opens the door and kicks the child, but no one ever lets it free. Kidd believes this story serves as a metaphor for our own capitalistic society, one in which "our ascension depends on others dissension." He hopes that people take away from the performance a social consciousness and a drive to use our resources to help those who are not so privileged.
The story of Omelas also connects directly to the story of AIDs victim Sirus, who some might consider a child locked in a dungeon. Kidd compiled the monologues about Sirus from stories his campers told him, especially the stories of one camper named Victor. He decided to create the play shortly after Victor died. Besides gathering the stories from campers, some of the elements of his monologues are from Kidd's personal experience. "I too hit seventeen home runs one summer," Kidd said. The green-and-white baseball hat he wears to portray Sirus's character is Kidd's real hat from playing on a little league team called the Yankees. The leather jacket that Kidd uses to play Sirus's stepfather is his father's coat. These elements help to make his performance more honest, something he believes is crucial.
The show begins with a description of Omelas, a utopian society. In this perfect society, there are horse races and music and people always smile and laugh. But Omelas has one dark secret: they keep a child locked up in a dungeon all alone, malnourished, with only a small jug of water and a bowl of greasy gruel. Sometimes a person from Omelas opens the door and kicks the child, but no one ever lets it free. Kidd believes this story serves as a metaphor for our own capitalistic society, one in which "our ascension depends on others dissension." He hopes that people take away from the performance a social consciousness and a drive to use our resources to help those who are not so privileged.
The story of Omelas also connects directly to the story of AIDs victim Sirus, who some might consider a child locked in a dungeon. Kidd compiled the monologues about Sirus from stories his campers told him, especially the stories of one camper named Victor. He decided to create the play shortly after Victor died. Besides gathering the stories from campers, some of the elements of his monologues are from Kidd's personal experience. "I too hit seventeen home runs one summer," Kidd said. The green-and-white baseball hat he wears to portray Sirus's character is Kidd's real hat from playing on a little league team called the Yankees. The leather jacket that Kidd uses to play Sirus's stepfather is his father's coat. These elements help to make his performance more honest, something he believes is crucial.
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