theatre
Tim Rosser still remembers the day when his songwriting partner Charlie Sohne called him to pitch an idea for a musical about two Afghan boys falling in love after being sold into a long-standing religious tradition of being trained as dancing “girls,” by the rich men who own them. “I remem- ber thinking, ‘Are you crazy?’” laughs Rosser. “I was really nervous about taking it on for a number of reasons. I wasn’t sure what the score would sound like and I really wasn’t sure that the story was good material for a musical.” Fortunately for Sohne, Rosser eventually came around to the idea. The finished product, The Boy Who Danced On Air, is finally getting its world premiere at the Diversionary Theatre in San Diego. Told with a cast of only five actors and a score
that, Rosser says, “Strikes a balance between a musical theatre score and Middle Eastern instru- mentation,” the musical reveals the clandestine yet persistent tradition known as bacha bāzī (which literally translates to “boy play”), wherein young boys are sexually abused by their owners, who parade them around at parties. It is in this world that two of the dancing boys meet and fall in love before embarking on a journey toward a new, uncharted way of life. Rosser and Sohne say they were intrigued by the implications of the tradition, noting parallels
between how the men who purchase the boys use the Koran as a justification for their actions and the current “religious freedom” wars in America. “I immediately keyed into this idea of the relationship between what traditions are kept in society and why,” Sohne says, citing the PBS documentary The Dancing Boys of Afghanistan as the inspiration for the musical. “What was so interesting about this particular situation is that it sort of drew into something that exists in our culture too, where certain roles seem so clearly defined because of how they serve people in power, or people of faith. You start to wonder, ‘Why do certain rules exist over time?’ or ‘Why do people keep referring back to them?’ when, if you were literally just looking at the text or the religion itself, a lot of it would just fall away.” While they consider the show to be more of a
love story than a political statement, both say they took great pains to get their facts straight and not demonize anybody in their dramatization of bacha bāzī culture. “We knew that we needed to do a tremendous amount of research, because we didn’t want to misrepresent the scenario or the people involved,” Rosser says. “On a larger level, the show is about the common humanity of all the charac- ters.” Sohne adds, “I think the love story is what will hopefully allow the show to appeal to audiences.
The idea of bringing this story to audiences who might not know about it and doing it in a way where people see a connection between themselves and the characters on stage was really our goal.” After five years of workshops and readings, the
men say they are thrilled to see the show finally get on its feet and are looking forward to a life for it beyond Southern California. “We’re still talking about the next step, says Sohne. “It’s really difficult to get that first theatre to put a show in front of an audience and take that risk, so we’re very thankful to the Diversionary for producing the show and giving it its start.” Rosser concurs. “Good theatre can make us re-evaluate the things we take for granted and the traditions we’re given, or the things we think have been going on forever in our own culture,” he says. “It’s really wonderful to experience a new world in theatre and it’s really wonderful to see yourself in people you maybe wouldn’t have looked for yourself in. It’s been a big adventure and we’re looking forward to bringing this world and this story to audiences wherever we can.”
The Boy Who Danced On Air premieres at the Diversionary Theatre, with performances running Thursday, May 5 through Sunday, June 12. For tickets and more information, go to
diversionary.org.
Good theatre can make us re-evaluate the things we take for granted and the traditions we’re given...”
OF LOVE DANCING BOYS
by ken knox MAY 2016 MAY 2016 | | RAGE monthly monthly FOR THE
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