Ricochet, Fatboy, Burnout, Deathstar
Photo credit: Ray Wu
written by Jerry Jia, Dec.7, 2022
Ricochet, Fatboy, burnout, Deathstar.
Those are names of strategies Enron traders used to exploit the market when California’s electricity got deregulated. Arguably one of the most powerful ensemble scenes in the entire play, the grotesque nature of what happened at Enron was masterfully portrayed by a highly skilled company of high school juniors and seniors from Upper Canada College and The Bishop Strachan School in Toronto, Canada.
On December 1st, 2022, the UCC and BSS communities were shocked by a masterful performance of the play Enron by Lucy Prebble. Through a combination of Brechtian techniques, Boal’s newspaper theatre, comedy, and distasteful punch lines, what was achieved was a profound reflection on the effects of greed and money on our society today. In the first act, the audience was introduced to the cut-throat world of business and trading. In this world, there is only one true goal.
Money.
Everyone is in it for the monetary benefit. Everyone is in it for themselves. This type of world-building was achieved through the use of projections, physical theatre, and tropes of people you might encounter in the business world. The use of actors in raptor masks provided an element of comedy relief, which contrasted the serious nature of the play’s message which only deepened the effect of the play. According to the show’s director Anna Blagona, “I want the audience to be shocked by the fact that they just laughed at something about people losing their jobs and a company that caused death and chaos just because they wanted to make money.”
David Mamet once said that “every scene should be a chase scene.” With every conversation, someone has something that the other person wants. This is true in real life too. You never talk to someone just for the sake of talking to someone. We always have a reason to interact. A goal. This goal is what drives us, and that’s the chase. In the case of Enron, the chase can be seen on many different levels. On a larger scale, Jeff Skilling’s chase at Enron is for money. Finding ways to make as much money as possible is what drove him to lose sight of his humanity and cause this financial scandal that bankrupted the company and changed the way modern business is done today. In each scene, he has a goal. Whether it’s becoming CEO, getting Andy Fastow to manipulate the stock market, or trying to convince people he’s not guilty, there’s something he wants, and we can see how he uses various tactics to achieve those goals.
The purpose of theatre has always been to make people think. To force them to reflect on their own humanity and their actions. There is a reason why Shakespeare is so timeless. There’s a reason why Bertolt Brecht was subpoenaed by the House Un-American Acts Committee during the cold war. Theatre is not supposed to be peaceful. It’s not supposed to be easy. It’s not supposed to be nice. It’s supposed to be truthful. What truth? The truth of the human condition. Of humanity. The truth of our greed, our desperation, and of our sins. As an actor and playwright, I’m constantly looking for stories that exemplify a fundamental truth. My chase, so to speak, is for the audience to leave a play thinking about how the themes/messages relate to their own lives. What faults in these characters can they see in themselves? That’s the question I want them to be able to answer after seeing a play.
In this particular play (Enron), the audience should leave the show considering their own morality. Have you contributed to other immoral business practices? Have you supported a company that employs inhumane business practices?
Are you a part of the problem?
