老澳门开奖结果

Christopher Durang is an acclaimed playwright whose works, including Beyond Therapy and Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All For You, have been produced on and off-Broadway, around the country and abroad. In his contribution to the 老澳门开奖结果's online symposium in celebration of LGBT Pride, Christopher reflects on his experience coming out of the closet and how one can find acceptance in the most unexpected of places.

In April I was given an award at the in Independence, Kansas. And in my acceptance speech I had the 鈥渘ormal鈥� opportunity to thank and acknowledge my partner of 22 years, John Augustine. And to feel the approval and acceptance of the large audience listening to my acknowledging our relationship.

Of course, I am in theatre, where people tend to be accepting, and which is one of the areas a bit ahead of the curve of general societal change.

Though really enormous change has happened.

And receiving this award, and feeling the affection for me and for my partner from the audience of theatre professionals, college students and local Independence residents (almost entirely straight), I was struck by the acceptance I was receiving in juxtaposition to what was experienced by the man in whose name this honor was given.

was a famous and successful playwright in the 1950s. His name was usually said in the same breath as Tennessee Williams and Arthur Miller. (And as a child interested in theatre, I very much knew who he was.) His plays were successful hits, as well as critically praised. In a row he wrote Come Back, Little Sheba, Picnic (winning the Pulitzer Prize), Bus Stop, and Dark at the Top of the Stairs. He also won an Oscar for his original screenplay for . He was also gay, and closeted, certainly in his conservative home town of Independence, Kansas. He also committed suicide in 1973, at the age of 60.

At his death, he was feeling despondent about his writing, but listening to his biographer Ralph Voss discuss his life while I was at the Festival, it鈥檚 hard not to think that his conflicted feelings about being gay didn鈥檛 help his feelings of despair. He befriended early in both of their writing careers. But as Voss said, Inge did not seek out the relationships that Williams did, nor the 鈥渇illing the loneliness鈥� one night stands either. It sounds like society and his family鈥檚 and his town鈥檚 views on homosexuality were ingrained in him.

Of course, he was born in 1913. (Williams in 1911.) And I was born in 1949. Though in my teen years, gay stuff still seemed as condemned as it did in Inge鈥檚 youth. And when I was at college, no one was open about being gay, and 鈥渃oming out鈥� wasn鈥檛 even a phrase at the time.

And I remember seeing a psychologist my sophomore year in college because I had been depressed. (I didn鈥檛 know at the time, but I was depressed because I had looked at the way my family鈥檚 struggle with alcoholism stopped any problem from ever being solved. I started to view the world that way. Very overwhelming to move ahead when you feel every action is doomed.)

Anyway, I met this therapist my mother had heard of, and in my meeting with him, I acknowledged that I had just had my first full gay experience at college. And he said, 鈥淚鈥檓 not surprised,鈥� meaning I think that he felt I seemed softer than , and thus my being gay was a likely guess. Though he then went on to tell me that no homosexual could ever be happy. His name was 鈥淢r. Stadech,鈥� but 鈥淪tadech鈥� was pronounced 鈥渟tatic.鈥� He indeed filled my head with a lot of static.

But I was so much luckier than the talented Mr. Inge. I eventually sought out another therapist back at Harvard where they offered free psychological counseling. (Which was offered if you passed the 鈥渁re you troubled enough?鈥� interview given by a social worker; which I did, lol. My social worker said 鈥淵ou鈥檙e depressed!鈥� Which I hadn鈥檛 realized).

Anyway, I鈥檓 almost embarrassed to say that I went to the therapist with the desire to be straight, I said. I liked women as companions, and I thought I鈥檇 be doomed to unhappiness because I didn鈥檛 know any happy homosexuals, and the church, and society and Mr. Static said you were doomed to be unhappy and neurotic if you 鈥済ave in鈥� to this.

Wow, I lucked out with the psychologist I found at Harvard. He was close to my age鈥�he was in training, in his late 20s. He was married and straight. He dutifully counseled me on trying to be straight. But after I had had a couple of 鈥渟lips,鈥� and in the middle of a session where I was beating myself up over having a crush on this quiet young guy I was getting to know in the dining hall, he interrupted my anger at myself and said: 鈥淲ell for whatever reason, you are blocked in your feelings for women. But isn鈥檛 it better that you have feelings for someone rather than no one?鈥�

My harangue against myself stopped cold. I was struck with his logic, and also the very important logic that human connection, including sexuality, is of value, period. It鈥檚 better than being some shut down, bitter person sitting up in a tower, no? The fact it was a straight man saying this to me, in 1970, carried enormous weight. It seemed logical. And it was also kind and empathetic of him to be open to that reasoning.

(His comment in a way reminds me of the great Tennessee Williams saying in Night of the Iguana: 鈥淣othing human disgusts me, Mr. Shannon, unless it鈥檚 unkind, violent.鈥�)

In 1971 I went to Yale School of Drama. I never 鈥渃ame out,鈥� but in the world of theatre at least if you didn鈥檛 date women, and tended to hang out with the same guy all the time, they just assumed you were gay. And theywere, frankly, accepting of it. Later I got better at just admitting it.

And so I didn鈥檛 shut myself off from relationships or sexuality. Life has its ups and downs. But at least I wasn鈥檛 solitary and isolated out of shame and 鈥渟tatic.鈥�

And I thought of this when I acknowledged my partner in front of a full theatre in the home town of William Inge, winning an honor named for him. He deserved to be happier than he was.

But thanks to everyone over the decades who has been honest and fought for acceptance, those of us who followed have been happier. And still more acceptance and right to happiness, and to love who we want 鈥� these will continue to follow.