"Infection Monologues" to Make L.A. Debut
Six years ago, the late gay activist Eric Rofes compiled interviews and surveys from students with HIV in his sociology classes for a script idea. Their stories of testing positive and living with a stigmatized virus formed the basis of story lines for what would become "The Infection Monologues", a comedic play about living with HIV today.
"I think a lot of the themes can be shared universally, whether it's getting an HIV test or struggling with issues around stigma or disclosure," said co-writer and director Alex Garner, who brought Rofes' play to the stage four years after his sudden passing.
"The Infection Monologues" premiered this past December in Seattle and will show twice this weekend at the Renberg Theatre in West Hollywood. Proceeds from the performances will benefit The Wall-Las Memorias Project and the Lambda Literary Foundation.
While a play about HIV might sound like a downer; Garner said it is light-hearted and complex, noted in the tagline "Absolutely Positive". In fact, when Rofes asked Garner to sign on as a co-writer, the comedy writer agreed only if it would be humorous.
Challenging Stereotypes with Humor
"I think there's sort of an assumption that in theater, the subject of HIV is sad or its heavy or didactic, like 'The Normal Heart' or 'Rent' or what have you, and this isn't that at all," said Garner. "Humor is the perfect way to humanize things because we can all relate."
The play does not consist of a series of monologues, but rather follows characters whose story lines intertwine. Jack, Eddie, Jeremy, Victor and Hugo range in age, background and years diagnosed, but face the same issues as gay men living with HIV, especially when it comes to dating and sex.
Garner drew from his own experience testing positive 15 years ago when he wrote the part of Victor, who he will play this weekend.
Writers Brody Brown and Joel Martinez created the roles of Angelenos Eddie and Jeremy for this weekend's performances. It's a tradition to give the play a local feel and experience.
"This play isn't about sadness, it's not to make you cry, it's about humor," said Eddie Martinez, associate director of The Wall-Las Memorias Project. "This play is about making you laugh to ease tension and put into perspective that people living with HIV and AIDS are just as human as people not living with HIV or AIDS. We're all equal."
He said stigma within the gay community is especially evident in the dating world.
"It's very apparent when you go on gay dating sites and you see words like, 'be clean' and 'be disease-free.' Those are code words for, 'I'm HIV negative, you'd better be negative,'" said Martinez. "There's this stigma making a certain group of people feel like they're less than, like there is something wrong with them."
In planning the play, The Wall Las Memorias Project formed the POZ Power Coalition, which aims to combat HIV phobia and stigma.
"A lot of our clients living with HIV tell us it's like they had to go back into the closet again. They had to deal with coming out as gay men and then being HIV positive, it's like they go right back in the closet for fear and sadness," said Martinez. "We need to do exactly what the gay movement was about: visibility, coming out and being proud of who you are."
In addition to being a kickoff for a larger movement, Garner hopes the play will provide a great night of theater.
"I want audiences to be entertained first and take something away secondly. I want them to find humor in a subject matter that has too often been relegated as taboo," he said. "It's rare for us to see the experience of positive people depicted in art, specifically on film, television and theater, in a way that isn't sad or is this sort of cautionary tale, so I think for positive people it will be quite refreshing to be able to see themselves depicted in a very honest, complex way."
Tickets for Saturday and Sunday night's performances can be purchased through the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center's Box Office.