Review Fix 2016 MITF Coverage: Laurel Turk Talks ‘Breastless’

Review Fix chats with playwright Laurel Turk who discusses her new production, “Breastless,” which set for a run at this year’s Midtown International Theater Festival.

About the Production:

BREASTLESS by Laurel Turk, directed by Jeannine Haas; starring Laurel Turk, Emily Bloch, Dorian Gregory, and Emily Fox. A powerfully honest exploration of body image and sexuality after breast cancer combining intimate monologues, humorous ensemble scenes, and satirical song and dance. (Drama with Music)
Performance Schedule: Wed 11/16, 8:45pm; Fri 11/18, 7:00pm; Sun 11/20, 3:15pm
Running Time: 60 minutes
Venue: Jewel Box Theater, 312 W. 36th Street.

Review Fix: What was the inspiration for this project?

Laurel Turk: It felt more like a necessity than an inspiration.  Going through breast cancer is an intense experience, and I kept sane through it by writing, and writing more. And every now and then a song lyric would go through my head inspired by some ridiculous medical procedure.  I was wrote about body image, sexuality, intimacy, and loss.  I turned it into a theater piece because there were surprisingly few women writing or talking about these subjects.  I found there was a lot of pressure in cancer culture to be positive, strong, or courageous.  Many women weren’t giving themselves permission to say and feel what was really true for them.   I also knew women who were urged to have breast reconstruction surgery without fully understanding what it would involve.  Although many women love their reconstructions, some have regrets about the multiple surgeries and aren’t happy with the results.  I respect all the choices women make around reconstruction, but women should get more information ahead of time to make a truly informed choice.

Review Fix: What’s your creative process like?

Turk: My creative process often feels like slogging through mud.  I make myself write a lot of shitty first drafts (per Anne Lamott).  And if I’m lucky, every couple months or so, something pours out of a deeper place.  And then I go back to slogging.  I rely heavily on writing groups, because I am terrible at sitting down by myself and doing my writing.  And because the writing was so personal, I needed constant feedback from other people along the way to discern what was most interesting in the writing.

Review Fix: What makes this different or special?

Turk: Most breast cancer stories I’ve read or seen deal in depth with diagnosis and treatment, and then they end. But most of us don’t even really begin to deal with the impact of treatment on our bodies, relationships, and sense of self until treatment is over. The real work starts when everyone thinks you’re done.  The play is also different because it’s not often you see a woman who has had a double mastectomy without reconstruction show her body onstage.  (There’s no nudity, but just the shape of my body in a leotard is a key part of the experience.)  And I think it’s special because it’s a lesbian story, it’s a feminist story (I’ve been amazed how little feminism there is in the current mainstream breast cancer culture).  And there’s an authenticity that people respond to.  I’ve had lots of comments from people who haven’t had cancer about how much they relate to some of the scenes.  We’ve all felt uncomfortable in the locker room at the Y.  We’ve all had moments when our partner wants to make love and we don’t.  I’ve heard powerful stories from women about how a bodily imperfection has impacted their entire self-image and sexual relationships.

Review Fix: What did you learn about yourself through this process?

Turk: I learned that if I am authentic and vulnerable, people will respond with what’s authentic and vulnerable in themselves.  People are looking for this kind of truth telling and really appreciate it.

Review Fix: How does it feel to be a part of something like this?

Turk: Besides terrifying?  It’s been a big process for me to be able to telling my story onstage and to believe it has value to others.  But really the answer to this question is “magical.”  It’s been transformative for each of the women on the cast and crew in different ways, and also for women and men in our audiences.

Review Fix: What are your ultimate goals for this production and for the future?

Turk: I just want it to be of use.  I’d like as many people to see it as possible.  People living with cancer and their caregivers, people in the medical field, anyone who knows someone with cancer, everyone.  For now, we want to perform it wherever we can.  Eventually, I’d like to make the script available for others to perform, and maybe produce a video.

Review Fix: What do you think your audiences will enjoy the most?

Turk: The humor (the sparkly top hats in “Tits from Abs” and the Shakespearean “Ode to Prostheses” are big hits) balanced with the more poignant monologues (such as “If you want to make love with me, start below the waist. . .”)

Review Fix: What’s next?

Turk: There may be a part two.  There are themes I’d like to address that I only touch in the current script, such as the lack of research into the environmental causes of cancer, and how crazy it is that we don’t have safer cancer treatments.  Also the history of the pink ribbon and the commercialization of breast cancer.  So far my writing about these things sounds more like political rants and essays than theater, but we’ll see.  I’d also like to put together a group piece that represents a broader spectrum of experiences from a diverse group of women.